in Nice, the Restos du Cœur recover the confiscated objects from the airport

Twice a week, the Restos du Cœur truck stops at Nice airport (Alpes-Maritimes). The volunteers come to collect the products that the travelers had to remove from their hand luggage to be able to board. On average, the collection amounts to 100 kg of goods per week. There are a lot of hygiene products there. “I think it’s typically out of their budget, to be able to afford a luxury shampoo from time to time, (…) so for us it’s really fun to participate in that”explains Pierre-Gilles Solvit, a volunteer at Restos du Cœur.

The operation is currently limited to four boarding queues in Terminal 2, which has twelve in total. “In a normal year, here in Terminal 2 alone, 120,000 objects and foodstuffs are removed from baggage because they are prohibited in the cabin. About half of these objects and products could quite (…) be given to works instead of being destroyed[e]”, says Aymeric Staub, spokesperson for the airports of the Côte d’Azur. The idea is rather well received by travelers. In the distribution centers, the beneficiaries are delighted. Since March, 500 Nice families have benefited from the operation.