The incident occurred in the early hours of June 22, less than two days after the employee had returned another valuable item to a passenger.
According to the airport, the passenger arrived on flight VN7076 from Danang at 12.10 am and left the airport before realising at around 1.30 am that a black handbag had been left at a trolley collection area near Columns 2 and 3 in Terminal 1.
Shortly after 1 am, Bui Thi Huyen, a member of the trolley team at the airport's Terminal Operations Centre, discovered the unattended bag while collecting trolleys.
She immediately alerted airport police, triggering standard security procedures. After explosive screening and safety checks, authorities inspected the bag and found personal documents and more than VND 466 million in cash.
The passenger returned to the airport shortly before 3 am and was reunited with the belongings.
"I thought there was little chance of getting the bag back, but the airport staff handled the process quickly and professionally," the passenger said.
According to the airport, this was the second time in less than two days, during separate work shifts, that Huyen had found and returned valuable property left behind by passengers.
In a letter of appreciation sent to the airport, the passenger thanked Huyen and airport security staff for their honesty and professionalism.
Huyen's case was one of thousands handled each year. Noi Bai's Lost and Found Office recorded 13,627 forgotten-item cases in the first five months of 2026, returning 2,758 items to passengers
