A former The Apprentice star who left his AirPod headphones aboard a flight, only for someone else to pick them up, has revealed how he and a friend went "hunting" for them five months later. Iin an adventure that took them right across the world, Lewis Ellis, 31, says he ended up leaving his headphones aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Bangkok to Doha, Qatar, but staff wouldn't let him back on to grab them.
Although he assumed he'd get them back once inside the airport, four hours later, they'd vanished and he had no choice but to leave the airport without them. After checking the Find My app on his phone, Lewis could see his headphones were travelling around the globe, much to his indignation.
Five months went by and Lewis could stand it no longer and so decided to fly some 4,000 miles across the world to track them down, in a treasure hunt that set him back more than £2,000.
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Lewis, from Manchester, said: “I then had the joy of watching them travel the world for no less than five months. I don’t know who took them but my AirPods went on the holiday of a lifetime.
“I watched as they flew from Qatar to Katmandu, before heading to a small village in the Himalayan mountains overlooking Nepal. They then took a short jaunt to Thailand before finally coming to rest back in Doha. I just couldn’t stand it any longer – so I decided to track them down.”
A joking dare from pals to go quickly became a very real adventure as Lewis flew out to Doha with his friend Tom in search of his long-lost AirPods, keeping a close eye on the app.
Lewis and Tom were accompanied in their quest by local man Karim, who they met at their hotel. Karim was keen to join in with the fun, and the three men went out "hunting" for the lost Apple product together.
According to Lewis: "It was an adventure and felt like I was in a lost treasure film, it was all very exciting.”
The determined trio managed to track the AirPods to an apartment block, before going floor-to-floor trying to connect to them via Bluetooth. Eventually, they made a connection.
Lewis continued: “We knew they were inside and I was determined to get them back. I would go back every day of the trip until I got them. I had the box with the serial number on it so was ready to prove they were mine.”
Finally, the adventurers were allowed inside the apartment, where they say several people were staying, and the headphones were thankfully handed over without any incident.
Lewis recalled: “We high-fived and cheered, it was all fun and games and there were no hard feelings. As we left, one person apologised for the inconvenience, but I was just happy to have them back.”
Lewis, who spent a total of £2,300 on flights, accommodation, and food during his round-the-world search, says he has no regrets.
He added: “My mum thinks I’m mental but it was fun! We had no real plan but just hoped to find them again. The fact you can track tiny headphones around the world is unbelievable.
“I didn’t really expect to get them back and I joked that flying to Doha to get them is the pettiest thing I’ve ever done. But it’s just great that we managed to find them – and now I don’t need to buy a new pair!”
Qatar Airways has been contacted for comment.
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