Emirates airline thanked by US vlogger Casey Neistat for returning lost Apple watch

Dubai carrier flies smartwatch with custom-made strap to California, after it was left at airport security

American YouTube star Casey Neistat had his Apple Watch flown to California by Emirates, after he lost it at Dubai International Airport. Credit: Twitter / Casey Neistat

An American YouTube star has been reunited with his Apple Watch by Emirates airline, after losing it at Dubai International Airport security before he boarded a flight to Los Angeles.

Casey Neistat, 40, has millions of social media followers and posted on Twitter about his loss, triggering a swift response from Emirates.

“I left my custom apple watch at security in the @emirates terminal in Dubai,” Mr Neistat said.

“If anyone finds it please gimme a call. I really liked that watch. (my phone number is embroidered under where it says ‘REWARD’) thank you.”

Mr Neistat posted a photograph of the Apple Watch, fitted with an olive green nylon strap at around 9.30am on February 7.

The strap was custom-made, marked with 'CN22, reward, New York City' and a phone number, making it easy to identify for security personnel who found the watch and handed it to Emirates.

Around six hours later, Emirates got in touch with Mr Neistat to say they had found his watch and were going to deliver it to him.

“3 days ago I left my apple watch at security in the Dubai airport,” he said in a post on Twitter.

"@emirates airline found the watch, put it on a plane, flew it to California, drove it to my house and handed it to me in an envelope. That was very nice of you Emirates, thank you.”

Mr Neistat has form for losing possessions on airlines. On a flight to New York for Christmas with his partner Candice Pool, he misplaced a suitcase containing all her favourite clothes.

“There’s a pattern here; I’m not good at not losing everything,” said Mr Neistat.

While some of Mr Neistat’s Twitter followers said his celebrity status brought this level of service from Emirates, an official with the airline told The National that it was common practice to return lost items to their owners, whenever possible.

Mr Neistat is a filmaker and vlogger who co-founded Beme, a multimedia company that enabled users to produce short unedited videos, which were immediately uploaded and shared.

Beme was bought by CNN for a reported $25 million in 2018.

He has 12.4 million YouTube subscribers and two million Twitter followers.