Lufthansa apologises for lost Oscar after US airport security row

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Russian teacher Pavel Talankin hoists his Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" at the 98th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026.

Russian teacher Pavel Talankin hoists his Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” at the 98th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP

German airline Lufthansa said it has apologised to Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin for losing his Oscar statuette after US airport security banned him from taking it on a flight from New York.

After a frantic search, Lufthansa said it found the missing statuette.

Talankin, who won an Academy Award for his documentary “Mr Nobody Against Putin”, was prevented from taking the trophy on board a flight at JFK Airport on Wednesday (all times US), film industry news site Deadline reported.

US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials told him they thought it could be used as a weapon and he was forced to check it into the hold in a cardboard box, Deadline said.

When he landed in Germany, the golden statuette was missing.

Lufthansa offered its “regret” and said it had embarked on an internal search “with the utmost care and urgency” to recover the Oscar.

Hours later, it issued a new statement saying that “we can confirm that the Oscar statuette is now in our care in Frankfurt” and it was going to hand it back to Talankin “as quickly as possible”.

It did not explain how the award went missing, saying that “an internal review of how this occurred is currently still ongoing”.

The airline said “we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner”.

Missing Oscar found after Academy Award winner blocked from taking it on flight

We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner. The careful and secure handling of our guests’ belongings is of the utmost importance to us.

“An internal review of the circumstances is ongoing.”

Pavel Talankin said he had the Academy Award in his carry-on bag for a flight to Germany on Wednesday, but airport security stopped him at John F Kennedy International Airport because they said the award could be used as a weapon.

When he landed in Germany, the Oscar for his documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin was gone.

“The Oscar statue has now been located and is safely in our care in Frankfurt,” Lufthansa said, adding that the airline was in direct contact with the guest to arrange the statue’s return “as quickly as possible”.