YOU could be faced with a rather steep bill when you return from a holiday if you forget to put your phone on airplane mode during a flight.
Passengers who forget to turn the feature on have found hundreds of pounds added to their monthly phone bill.
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According to the Financial Review, one young traveller found himself $300 (£245) out of pocket when he forgot to turn on flight mode during an Aer Lingus flight.
After putting his phone in the overheard compartment, he didn’t realise he had not turned off signal and roaming.
It then connected to the plane’s in-flight network Aeromobile, which the provider explained was due to the “antennas installed on the plane”.
An Aer Lingus spokesperson told Financial Review that crew “advise” passengers to put their phones on airplane mode as it could “connect to the in-flight roaming network and the guest will be billed by their home operator for any usage”.
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Aeromobile is used on a number of carriers including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Lufthansa.
On their website, Virgin Atlantic warns: “The charges are almost the same as they would be if you were roaming from another country.
“The calls and texts will just be added to your mobile bill after you’ve flown.”
Emirates also warns on their website that usage during a flight will be “charged by your service provider in line with international roaming rates”.
Other passengers have revealed their own horror stories of being charged during a flight without realising.
Twitter user Dave Moreau wrote: “O2 has charged Mrs M £35 for forgetting to put her phone on Aeroplane mode on an Emirates flight.
“It tried to connect in background to in-plane WiFi (it didn’t) and they charged her the connection fee to Norway (we were at 35,000 feet and about 1000 miles from Norway). Watch out!”
Kevin McKinless added: “Confirmed. Do NOT use #data on an @AerLingus flight. You could be charged up to £6 per MB!”
He added: “I am not happy @O2 and Aer Lingus. As soon as you turn off Aeroplane Mode, sure you load one web page accidentally and that would cost you £18.”
Hannah said: “Amazed that a @ThreeUKSupport CS rep just told me I could be charged for data use, whilst I’m using an airplanes wifi!? How is that possible when a phone is in flight mode.”
Passengers who want to avoid being caught out should turn their flight mode on as soon as they board the plane, and leave it on until they land.
If there is free WiFi on board, this can then be used safety without any additional charges.
Otherwise it is advised to keep flight mode on for the duration of the holiday – with Brits being hit with £50 fees for sending just one photograph abroad.
How to avoid roaming charges abroad
To avoid getting a bill in the hundreds, here’s how to keep roaming charges to a minimum:
- Turn on airplane mode – airplane mode turns off all wireless connections, including your mobile data.
- Ensure that data roaming is turned off – some iPhone and Android devices have a specific setting where you can turn off data roaming
- Ask your mobile network to block data roaming – most networks will allow you to put a block on data roaming.
- Only use your data when you know you’re using free WiFi
- For those who want to use data roaming, many networks offer some kind of package designed to reduce costs.
A pilot recently explained that rule of having phones on flight mode doesn’t affect the safety of the plane.
He said that the systems on an aircraft are now “so sophisticated” that it doesn’t cause much interference.
Sun Online Travel has contacted the airlines for comment and network providers for comment.
