What to do if…
your phone is lost or broken abroad and your travel bookings are inaccessible

What to do now

1. Move to a safer admin pause with internet. Use a staffed place such as hotel reception, an airline desk area, an airport information desk, or an airport business centre where you can sit and focus.
2. Recover your booking reference on paper.
   • Log into email and search for the airline name plus “booking”, “itinerary”, “confirmation”, “PNR”, “e-ticket”, or “receipt”.
   • If you booked through a travel agent, holiday company, or booking website, log into that account and open “Manage booking”, “Trips”, or the equivalent section.
   • Write down your passenger name, route, travel date, booking reference, ticket number if shown, payment card used, and frequent flyer number if you have one.
3. Reduce the risk if you use a shared computer.
   • Prefer a companion’s phone or laptop, hotel reception device, or airline service desk device if available.
   • Use a private or incognito window, do not save passwords, and log out fully before leaving.
   • Once you have a safer device or network, change your email password first.
4. Go to the airline desk as soon as it can help.
   • Take your passport and the written booking details to the check-in counter, ticket desk, or airline customer service desk.
   • Ask staff to find your booking and issue a printed or otherwise usable boarding pass.
   • Check the airline’s stated desk opening time. Do not rely on arriving before check-in opens unless the airline or airport tells you to.
5. If the airline uses digital boarding passes, still ask staff.
   • Tell staff the phone is lost, broken, or dead and that your boarding pass was only on that device.
   • If you have already checked in online, say so clearly. Some digital-first airlines can still help at the airport once your booking and identity are confirmed.
   • If you have not checked in online, ask what the quickest alternative is. There may be a desk process, a fee, or carrier-specific instructions.
6. Stop the phone problem getting worse.
   • Contact your UK mobile provider as soon as possible and ask them to bar the SIM.
   • If the phone is lost or stolen, ask whether they can block the handset using its IMEI.
   • If banking or payment apps were on the phone, freeze cards through web banking or call your bank or card issuer using an official number from the bank’s website or your physical card.
7. Secure the accounts that unlock everything else.
   • Change your email password before changing airline, booking, shopping, social, or payment account passwords.
   • If two-factor codes were going to the missing phone, use recovery email, backup codes, identity checks, or your provider’s recovery process.
   • Avoid repeated failed login attempts; pause and use the official recovery route.
8. If the phone was stolen, get a local report if it is needed and safe.
   • Ask your insurer, mobile provider, hotel reception, or airline staff whether a local police report or reference number is needed for your destination and claim.
   • If you make a report, use the local police route or ask hotel reception, airport staff, or the nearest British embassy, high commission, or consulate how to find the correct route.
9. If you cannot reach the airline or mobile provider, use official UK help routes.
   • Use GOV.UK support for British nationals abroad to find the nearest British embassy, high commission, or consulate.
   • For urgent overseas help from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, use the official GOV.UK contact guidance rather than numbers found in search results or social media posts.