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

What to do now

1. Get to a stable, staffed place with Wi-Fi. Use hotel reception, an airline service desk, an airport information desk, or a staffed business center rather than an unattended computer or a stranger’s phone.

2. Write down what you already know. On paper, note your full name as booked, flight date, route, airline, approximate departure time, booking site, payment card used, frequent flyer number, hotel name, and any confirmation or record-locator fragments you remember.

3. Recover the booking from email or the booking site.

   • From a safer computer or borrowed device, go directly to your email provider, airline site, hotel site, or booking site.
   • Search your email for the airline name, “confirmation,” “itinerary,” “e-ticket,” “receipt,” “record locator,” “booking,” and the city names.
   • If you booked through a third party, open its “Trips” or “Manage booking” area and write down the airline record locator if shown.

4. If two-factor authentication blocks you, use recovery options instead of repeated attempts.

   • Try backup codes, a recovery email, a trusted device, or the provider’s account-recovery flow.
   • Keep a simple written list of what you tried so you do not repeat failed attempts while stressed.
   • If you can reach a trusted person at home, ask them to read out a booking reference from your email or printed travel papers without sending passwords.

5. Go to the airline counter early with your passport.

   • Say: “My phone is lost or broken, and my boarding pass and booking are on it. Can you locate my reservation and print or re-issue my boarding pass?”
   • Give the staff your passport, route, travel date, destination, and any booking details you recovered.
   • Ask whether you need counter check-in, a kiosk printout, a gate reprint, or help from the airline’s ticketing desk.

6. If an app or online check-in is causing the problem, ask airline staff for the manual path. Processes vary by airline and airport, but staff may be able to check you in, verify documents, print a pass, re-send a confirmation, or tell you the fastest alternative.

7. Lock or secure the missing phone.

   • For an iPhone, use iCloud Find Devices or another trusted Apple device to mark it as lost if Find My is available.
   • For an Android phone, use Google Find Hub or another trusted Android device to find, secure, mark as lost, or erase the device if recovery is not realistic.
   • If the phone appears stolen, do not add personal contact details to the lock screen unless you are comfortable with that information being used in scam attempts.

8. Contact your mobile carrier. Ask the carrier to suspend the line, block the SIM or eSIM where available, discuss a replacement SIM or eSIM, and note any device identifier they ask for, such as an IMEI, if you can find it from your Apple or Google account records.

9. Protect the accounts that control everything else.

   • Start with your email account, because it controls password resets.
   • Then check airline, booking, bank, payment-card, Apple, Google, and messaging accounts.
   • Change passwords from a safer device when you can, and sign out of sessions you do not recognize.

10. Use shared computers only with extra caution. A private or incognito window may reduce saved-session risk, but it does not make a shared computer safe. Log out of every account, close the browser, and change important passwords later from a safer device.

11. Secure cards and money access if the phone had wallet or banking apps. Use the official bank or card-issuer website, the official app on a trusted replacement device, or numbers printed on physical cards if you have them. Freeze or replace cards if you see suspicious activity or if the phone was stolen while unlocked.

12. If the phone was stolen, make a local report only if it is safe and practical. A police report or reference number may help with insurance, carrier claims, device claims, or documentation, but do not miss a flight or put yourself at risk just to get it.

13. If your U.S. passport is also lost or stolen, treat that as a separate urgent problem. Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for replacement steps before trying to travel internationally on that passport.