Big bills for passengers who leave phones on during flights

Passengers who forget to heed the flight attendant's advice to turn off their phones could face huge bills when they get back from holiday, Aer Lingus has warned.

The Irish carrier said that phones which are left on, without being switched to flight mode, could connect to the plane’s roaming network which is not included in any international roaming plans.

It comes after a passenger who left his phone on in the overhead compartment of a transatlantic flight was charged $300 (£235) by his carrier, AT&T, the Irish Times reported.

“For safety reasons, before every flight, Aer Lingus cabin crew advise guests to switch their phones to airplane mode,” an Aer Lingus spokeswoman told the paper.

She added that phones which are not switched off “may connect to the in-flight roaming network and the guest will be billed by their home operator for any usage.”

AT&T said the charges came from “antennas installed on the plane that operate outside an unlimited international roaming plan.”

These “automatically connect with phones that are not in flight mode and run up charges – even when the phones are not in use,” the company said.