What really happens to mobile phones left on airplanes revealed in new Which? investigation

There are many things holiday-makers need to be prepared for before jetting to their dream destination. Passport control is always a bit nerve-wracking - especially if you're heading to the US - as is going through security.

However, one thing you might not be prepared for, and might not even anticipate, is losing your phone mid-flight - and not getting it back.

Vacationers might think misplacing their phone on a plane wouldn't lead to massive complications. After all, it couldn't have gone far, could it?

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Think again. It turns out less than half (48 per cent) of people who lost a phone on a flight last year had it successfully returned, according to Which?, who took it upon themselves to put the situation to the test.

“These days a phone is far from just a phone - it's your wallet, photo album, and when you’re flying, it’s more often than not your boarding pass, too," Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said.

"When passengers lose something so vital you would expect airlines to have systems in place to quickly and easily return it to you, but when we tried misplacing our own phones we found this was too often not the case."

During the experiment, Which? purchased four iPhones and deliberately left them on flights with four major UK carriers - BA, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair. But just two - those lost with Jet2 and Ryanair - were recovered.

On each device, the team activated Apple’s ‘Find My Phone’ tracking system to monitor its location and any recovery efforts made by airlines. To assist airline staff, a message was set up on the lock screen stating ‘This phone is lost’ along with a contact number.

The first iPhone was left on a British Airways flight from Larnaca to Heathrow. Like all four airlines tested by Which, BA outsources its lost property management to a third party - in this case, Smarte Carte.

Even immediately after the phone was left behind - when it was still showing as being on or near the plane - the researchers were unable to liaise directly with BA. Instead, they were directed to Smarte Carte, where they could view a list of 36 lost phones at Heathrow online.

However, the phone had not been recovered and was not listed. Just one day later, Which? noticed that the phone had moved. Instead of being sent to a reclaim facility, it was now approximately 15 miles from Heathrow, seemingly in a cottage a short drive from Windsor Castle.

Which? reported the incident to the police, who provided a crime reference number and confirmed that the address was not associated with any Heathrow employees.

The police visited the cottage and spoke to the residents, but by then the phone had stopped broadcasting its location – it had either been switched off or the battery had died - and the phone was not recovered.

The police noted that if a stolen phone is currently broadcasting its position they can, in some circumstances, knock on the door - but may not always do this if contact has been lost.

Which?’s experience with easyJet was similar. After its researchers left a phone on a flight from Nice to Luton, they were unable to speak to anyone at the airline who could help. Instead, easyJet directed them to their baggage handler Menzies, which told them to register the item as lost on another third-party website.

After registering, a confirmation email was promised - but none arrived. easyJet’s website says items not claimed within 24 hours are passed to the airport’s lost property office, but upon inquiring, Luton Airport told Which? it doesn’t handle items left on planes. Like BA, easyJet didn’t offer any further advice or help in finding the phone.

On this occasion, the tracking didn’t work, meaning Which?'s researchers were unable to remotely locate the phone. They never received any communication from airline or airport staff to indicate the phone had been found, and the phone was never recovered.

Which? had a more positive experience with Jet2 when it came to a lost phone. Like other airlines, Which? was instructed to contact a third party - in this case, the airport's lost property office - after 'losing' a phone on a flight from Alicante to Birmingham.

However, a day after reporting the phone missing, Which?'s researcher received an email stating it had been found. The only catch was a £27 fee to reclaim it.

The final phone Which? left behind was on a Ryanair flight from Malta to Stansted. Despite Ryanair's claim that planes are cleaned at every turnaround, the phone was somehow overlooked after Which?'s investigator disembarked in London.

The Find My Phone app showed it travelled from Stansted to its next stop in Bari, Italy before being located. A helpful airport employee in Bari phoned to say they'd found it and it was couriered back for a 60 euro fee.

A BA spokesperson said they follow a process managed by Heathrow Airport and their third-party supplier, Smarte Carte, like other airlines at the airport.

An easyJet spokesperson insisted they have "procedures in place to reunite customers with items they may have left behind when they are found on board or handed in". In this case, "the item wasn’t found onboard or handed in”.

Meanwhile, Ryanair told Which? that, like other airlines, it does not accept any responsibility for lost property which is not placed in Ryanair’s possession or safe keeping.

"All lost property identified by crews on turnarounds is handed to the lost property office at each airport, which is operated either by the airport or a contractor," a spokesperson said. "In this case, the lost property was discovered in Bari and was handed to the lost property office there."

Which? weren't holding back in response, with Boland adding: "Frustratingly, in the vital first few hours after an item is lost, there’s no way of getting in touch with the airline to help.

"How hard can it be for airlines, who have staff onboard, to organise for lost items to be handed in and secured so that their customers are reunited? As it stands, most carriers won’t even pick up the phone to help.”

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