I'm off to Nepal with Qatar Airways. I’ve been told by the airline that I'd have to re-confirm my flight home once I'm in Nepal, but as I'll be in remote areas and almost certainly without access to a phone, this might be a problem. Can't I just re-confirm when I check in at Heathrow? Karen Billing, Watford

Sunday Times travel expert, Richard Green, responds: Now you may think that reconfirming a flight is an arcane practise from a bygone era of travel – like reverse-the-charge phone calls, paper tickets, and Kodak film – but hold on. Reconfirming just might save you from a nasty surprise.

The Qatar Airways official policy is that passengers flying from London or Manchester don’t have to reconfirm flights once overseas. However, all airlines suggest that you do anyway. And it’s a good habit to get into; giving you peace of mind that all is ok with your booking, and most importantly, giving airline staff chance to let you know of any changes to the departure time.

Schedule changes do happen, and although the airline will try to contact you in advance, calling them is safer. It’s particularly important on longer trips, where you might be away for several months, but things can change in the short run too. If your flight is put back a few hours, it’s tedious hanging around an airport for longer than necessary, but if it leaves a few hours earlier, you’ll miss it.

There are exceptions to the rule and Qatar Airways do need a reconfirmation for flights to Pakistan. In this case, failure to contact the airline may mean your flight is cancelled.

So you can ditch the camera film and the tickets, but better to keep reconfirming for the time being.

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