Mobile operator Vodafone UK has done a welcome U-turn over their planned price hike for roaming customers in Turkey, many of whom had been left stranded by the mass cancellation of flights and would soon have been hit by a new £6 per day charge. But that price change has now been delayed.

At present Turkey is still one of Vodafone’s free roaming destinations, which means customers can use their UK plan while abroad in associated countries at no extra cost. However the planned 6th May 2020 change meant that Turkey would have left this group to join c.60 other countries as “Roam-further” destinations (i.e. these attract the aforementioned daily fee, which is similar to how you’d be charged on other networks like O2).

When we first investigated this issue last week the operator seemed intent upon proceeding with their planned change, although we suspect that they may have had a rethink following the recent industry agreement to support and protect “vulnerable consumers” during the COVID-19 crisis.

Whatever the reason, customers in Turkey who contacted Vodafone about this issue have now been told the following (credits to David and others for keeping us informed).

Copy of Vodafone’s Message: vodafone uk turkey roaming

“Appreciate current events that could prevent you from returning to the UK as planned. Keeping you connected is our number one priority, so we’ll be giving you 30 days of unlimited data at no extra cost. We’ll send you a text when your unlimited data is available.

We’re also delaying the change to the cost of roaming in Turkey until July 7, 2020, for all our customers currently in Turkey.”

The news will be most welcome to those still stranded in the country, whether due to a lack of flights, self-isolation or other reasons related to COVID-19.