Track your flights directly from your iPhone’s text messages

The summer travel season is upon us. Even if you don’t fly, you probably know someone who does. And if that person is visiting you, tracking their flight is crucial.

Especially if you’re picking someone up at the airport, you’ll need to know if a flight is scheduled to arrive early or has been canceled altogether. Of course, you can find this information through the airline’s app or website, but there’s another way you can track a flight without leaving the Messages app on your iPhone.

That’s right: iMessage has a hidden flight tracker built into it, but you probably won’t notice it unless you type the right combination of details into a message.

You can easily check the status of your flight and easily share that information with others who need to know.

For more from Apple, check out how iOS 18 makes text messages more expressive and lets you schedule text messages: If you want to try out these features now, you can download the second developer beta of iOS 18 here.

How to track a flight with iMessage

Before you begin, there are some prerequisites that must be met.

• Make sure iMessage is enabled (doesn’t work for SMS/MMS).
• The flight number is required somewhere in the text message, whether you send the information to someone else (even yourself) or if it is sent to you.
• Flight numbers must be sent in the following format: [Airline] [Flight number]For example, American Airlines 9707.

Launch the native Messages app on your iPhone and open a text message thread containing flight information. You’ll know the Flight Tracker feature is working if the text containing flight information is underlined, meaning it’s actionable and tappable.

However, if your flight is still months away or has already passed, you may see the message “Flight information not available.” You may also see a different flight than your own because airlines reuse flight numbers.

How to Access the Hidden Flight Tracker

The airline name/flight number format highlighted above is the best way to go, but there are other text options that will give you the same results. Here are some: American Airlines 9707Other options for viewing the flight tracker include:

• American Airlines 9707 (There is no space)
• American Airlines 9707 (Only one space)
• AA9707 (Airline name omitted, no spaces)
• AA9707 (abbreviations and spaces)

As with the previous section, we recommend spelling out the airline name in full and leaving a space between the two pieces of information, as these alternative options may not work for some airlines.

Track your flight details in real time

Once you’re all set, tap on the flight information in the text message, and if the feature is working properly, you’ll see two options in the quick action menu:

• Preview Flight: View flight details. Tap this to view detailed information about the flight.
• Copy Flight Code: Copy the flight code to your clipboard (if you want to text or email your flight details to someone else).

If selected Preview FlightAt the top of the window, you’ll see the best part of the feature: a real-time flight tracking map. A line connects two destinations with a little plane moving between them to show where the flight is at that moment.

Below the map you’ll find important flight information.

• Airline name and flight number
• Flight status (Arriving on time, delays, cancellations, etc.)
• Terminal and gate number (Upon arrival and departure)
• Arrival and departure times
• Flight time
• Baggage claim (Baggage claim carousel number)

Swipe left on the bottom half of the flight tracker to switch between flights, but only if there is a return flight available.

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