There’s a Hidden Flight Tracker in IPhone Messages
Congested airports and flight delays are expected parts of traveling, and both can cause major headaches. Apps can help you get around some of these problems, but if you use iMessage, you don’t actually need an airline app, a flight tracking app, or even Google’s ability to figure out if your flight is behind schedule. Your iPhone’s Messages app has a built-in flight status tool that offers real-time information about departures, arrivals, gate changes, and baggage claim numbers.
Here’s how to check your flight status without leaving the Messages app.
How to Track Flights in iMessage
First, you’ll need to send yourself or someone else your flight number via iMessage rather than SMS, as this feature only works on Apple devices. This message must be in one of the following formats:
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Airline + flight number: Delta Airlines 405.
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Airline abbreviation + flight number: DL 405.
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Airline abbreviation + flight number (without space): DL405
(DeltaAirlines405 and DeltaAirlines 405 without a space or with only a space can also work.)
The first option – adding the word “Airlines” to the company name – is the best choice for all airlines. Simply typing “Delta 405” or “JetBlue 101” is not enough to activate the flight tracker. You’ll know your format is correct if the text is underlined (indicating a hyperlink) after you send the message.
To track your flight, tap the underlined text to open a menu with two options. You can copy the flight code to your iPhone clipboard or select View Flight to view flight details. If the flight is active, you will also see a real-time tracking map.
Clicking “Flight Preview” opens another window with additional flight details such as arrival time status, departure and arrival times, duration, and gate and baggage claim information. Depending on the flight, you can also swipe to view stats for the same flight number in the coming days.
Obviously, this is most useful for active or same-day routes, since flight numbers that are used infrequently may not contain data for your flight. If you don’t see underlined text in messages when you send your airline name and flight number, check that the format is correct.