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How to use your iPhone’s secret flight tracker
In This Article
Whether you’re following a loved one’s journey or want to keep an eye on an upcoming flight’s status, flight trackers are incredibly useful tools, but they usually come in the form of a third-party app – and often with a subscription in tow.
Luckily to make things easier, iPhones and iPads include a few easy ways to quickly track flights without needing to download any additional apps or pay for premium capabilities.
Keep reading to learn how to use your iPhone to track flights across Messages and Spotlight Search.
What you’ll need:
The short version:
Step1
Find your flight number
You may receive a flight number from a message. If this is the case then you can skip this step and go directly to step two.Otherwise, you must start by finding the flight number you want to track. A flight number can be found in many ways including your booking confirmation, boarding pass or via the airport’s website.
Step2
(To track a flight through Messages) Send or receive a flight number
If someone sends you a message including a flight number, or you send one to someone else, you’ll see the code is underlined.It is recommended to also include the airline name, as shown here, but the code should be enough most of the time.
Step3
Tap the flight number
Simply tapping the flight number in the Messages app will display options to either Preview Flight or Copy Flight Code.Alternatively, you can hold down the underlined number to bring up a real-time display of the flight map, including where the plane is currently and the full route.
Step4
Tap Preview Flight
Tapping Preview Flight will show you full information of the flight, including its current status, arrival time and duration.
Step5
(To track a flight through Spotlight Search) Open Spotlight Search
To open Spotlight Search, swipe down from the middle of your Home Screen, avoiding holding down any apps.
Step6
Enter the flight number into the search field
You can either paste a copied flight number into the search bar or enter it manually.
Step7
Tap Top Hit
You should see the flight information as a Top Hit, as shown here, which gives a brief overview of its current status. Tap here.
Step8
See full information about the flight’s current status
Tap the flight information to bring up a more detailed look at the current status. Scroll down and you’ll see related options, including links to download offline maps for the destination and the airline’s website.
Troubleshooting
Firstly, if you haven’t already, try including the airline name alongside the flight number (for example British Airways BA344) to help iOS identify it as a flight. If this still doesn’t work, ensure the flight number is correct.
Yes you can. Simply bring up Spotlight Search by holding down the Command key and Spacebar and enter your flight number here.
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Jess joined the Trusted Reviews team early in 2024, after working for almost three years in lifestyle and technology PR. Using the skills gained from her previous role, Jess has taken on a new challen…
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
