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Summer travel season is here, and even if you’re not getting on a plane, you probably know someone who is. And if that person is visiting you, it’s really important for you to stay on top of their flight.

You need to know if the flight is expected to arrive early or if it’s been canceled altogether, especially if you’re picking someone up at the airport. You can, of course, get this information through an airline’s app or website, but there’s another way to track a flight without leaving the Messages app on your iPhone.

That’s right. There’s a hidden flight tracker built into iMessage that you probably would never have noticed unless you included the right combination of details in a message.

You can easily check the status of the flight and easily share the information with anyone else who needs to know.

For more from Apple, see How text messages are getting more expressive in iOS 18 and how to schedule text messages. If you want to try these features now, you can download the second iOS 18 developer beta here.

How to track your flight via iMessage

Before we begin, there are a few prerequisites you need to meet:

• Make sure iMessage is enabled (it doesn’t work with SMS/MMS).
• You need your flight number somewhere in your text messages, whether you sent that information to someone (including yourself) or it was sent to you.
• The flight number must be sent in this format: (Airline) (Flight number)for example American Airlines 9707.

Launch the native Messages app on your iPhone and open the text message thread that contains your flight information. You’ll know the flight tracking feature is working when the text containing the flight information appears underlined, which means it’s activatable and you can tap on it.

However, if your flight is still several months away or has already passed, you may see a “Flight information not available” message. You may also be shown a different flight that is not yours, as airlines reuse flight numbers.

How to access the hidden flight tracker

Although the format highlighted above with the airline name/flight number is the best solution, there are other text options that will produce the same result, so let’s say we stick with American Airlines 9707Other options that can access the flight tracker are:

• American Airlines9707 (no place)
• American Airlines 9707 (only one space)
• AA9707 (Airline name is abbreviated and without spaces)
• AA9707 (abbreviated and spaces)

I would suggest that you write out the airline name in full and add a space between the two details – as in the previous section – as these alternative options may not work with some airlines.

Track your flight details in real time

Once everything is set, tap the flight information in your text messages. If the feature is working properly, you should see the following two options in a quick action menu:

• Flight preview: View flight details. Tap to view more information about the flight.
• Copy flight code: Copy the flight code to your clipboard (in case you want to send your flight details to someone else via SMS or email).

If you Flight previewAt the top of the window, you’ll see the best part of this feature: a real-time flight tracking map. A line connects the two destinations, and a small plane moves between them, showing where the flight is currently located.

Below the map you can see important flight information:

• Name of airline and flight number
• Flight status (punctual arrival, delay, cancellations, etc.)
• Terminal and gate numbers (for arrival and departure)
• Arrival and departure times
• Flight duration
• Baggage claim (the number of the baggage carousel)

If you swipe left on the bottom half of the flight tracker, you can switch between flights, but only if there is a return flight.

Plus, don’t miss how to get your iPhone out of Emergency SOS mode and use the hidden Safari feature on your Mac that makes multitasking a breeze.