iOS 26 Will Support More Powerful Boarding Passes
Credit: Apple
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Apple is again expanding the Wallet app in iOS 26 this year to provide a smoother experience for travelers. In addition to supporting US passports, the Wallet app will now be able to store much more feature-rich boarding passes that will do far more than just get you onto your plane.
During its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote last week, Apple explained how boarding passes can now provides access to indoor airport mapping, a link to Find My to track your bags, and shareable Live Activities so you can keep family and friends up to date on your flight status.
Boarding passes now include convenient access to airport maps, luggage tracking with Find My, and shareable Live Activities.
Apple
For example, once you’ve received your boarding pass from a participating airline, you’ll be able to view the status of your flight as a Live Activity directly from the Wallet app, without needing to turn to a third-party airline app or pay for a flight tracker app.
These Live Activities can also be shared via Messages with the tap of a button. If the recipient is on a supported iPhone, they’ll be able to get their own version of the Live Activity so they can follow along. This sounds similar to the Live Game Cards feature Apple added to the Sports app a few weeks ago.
Even if you don’t opt for a Live Activity, the boarding pass will dynamically update in Apple Wallet, so you’ll always know about any gate changes or adjustments to the departure time.
Below the boarding pass, you’ll see other helpful information, such as a button to open Apple Maps with directions not just to the airport but to the specific terminal your flight is departing from. There is even an indoor map to help you find your way around once you get inside. Another button will open the Find My app, which lets you track your luggage and even report lost baggage (using the feature Apple introduced last year in iOS 18.2).
Airlines will also be able to provide deep links into their apps for things like seat upgrades and standby lists.
Sadly, you won’t get these new boarding passes automatically. Like last year’s big event tickets upgrade, the organization issuing the Wallet item — the boarding pass, in this case — has to support the new features. However, Apple has already announced that the refreshed boarding passes should be available this year on ten airlines: Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Jetstar, Lufthansa Group, Qantas, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Australia.
If you think this sounds like Apple is “Sherlocking” standalone travel apps like Flighty, you’re probably right. That’s even more true as many of these apps require you to pay for a subscription if you want features like Live Activities. Flighty offers many more advanced features that globetrotters will appreciate, and the annual subscription fees aren’t too onerous if you’re a frequent flier.
However, as someone who paid $5 for a week of Flighty to keep track of my wife’s recent trip — a subscription that didn’t last long enough to cover the return flight only eight days later — it’s easy to see how the new boarding passes in Apple’s Wallet app will be a welcome addition for those who fly only occasionally.
