How to use your iPhone to track flights without any app or website

Apple iPhone

The iPhone has a lot of features but some are not really well-known. Case in point: a flight tracker. Turns out, your iPhone has a flight tracker built in — and it’s surprisingly good. While millions flock to third-party apps to monitor air traffic, Apple has quietly baked a flight tracking tool right into iOS. No downloads, no fuss. Just type, tap, and voila!

At the heart of this little-known feature are Apple’s “data detectors.” These are smart bits of code in iOS that identify things like dates, addresses — and yes, flight numbers. When they see a recognised flight number in the right context, they turn it into something interactive.

How to use the flight tracker

There are a couple of ways to do it and the first one is Messages app. Yes, you can track a flight using the Messages app. If someone texts you a flight number (say, AI 433), it’ll usually appear underlined. Long-press on that number and up pops a real-time map showing where the plane is.

Tap Preview Flight and you’ll get the full dashboard: live departure and arrival times, delay info, gate numbers, and — at some airports — even baggage claim details. You can also jump straight to the airline’s site or view the flight path in Apple Maps.

To help iOS pick up the flight info more reliably, include the airline name and flight number together—for example, “Air India AI 433” instead of just “AI433.”

If you do not prefer to dig through texts, then you can also track flights via Spotlight Search. Just swipe down from your Home Screen and type the flight number into the search bar. The same live card appears, no app necessary.

It’s the kind of low-key Apple feature that makes you wonder why no one talks about it more—quietly powerful, reliably useful, and already in your pocket. So next time you’re checking if your friend’s plane landed, or monitoring your own upcoming departure, skip the apps and let iOS do the heavy lifting.