Improved boarding passes in Apple Wallet: These new features are available
More and more airlines are supporting Apple's new digital boarding passes in Wallet, introduced with iOS 26. These features are intended to help.
Boarding pass in Apple Wallet.
(Image: Apple / heise medien)
Boarding passes in Apple Wallet have been available for many years. With iOS 26, Apple implemented a number of new features that were intended to further simplify travel with an iPhone. Gradually, more and more airlines are joining in. An overview of what the new digital boarding pass can do.
Not just displaying a QR code
Until now, Apple Wallet has primarily been a display tool for boarding passes. Once added – for example, as an email attachment or directly from an airline app – the card with the QR code automatically appears when it's time to depart. Depending on the airline, it was also possible to update the boarding pass later, a feature that was not used by all airlines.
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With iOS 26, there are a number of improvements here, although here too it depends on what an airline wants to support and what it doesn't. The latest example is the American Airlines application, which has just been updated to version 2026.10. It shows well the spectrum that the new boarding passes in Apple Wallet can handle if the features are implemented. Some airlines, like Delta (see image), had already activated some new features but have since deactivated them again for technical reasons.
Live Activities with flight status
The new American Airlines app now comes with an integration of the Wallet app for boarding passes for the first time. This is intended to make it easier to find the gate. Also integrated are so-called Destination Guides for the travel destination and the “Find My” function for luggage, should you have equipped it with an AirTag. The features already existed, but Wallet now brings them together. American Airlines had already integrated Live Activities for flight status. The app shows the current flight status on the lock screen, the Dynamic Island, or the Apple Watch's Smart Stack – according to the company, “in real time.”
Other airlines that support (or want to support) the improved boarding pass include the Lufthansa Group, United, Virgin Australia, Qantas, Air Canada, JetBlue, Southwest, and Jetstar. It is currently unclear when Delta will participate again.
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