A former airline employee has revealed a “mind blowing” iPhone trick for tracking flights in real-time — without having to check department monitors at airports.
Darby Maloney who worked in the airline industry for three years said her “number one flying hack” is to text yourself or family/friends your flight number via iMessage.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Airline employee’s iPhone flight hack.
Newsletters: Our top lifestyle news direct to your inbox. Subscribe now 
The “genius” tracking feature works when the flight number (QF8414 or Qantas 8414) is underlined, and when selected, two options appear: “Preview Flight” and “Copy Flight Code”.
When you tap on “Preview Flight”, all the details will pop up.
The traveller and the receiver can expect to find the flight status (arriving on time, delayed or cancelled), terminal and gate numbers, arrival and departure times, flight duration and baggage claim’s carousel number.
“The morning of your flight, you’re going to text yourself your flight number,” Darby said in a now-viral video.
“If someone’s picking you up, send it to them. If you’re travelling alone, send it to yourself. That text will become a link to tell you everything you need to know about your flight, and it will update in real-time.”
She said the feature gives you access to the live flight tracker on the go — so you can stay updated on your timings and gate number without having to constantly look for the departure monitor around the airports.
“What’s your gate? Open your phone, text your flight number, click the link, preview flight and boom — I’m Gate D6. Awesome,” she said.
“This is my flight. It’s on time. We’re going to be at gate B9. Leaves at 2.24pm. And if I check a bag — baggage claim 25 as soon as I land.”
“If it changes, it’ll change in that link.”
She said if someone’s picking you up from the airport, they can keep track of your “little airplane flying across the screen”.
Darby explained how if your arrival time changes mid-flight, the link will be updated.
“So whoever’s picking you up can see exactly when that flight status changes,” she said.
The traveller said she never has to look out for updates on screens at airports anymore.
“It’s the greatest hack,” she said.
“If you have a connecting flight, text yourself both flights. The second you land, you can just click your link and know exactly what your gate is.
“So when you get off the plane, Bing! You’re off to your connection. It’s the greatest hack ever, and I feel like nobody knows about it.”
Her video has been viewed more than 11.2 million times — with many described Darby’s trick as “life saving”, “genius” and “absolutely mind blowing.”
“The way this changed my life,” one said.
Another raved: “As someone who flies for work, this is SO helpful.”
One suggested: “I do this all the time and it’s even better than having the airlines app.”
Another added: “GOOD hack because we literally missed our connecting flight for not knowing where the gate was and there was no spare time so I ran across the airport like crazy only to be lost and left behind.”
For more engaging lifestyle content, visit 7Life on Facebook.
