How to Use a Digital Boarding Pass on Your Phone

A digital boarding pass is an electronic version of the paper ticket you would normally print at home or pick up at the kiosk. It lives on your phone and shows the same barcode that TSA agents and gate staff scan. Most major US airlines — including American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, and JetBlue — fully support mobile boarding passes.

The process starts after you check in for your flight. You can check in online through the airline's website or app, usually starting 24 hours before departure. Once you complete check-in, you will see an option to "Add to Apple Wallet" on iPhone or "Add to Google Wallet" on Android. Tap that button and the boarding pass is saved to your Wallet app automatically.

When you reach the TSA checkpoint, open your Wallet app (it is the app with a small wallet icon on iPhone, or find "Google Wallet" on Android). Your boarding pass should appear right at the top. Tap it to display the barcode and hold it up to the scanner. The same process applies at the boarding gate.

A few things to keep in mind: your phone screen needs to be bright enough for the scanner to read the barcode, so turn your brightness up before you get in line. If you have an iPhone, the boarding pass also works with Face ID or Touch ID, so it unlocks quickly even with your phone locked.

One practical backup strategy: take a screenshot of your boarding pass and save it to your Photos app. If your phone battery dies or you lose cellular service at the airport, you can ask someone to charge your phone briefly or use an airport charging station — but having the screenshot means you are never completely stuck.

Digital boarding passes are accepted at all major US airports. They are scanned the same way as paper tickets, so there is no need to worry about whether the technology will work. If you run into any issues, airline staff at the gate can always pull up your reservation with your name and ID.