The boarding pass feature within Apple Wallet has received a significant upgrade with the launch of iOS 26, and United Airlines has become the first carrier to support the enhanced functionality. Users who have updated their iPhones to iOS 26 can now add their United Airlines flight boarding pass to the Apple Wallet application. Additionally, Apple Wallet has incorporated a Live Activity feature that tracks the flight in real time, displaying the information as a banner or widget on the user’s screen.
Comprehensive Flight Details and AirTags Integration
The latest features in Apple Wallet on iOS 26 offer a completely revamped way to interact with a digital boarding pass. According to a new report from 9to5Mac, the public launch of iOS 26 now sees United Airlines officially supporting these upgrades. Beyond merely adding a digital copy of the boarding pass, the new functionality allows users to view enriched information, including the boarding gate, the check-in bag carousel number for luggage retrieval, and other essential details like boarding time, terminal location, and boarding group. Crucially, the iOS 26 boarding pass also includes a provision for AirTags, allowing travelers to add their luggage tracker directly under the feature to monitor its location. Furthermore, users will benefit from an easier way to report lost or left-behind luggage based on the AirTags tracking capabilities accessible through the Wallet app.
Live Activity Tracking Requires Manual Activation
United Airlines is the first company to adopt these latest Apple Wallet features on iOS 26, which were originally showcased during Apple’s WWDC 2025 event. Travelers flying with United can now take full advantage of the updated Apple Wallet features. This integration is part of a broader trend of enhanced utility for Apple Wallet, which previously added a feature allowing users to store digital IDs honored at certain TSA checkpoints for identification. While the Live Activities feature, which provides live flight tracking, is the largest upgrade, the 9to5Mac report noted that it does not activate automatically upon adding the boarding pass. Users must navigate to the Wallet app and manually tap a specific button to add the Live Activity flight tracker to their lock screen.
What The Author Thinks
The deep integration of AirTags tracking and real-time Live Activities into the digital boarding pass is a genius move that transforms Apple Wallet from a simple ticket repository into a genuine travel assistant. By consolidating critical information like gate changes and baggage claim alongside real-time tracking, Apple is setting a new standard for air travel convenience. This feature creates a powerful incentive for air carriers to adopt the new iOS standards, as failure to do so will result in a clear disadvantage in user experience, fundamentally pressuring airlines to prioritize platform integration for passenger satisfaction.
Featured image credit: Tim Gouw via Unsplash
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