Former airline worker reveals her ‘number one flight hack’ for ensuring stress-free travel for you AND your loved ones
- Darby Malone worked in the airline industry as a baggage handler for three years
- In a TikTok she shows a simple hack to get live and reliable flight updates
- The clip quickly went viral and was viewed more than 14.5 million times
Want a more seamless flying experience on your next vacation?
Well, a former airline worker has shared her top flight hack, in a bid to reduce passengers’ stress levels.
Darby Malone, who worked in the airline industry as a baggage handler for three years, shows this in a now viral TikTok Once you have your flight code, you can easily text it to yourself (or share it with others) for live updates.
In the video – which has been viewed more than 14.5 million times – she shows how to enter the airline code in addition to the flight number. For example, if you are flying American Airlines Flight 686, you would type “AA686.”
Darby Malone, who spent three years in the airline industry as a baggage handler, shows in a now-viral TikTok how, once you have your flight code, you can easily text it to yourself – or share it with others – for live updates
In the video – which has been viewed more than 14.5 million times – she shows how to enter the airline code in addition to the flight number
Darby explains that once you type the code and send it to yourself, “it becomes a link that tells you everything you need to know about your flight, and it updates in real time.”
The link not only shows whether the flight departs on time, but also the gate number at the nearest airport and the baggage claim number.
Not only is this information useful for your own peace of mind, she says, but the same code can also be sent to family, friends or taxi drivers so they can plan for any delays or early arrivals.
“The person who picks you up can literally see your plane flying across the screen,” Darby explains to viewers.
She continues, “You know, when you take off, you have to land at 8:30.
“And then, halfway through the flight, it’s like there’s a strong tailwind or something, and you finally land at 8:06 am.
“It will be updated via that link and whoever picks you up can see exactly when the flight status changes.”
Thanks to her clever hack, Darby never has to look at screens at the airport again and only keeps an eye on her phone.
Darby explains that once you type the code and send it to yourself, “it becomes a link that tells you everything you need to know about your flight, and it updates in real time.”
If you have a connecting flight, she adds, you can text yourself both flight numbers and “as soon as you land, just click the link and you’ll know exactly what your (next) gate is.”
Many of Darby’s followers have thanked her for sharing her hack.
One commenter wrote: ‘I NEVER knew this! This makes my Type A airport self so happy.”
Another stunned viewer revealed: ‘I’ve been a flight attendant for 13 years and I didn’t know this.’
Other viewers were baffled by the fact that it is possible to text yourself.
One surprised viewer said: ‘I’m old. I didn’t know I could text myself. LMAO.”
While another joked: ‘Why am I barely processing the fact that you can text yourself?’
Besides texting flight codes, Darby says her other favorite travel hack is investing in TSA PreCheck, which allows for expedited screening at participating security checkpoints.