A successful online booking starts the trip; check-in prepares you for a particular departure. Keep the booking details, required travel documents and the airline's deadlines together. Then verify that you have a usable boarding pass for each relevant flight and know where to go if an app or kiosk sends you to an agent.
On a narrow screen, scroll tables sideways. Keyboard users can focus a table and use the arrow keys.
Know which record you are looking at
| Record | Purpose | Practical check |
|---|---|---|
| Booking reference / record locator | Find the reservation in the relevant airline or seller system | Use the operating carrier reference if a partner or agency has a different one. |
| Ticket receipt or payment confirmation | Evidence of the purchase and its status | Check passenger names, itinerary and any pending payment or ticketing message. Ticketless carriers may use different records. |
| Boarding pass | The document issued for boarding a particular flight after the required check-in steps | Verify passenger, date, flight and airport; refresh after changes. |
| Baggage receipt | Identifies checked bags accepted by the carrier | Keep it until the bags have been collected and checked. |
American's trip lookup instructions distinguish its confirmation code from a ticket number. Formats vary across airlines. A booking reference is useful for retrieving a trip, but an email showing that reference is not automatically a boarding pass.
Complete the ground preparation
- Open the operating airline's official app or website and retrieve the trip. Confirm the departure airport, date and each passenger's name.
- Read the check-in window, bag-drop deadline and gate-closing time. Save all three; they describe different stages.
- Have the required identity and entry documents available. Use the destination's official guidance for passport, visa and entry conditions.
- Check in when the window opens. Complete required document questions carefully and verify the resulting status.
- Save boarding passes using the carrier-supported app, wallet or printed format. Open the saved pass without internet before leaving.
American's check-in page shows why deadlines need a carrier-specific check: its online and airport requirements differ by domestic or international itinerary and some airports have exceptions. By contrast, easyJet publishes a 30-day-to-two-hour online window. Use your own booking's requirements.
When digital check-in stops
The app cannot find the trip
Check the spelling, date and booking reference, then try the official website. For an agency or codeshare booking, ask the seller for the operating airline's reference. If the purchase is still pending, resolve it with the seller before buying a duplicate ticket.
The app says to see an agent
Read and save the exact message. Some travelers need an in-person document or service check before a boarding pass can be issued. Go to the carrier's designated check-in desk with the booking and documents, allowing time before its deadline.
A pass will not scan
Open the latest pass in the supported format, display the whole barcode clearly and ask staff for help if the reader still fails. easyJet specifically warns that a PDF displayed on a phone is not its accepted mobile-pass method; use its app or an appropriate printout. Avoid assuming screenshots or PDFs work on every airline.
The phone is flat or the app is offline
Use a previously prepared supported printout if you have one, or the airline's available kiosk or staffed desk. Know the reservation reference and carry your identity documents separately from the phone. Staff assistance and printing availability or charges vary by carrier and airport.
Use the kiosk and bag drop correctly
At a supported kiosk, follow its instructions to retrieve the booking, finish permitted check-in steps and print any bag tags. Confirm the destination printed on each tag before attaching it as directed. A printed tag alone does not establish that the airline has accepted the bag: finish the bag-drop process and retain the receipt.
American describes curbside check-in and its exceptions; other airports and airlines provide different combinations of desks, kiosks and self-service bag drop. Go to the service named by your carrier rather than any machine with a short queue.
After check-in, allow time for security, any required border process and the walk to the gate. A completed app check-in does not replace these steps. Check the airport departure boards as well as app notifications, and refresh your pass if the flight or seating details change.
Work backward from the gate
Keep working to the carrier's instructed deadlines during a delay unless it tells you they have changed. A later predicted departure can move again. See how to interpret traffic delays for the difference between an airport-wide restriction and your flight's status.