Kardin
Check in first. Then tap Add to Apple Wallet in your airline's app, check-in email or web page, and tap Add. If all you have is a PDF or a screenshot, you can make a pass yourself with Wallet's Create a Pass on iOS 27 or an app like Kardin. A pass you make yourself won't update when the gate changes.
This guide covers the official ways to add a boarding pass to Apple Wallet: your airline's app and the check-in email or web page. It then covers what you can do when your boarding pass only came as a PDF or a screenshot. It's for anyone flying with an iPhone who'd rather double-click and show a barcode than dig through email at the gate. It also explains what a Wallet pass can't do for you. It doesn't replace your ID, and some passes won't tell you about a gate change.
Before you start: check in first
An airline usually only issues a boarding pass after you've checked in. Booking confirmations and e-ticket receipts aren't boarding passes. They don't carry the barcode the gate scanner reads. So step one is always the same: check in through the airline's app or website once check-in opens.
Two more things help:
- Update your iPhone and the airline's app. An old app version is a common reason the Wallet button is missing.
- Turn on quick access. On iPhones with Face ID, go to Settings → Wallet & Apple Pay and turn on Double-Click Side Button. Wallet then opens from the Lock Screen with a double-click.
Add a boarding pass to Apple Wallet from the airline's app
When your airline supports Wallet, this is the best option. The pass comes straight from the airline, uses its own boarding pass layout, and some airlines update their own passes with changes.
- Open the airline's app and finish check-in for your flight.
- Open the boarding pass screen. It's often under your trip or booking.
- Tap Add to Apple Wallet. Some apps show it as a black badge with the Wallet icon.
- Wallet shows a preview of the pass. Tap Add if you're asked.
- Open Wallet and check the pass: your name, the flight number, the date and the seat.
If you're travelling with others, the app may offer to add every boarding pass on the booking. If it doesn't, repeat the steps for each passenger.
From the check-in email or web page
If you checked in on the airline's website, or don't use its app, the boarding pass often arrives by email or appears on the confirmation page. Apple's advice is to look for "Add to Apple Wallet" in an app, email, message or web page.
- Open the boarding pass email, or the airline's confirmation page in Safari.
- Tap Add to Apple Wallet, or tap the boarding pass attachment if it's a Wallet pass file.
- Wallet's preview screen opens. Tap Add.
Behind that button is a small signed file called a .pkpass. If you're curious how it works, see what a pkpass file is. If the button just downloads a file and nothing happens, try opening the link in Safari rather than inside another app's built-in browser.
When your boarding pass is only a PDF or a screenshot
Some airlines, travel agents and booking sites only send a PDF boarding pass. Others only show a barcode on a web page you end up screenshotting. Wallet can't add these with one tap, because there's no signed pass behind them.
Before you build a pass yourself, check these honestly:
- Ask whether there's an official pass. Look again in the airline's app, or check in there instead of through the agent. Apple's own advice when there's no button is to contact the company that issued the pass.
- Check the airline's rules. Some airlines or airports need a printed boarding pass, their own app, or a document check at the desk for certain routes. A pass you make yourself carries the same barcode as your PDF. It doesn't add any approval the airline hasn't given you.
- Keep the original. Whatever you do, keep the PDF in Files or Books, and maybe a printed copy, as a backup.
If a Wallet pass still makes sense, you have two main ways to make one. For PDFs in general, not just flights, there's a longer guide on adding a PDF ticket to Apple Wallet.
Option 1: Wallet's Create a Pass (iOS 27)
In iOS 27, Apple added a way to create passes in Wallet itself. Apple presents it mainly for membership and loyalty cards, but you can try it with a boarding pass barcode.
From a photo or screenshot:
- Take a screenshot of the boarding pass barcode, or open a photo of it in Photos.
- Tap the Info button, or swipe up on the photo.
- If Wallet detects the code, an Add Pass to Wallet button appears. Tap it and follow the steps.
This photo method needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence, the latest iOS, and Visual Intelligence turned on. Apple Intelligence isn't available in every language or region. Apple doesn't say which barcode formats the photo method can detect. Boarding passes usually use PDF417, Aztec or QR codes.
By hand: in Wallet, tap Add Card → Create a Pass → Create Pass Manually. Apple offers standard, membership and event templates. It doesn't name a boarding pass template, so the result won't look like an airline's boarding pass.
Option 2: Make a boarding pass with Kardin
Kardin is an iPhone app (iOS 16.4 or later) that turns a PDF, a photo or a scanned barcode into an Apple Wallet pass. It reads the file on your iPhone. It can help when your boarding pass is only a PDF, when you'd like the details filled in for you, or when your iPhone doesn't have Apple Intelligence.
- Get the boarding pass into Kardin. In Mail, tap the PDF attachment, tap Share and choose Kardin. You can also import the PDF from Files, choose a screenshot from your photo library, or point the camera at a barcode on another screen.
- Let it read the page. Kardin reads the first page of the PDF: its text and the barcode. The barcode is decoded with the iPhone's built-in barcode reading, not guessed. PDF417, Aztec and QR codes keep their original format.
- Check the kind of pass. Kardin picks the kind of pass from the text with fixed rules. For a flight it should choose a boarding pass with a plane icon. You can change it if it guesses wrong.
- Review every field. It fills in what it finds: from and to, flight number, passenger, date, departure time, gate and seat. Compare each one with the original. Reading the details is best-effort, and small or rotated text can be misread.
- Create and add it. Creating the pass needs an internet connection. Apple's own Add to Apple Wallet screen then opens, and you tap Add.
When Kardin can read the date and departure time, the pass carries them, so Wallet can suggest it on your Lock Screen around departure time.
On privacy: your PDF or screenshot is read on the iPhone and isn't uploaded. To create the pass, only its content is sent to Kardin's server so it can be signed: the field labels and values, the barcode, the colours and the date. Apple requires that signing step for every Wallet pass. The server sends the signed pass back and doesn't store it. Details are on the security page.
Limits worth knowing: Kardin reads only the first page of a PDF. If one PDF holds boarding passes for several people, you'll get one pass, from page one. The pass is static, so it won't show gate changes or delays. And it's iPhone only.
Comparing the ways to add a boarding pass
| Method | Needs | Boarding pass layout | Updates with changes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airline app button | The airline's app and Wallet support | Yes | Only if the airline updates it | Best choice when it's offered |
| Email or web page button | Wallet support from the airline | Yes | Only if the airline updates it | Open the link in Safari if it doesn't work |
| Wallet Create a Pass, photo (iOS 27) | iPhone 15 Pro or later, Apple Intelligence | Not named by Apple | No | Barcode formats it detects aren't stated |
| Wallet Create a Pass, by hand (iOS 27) | iOS 27 | No (standard, membership, event) | No | You enter the details yourself |
| Kardin | iPhone with iOS 16.4+, internet to create | Yes, with a plane icon | No | Reads the first PDF page; check the review screen |
| Keep the PDF or screenshot | Nothing | n/a | No | A good backup; whether it's accepted is up to the airline |
ID checks, gate changes and what a Wallet pass doesn't solve
A boarding pass in Wallet makes the barcode quicker to reach. It doesn't change the rules of the trip.
- ID and documents. Airlines and airports check your ID or passport at bag drop, security or the gate. That doesn't change because your boarding pass is in Wallet. Don't try to put a passport or ID into a pass made with any third-party app. Wallet passes can be viewed without Face ID and sync through iCloud.
- Gate changes, delays and cancellations. A pass you make yourself, with Wallet's Create a Pass or Kardin, never updates. Even an airline's own pass may not show every change. Turn on the airline app's notifications and check the departure screens at the airport.
- Seat or flight changes. If you change seat, flight or date, the airline may issue a new boarding pass with a new barcode. Add the new one and remove the old one.
- Rotating barcodes. If an airline shows a barcode that changes on screen in its own app, a screenshot or copy of it won't work. Use the airline's app.
If things go wrong at the gate, open the airline's app or your original PDF, or go to the desk. Staff can usually find you by your booking reference and ID.
Mistakes to avoid
- Adding the booking confirmation instead of the boarding pass. Only a boarding pass made after check-in has the barcode the gate needs.
- Not checking the details. Whatever method you use, confirm the name, flight, date and seat match the airline's version.
- Cropping the barcode. If you screenshot a boarding pass, keep the whole barcode in the shot with a margin around it. Don't zoom, edit or re-save it with filters.
- Copying or sharing someone else's boarding pass. Every passenger needs their own boarding pass. A duplicate barcode won't get anyone extra access, and it can cause problems at boarding.
- Deleting the original. Keep the PDF or email until you've landed, in case a scanner won't read the Wallet pass.
- Relying on a pass for live information. Your pass shows what was true when you added it, not what the departure board says now.
For a PDF ticket with no Wallet button in other situations, like concerts or trains, see what to do when your ticket is a PDF.
The short version
- Check in first. Only a real boarding pass has the barcode the gate scans.
- Use the airline's own Add to Apple Wallet button in its app, email or web page whenever it's there.
- With only a PDF or a screenshot, you can make a pass with Wallet's Create a Pass (iOS 27) or an app like Kardin. Check every detail and keep the original.
- A Wallet pass doesn't replace your ID, and some airlines need their own app or a printed pass.
- Passes you make yourself don't update. Watch the airline's app and the airport screens for gate changes.
Put your tickets and cards in Apple Wallet
Kardin turns PDFs, photos and scanned cards into real Wallet passes. Your files stay on your iPhone, and there's no account.
Frequently asked questions
Does an Apple Wallet boarding pass work without signal?
Yes. Once a pass is in Apple Wallet it's stored on your iPhone, so the barcode shows up without a connection. That's handy in airport basements or with roaming switched off. Updates from the airline, like a new gate, only arrive once you're back online, so don't treat the pass as live information.
Will my boarding pass show up on my Apple Watch?
Usually, yes. Apple says that when you add a ticket or pass to Wallet on your iPhone, it's also added to Wallet on your paired Apple Watch. At the gate you can show the barcode from your wrist. Check that the scanner reads it before you rely on the watch alone.
Why is there no Add to Apple Wallet button for my flight?
The most common reason is that check-in isn't finished yet, or the check-in window hasn't opened. Some airlines may also need to check your travel documents at a desk before they give you a mobile boarding pass, and some don't offer Wallet passes at all. Apple's advice is to contact the company that issued the pass.
How do I add boarding passes for everyone on my booking?
Each passenger normally has their own boarding pass and barcode, so add them one by one. Some airline apps and emails let you add every boarding pass on the booking in one go. If you're making passes from PDFs, use each passenger's own document, and keep each pass with the person who's travelling.
How do I delete an old boarding pass from Apple Wallet?
Open Wallet, tap the boarding pass, tap the More button (three dots), then tap Remove Pass. Delete old passes once your trip is over, and always if you changed seat or flight. That way you won't open an out-of-date barcode at the gate by mistake.
Written with AI assistance and checked against Kardin’s privacy and security documentation. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Tell us at support@kardin.app.