Essential Things to Do on a Plane Without WiFi: Top Airplane Mode Apps

In this post, we'll share the best things to do on an airplane and essential apps to download before a flight that will keep you entertained when WiFi or mobile data aren't available. These offline entertainment options work perfectly in airplane mode during long flights.

Track States and Countries You've Visited

If you travel frequently, it's always satisfying to visualize how many countries or states you've explored. Making a handwritten list is tedious and doesn't provide a visual representation of your travels.

Fortunately, there are specialized travel apps that work in airplane mode to help you track visited countries and states. Among the best apps for plane rides that offer this functionality are Countries Been, Visited Cities, and FindPenguins. These apps are available for both iOS and Android and don't require WiFi connectivity.

These offline apps function simply: check the boxes for countries you've visited, click Finish, and view your travel statistics displayed as an interactive map.

Download best travel tracking apps

This activity helps pass flight time while letting you reminisce about pleasant travel memories and plan future adventures. It's one of the fun things to do on a plane that combines nostalgia with future travel planning.

Watch Movies Offline

While airlines typically offer digital entertainment systems with various movies and music, the content selection and quality can be limited.

A smarter solution is to download your preferred films to your mobile device – iPad or iPhone – before boarding. This way, you control exactly what entertainment you'll enjoy during your flight rather than settling for whatever the airline offers. If you're wondering what to download for a flight, check out our comprehensive guide:

Best ways to download and watch movies on a plane

If you subscribe to streaming services like Netflix, you can download movies for offline viewing via the official app before your flight. This is one of the most popular things to do on a flight when you need extended entertainment.

Also, iPad users can download movies and shows using one of the methods listed above, making it a perfect companion for long flights.

Plan and Schedule Tasks

An airplane provides an excellent environment for planning tasks and organizing your schedule. The challenge is that aircraft can make concentration difficult due to noise, children, or disruptive neighbors.

Fortunately, there are many focus-oriented apps that work in airplane mode. These applications allow you to create 30-minute concentration sessions, helping you maximize productivity even at 30,000 feet. Using your flight time for planning is one of the practical things to do on the plane when you want to be productive.

Listen to Music Offline

If you don't have music stored locally on your device, you can pre-download offline playlists to enjoy during your flight. The Spotify app makes this process straightforward:

1. Run Spotify App
2. Select Your Library by tapping the corresponding icon in the bottom right corner
3. Tap the Settings icon
4. Activate Offline Mode using the slider

This method lets you enjoy your favorite music without searching for WiFi networks or purchasing expensive in-flight internet packages that wouldn't be cost-effective for music streaming anyway. Music is one of the most relaxing things to do on an airplane, helping time pass more quickly.

Take Digital Notes

Your smartphone makes an excellent notebook for capturing thoughts and ideas. Creating simple text notes is one of the productive things to do on a flight that requires no special preparation.

Consider using Markdown format, which enhances plain text while remaining simpler than HTML. Markdown files (.md) are easily exportable to rich text for future use. These note-taking apps work offline and support cloud synchronization – once you land and reconnect to the internet, all your files will upload to the cloud, accessible across multiple devices.

We recently published a review of the best markdown editors for iOS and Android that we recommend checking out if you're looking for offline-friendly note-taking apps!

Organize Your Photo Gallery

Flight time provides a perfect opportunity to clean up your device storage without needing internet access. Using your phone's file manager, you can delete unnecessary photos or duplicates, though the standard Gallery app might make this process cumbersome even in offline mode.

Consider alternative photo management apps that specialize in organizing media files. Most of these applications work perfectly in airplane mode, making them ideal for long flights.

Deleting and sorting photos can be time-consuming – exactly the kind of task that's perfect when you're wondering what to do on a plane without WiFi. This productive activity helps declutter your device while making valuable use of your in-flight time.

Conclusion

These suggestions represent just a fraction of the activities and apps that work on airplane mode. You can use almost any offline-capable mobile application to read e-books, listen to downloaded podcasts, play games, or practice meditation during your flight. The possibilities for entertainment without WiFi are virtually endless.

Alternatively, your flight presents an opportunity to disconnect entirely – perhaps the best thing to do on an airplane is to put your phone away, enjoy the view from above, and take a well-deserved break from digital connectivity. Whatever you choose, we wish you a pleasant and entertaining journey!