Performing Salaah On An Airplane

If one fears that the time of Salaah will expire, then he should perform his Salaah in the plane, even though it is in the air.

The Salaah offered on a plane will be correct, on condition that the requirements of Salaah are met. For example, it is a requirement that a person faces towards the Qiblah for the entire duration of his Salaah, even if it means that he has to move in his Salaah to maintain his direction. If he doesn’t do this and diverts away from the Qiblah at an angle of more than 45° for the duration it would take for three Tasbeehs (i.e. to say Subhaanallah thrice), then he will have to repeat that Salaah. He may also not sit and perform his Salaah without any valid excuse. If he has an excuse, like lack of sufficient space or dizziness, then he may sit and perform his Salaah but he will still be required to perform  complete Sajdah on the floor and not by signs.

If he is prevented from standing and offering his Salaah by the staff of the plane or due to insufficient space and is unable to  perform Sajda on the floor of the plane, then he may sit in his seat and perform it by signs but will have to repeat that Salaah when he has landed. Upon landing, the Salaah that was performed while in the plane can be repeated if the person so wishes, so as to correspond with the view of those scholars who deem Salaah on a plane as being incorrect.