Short answer
Make wudu before you board and try to keep it. If it breaks, use the plane's toilet sink with a little water, wiping over khuffs if you wear them. Tayammum is not valid on a plane in the Hanafi school while water is available, and seats, walls and trays are not earth.
Wudu is required on a plane as anywhere else, and water in the lavatory counts as available water. Tayammum is valid only on earth or things of its kind, so plastic and metal surfaces do not work unless dust is on them. Wiping over khuffs is a great help on long flights.
Other madhhabs
- Hanbali
- Wiping over ordinary socks is allowed, which makes wudu on a plane easier.
Explanation
Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity, and a plane's small sink is enough for a full wudu (ablution) if you use water carefully, as the Prophet ﷺ did with about two handfuls. Planning ahead makes it much easier.
Before the flight:
- Make wudu at the airport, as close to boarding as you can.
- Wear khuffs or leather socks put on over that wudu, so you can wipe over them later instead of washing your feet. See khuffs.
- Use the toilet before boarding.
On board, in the lavatory:
- Wash your hands, rinse your mouth and nose with small handfuls.
- Wash your face, then each arm to the elbow, letting water run over the skin. Keep a paper towel at hand to catch drips.
- Wipe your head and ears with wet hands.
- Wipe over your khuffs, or wash each foot in the basin or with a small water bottle, one at a time.
- Dry the sink and floor for the next passenger.
Tayammum: as long as there is water on board that you can use, tayammum is not allowed for a Hanafi. Even if it were, it needs earth or stone, and a seat, tray table or cabin wall is not that. If you truly could not reach water or a valid surface, the Hanafi fatwa is to go through the motions of the prayer in its time out of respect, and repeat it once you can purify.
For how to pray in the seat and find the qiblah, see how to pray on a plane. Travellers can also shorten their prayers and wipe over khuffs for three days.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:286
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
You do what you can with the water and space available.
Sahih al-Bukhari 206
Sahih... دعهما فاني ادخلتهما طاهرتين ...
"Leave them, for I put them on when my feet were clean."
Wiping over khuffs put on with wudu, the easiest way to make wudu while travelling.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on tayammum. Tayammum is valid on earth and things of its kind, and only when water cannot be used.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on tayammum. One who has neither water nor earth imitates the prayer and repeats it later.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.