Airplane Tattoos

A small airplane drawn in fine line, a dotted trail behind it, and sometimes that trail loops into a heart. That's the core of these airplane tattoos: minimal, blue-black, and sized for a wrist or an ankle rather than a whole sleeve.

Planes, trails and globes

• Plane and heart. An outlined airliner whose path curls into a heart, or leaves a few tiny hearts along the way. If the heart is what you're after, there's more in heart tattoos.
• Paper planes. A paper plane tattoo with a dashed route behind it, folded edges and all: the lighter, more playful take on the idea.
• Around the globe. A single plane looping around a line-drawn globe.
• Map and plane. A world map drawn in a single line, with a plane heading off from it.
• Doodle sheets. A tiny plane mixed in with other mini motifs, to place one by one.

Everything stays small and fine-lined. Collarbone, inner wrist, behind the ear, the side of a finger: a tiny plane tattoo goes almost anywhere. Just know that a finger design won't last as long as one on the collarbone, since hands get the most washing.

Try the idea before you commit

Plenty of people save a plane design for years and never book it. Wearing one first settles the real questions. Curled trail or straight? Wrist or ankle? Pointing up the arm, or across it? A week or two on your skin tells you more than any mood board.

A temporary airplane tattoo takes two minutes to apply. It goes on pale and darkens to blue-black over the next 24 to 36 hours, and the result looks like real ink. Keep it dry and friction-free for 8 hours. After that it's waterproof, and it lasts up to two weeks. No needles, no PPD, vegan formula.

Getting ready for a trip? Globes, maps and the other symbols of the road are waiting in travel tattoos. And if clean, sparse lines are your thing in general, browse minimalist tattoos.

Your route, your plane

Want a plane with no trail at all, or one that carries an airport code or the date you took off? That's a job for a custom design. You order at least 3 copies, the artwork is approved before it goes to print, and the batch is made in 3 to 4 weeks.

Plane tattoo meanings

What does an airplane tattoo symbolize?

It depends on the person wearing it. Travel and freedom come up a lot, and so do a loved one who lives far away or a fresh start somewhere new.

What does a paper plane tattoo mean?

Most people connect it with lightness and childhood: something folded in a minute and sent off without worrying where it lands. For some it's a reminder to let things go.