Airline passengers rely on mobile technology to make travel less stressful, a recent SITA survey of dozens of airlines concluded. For instance, today nine percent of air travelers use smartphones or tablets to check in before boarding their flight, a number expected to rise to 24 percent by 2018.

Airlines are also experimenting with smartphone beacons to help customers navigate through airports, luggage drop-off machines, automatic baggage and flight updates, and in-flight connectivity to provide mobile Internet access and entertainment. Passengers are also bringing their own technology on-board to make their flights more entertaining.

Here are some of the latest travel technology gadgets and apps to help make flying the friendly skies more enjoyable:

Noise-Canceling Headphones

Listening to music is one of the best ways to relax at airports and during the flight, but ambient sounds such as airport loudspeakers, noisy planes, loud conversations and screaming babies can drown out regular headphones. To solve this type of problem, headphone manufacturers have invented noise-isolating and noise-canceling headphones and earphones.

Noise-isolating devices isolate your ears from ambient sounds by either cupping your ear to buffer out sound or fitting inside your ear to seal off sound. This allows you to listen to music with reduced noise, but it can diminish sound quality as well as comfort. The next step up is noise-canceling headphones. These eliminate external noises by detecting them through tiny microphones and send out counter-signals that nullify the sound waves.

Mobile Movie Viewing

In-flight movie viewing is another favorite way to relax. A few years ago, FAA regulations restricted use of mobile devices for movie viewing due to concerns over security and safety, but after an outcry, airlines now typically allow handheld devices the size of an iPad or smaller as long as they are held securely and not propped up in a way that risks them flying around and hitting someone.

Some airlines such as American Airlines are now building viewing screens into the backs of seats, so you can plug in your headphones for audio while you watch movies and TV shows from a virtual library. If you prefer to watch your own selection of shows, you can bring them on your mobile device.

E-Readers

Reading is another popular way to relax at airports and in-flight. Today a variety of e-readers are available from digital booksellers, such as Amazon’s Kindle Voyage and Barnes & Nobles’ Nook GlowLight. If you prefer browsing through magazines, the Inflight Reader provides iPad, Android and Kindle users with a virtual magazine library that can be accessed by downloading an app from the App Store, Google Play or Amazon. You can also get free public domain books to read on your mobile device by using sites such as Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive. If you prefer to listen to books, LibriVox provides a free archive of public domain audiobooks.

Travel Assistance Apps

In addition to these types of entertainment-oriented technology, many airlines, airports and software developers now offer apps to assist travelers with frequent travel tasks. These include everything from checking in and boarding to baggage handling and tracking to finding transportation after you arrive at your destination.

Many of these apps are airline- or airport-specific. For instance, American Airlines and Uber have partnered to provide an app that helps travelers find a ride at 11 airports around the country, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has introduced the first Apple Watch U.S. airport app, which provides flight information and notifications. Future Travel Experience’s website provides a searchable archive of many other travel assistance apps.

These are just a few of travel tech that can make your trip more entertaining and less stressful. There are many others, so do some research for your next trip to see if there’s a tool that will make your travels more enjoyable.