What is the ruling on praying the ‘Isha on a plane when you could have joined it with the Maghrib?

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is nothing wrong for a traveler to pray the ‘Isha on the plane after the beginning of the time of the ‘Isha prayer, and he is not obliged to combine it with the Maghrib prayer at the time of the Maghrib before he boards the plane. Rather, he is not allowed to combine it with the Maghrib prayer unless he has started the travel, meaning that the airport is outside the borders of the city, in which case, he combines the prayers in the time of the first prayer [i.e. the Maghrib].

The fatwa of the Standing Committee reads, “If the airport is outside the borders of the city, you are permitted to combine the two prayers and shorten them, because the concession of a traveler applies to you when you have already started the travel. However, if the airport is inside the city limits, then it is not permissible to take the concessions of travel until the plane takes off and leaves the city.”

If he prays the ‘Isha on the plane, then he prays it while facing the Qiblah (prayer direction), standing, and performing the Rukoo’ (bowing) and Sujood (prostration) if possible. If he does not find a place to pray in this manner and he knows that the plane will land before the time of the ‘Isha prayer ends, then he delays the prayer until the plane lands so that he can perform the prayer while fulfilling all its pillars; otherwise, he prays in the plane according to his ability.

Ibn ‘Uthaymeen while clarifying the method of praying in the plane, said:

“If the time of the prayer comes while you are in the plane, then do not pray it in the plane; rather, wait until the plane lands at the airport if there is enough time, unless there is a special place in the plane where you can pray a full prayer: you face the Qiblah, you make Rukoo’, you prostrate, you stand, and you sit down; in which case, you pray on the plane when the time of the prayer starts.

However, If there is no special place in the plane where you can pray a full prayer and you fear that the time of the prayer will end before the plane lands, then if it is a prayer that can be combined with the prayer that comes after it, like the Thuhr and the ‘Asr prayers, or the Maghrib and the ‘Isha prayers, and the plane may land before the time of the second prayer ends, then delay the first prayer and pray it along with the second prayer at the time of the second prayer so that you can pray after the plane lands. However, if the plane does not land until the expiry time of the second prayer, then pray both prayers in the plane according to your ability; you face the Qiblah, you stand, you perform the Rukoo’ if possible, otherwise you nod for the Rukoo’ while standing and prostrate if possible; otherwise, you nod for Sujood while sitting.”

Allah knows best.