Flightradar24
Please read this page before asking us question about how Flightradar24 works and about Flightradar24 coverage!
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- How Flightradar24 works
- All about coverage
- Flightradar24 on mobile devices
- Questions & answers
How Flightradar24 works
Introduction to Flightradar24
Flightradar24 shows live airplane traffic from different parts around the world. The technique to receive flight information from aircraft is called ADS-B. That means the Flightradar24 can only show information about aircraft equipped with an ADS-B transponder. Today about 60% (about 30% in USA and about 70% in Europe) of the passenger aircraft and only a small amount of military and private aircraft have an ADS-B transponder.
Which aircraft are visible on Flightradar24?
Common aircraft models that are visible on Flightradar24 (have an ADS-B transponder):
- All Airbus models (A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340, A380)
- BAe ATP
- BAe Avro RJ70
- BAe Avro RJ85
- BAe Avro RJ100
- Boeing 737
- Boeing 747
- Boeing 757
- Boeing 767
- Boeing 777
- Boeing 787
- Most new deliveries of Embraer E190
- Fokker 70
- Fokker 100
- Gulfstream V
- Gulfstream G500/G550
- McDonnell Douglas MD-10
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11
- Sukhoi SuperJet 100
- Some newer Ilyushin and Tupolev for example Il-96 and TU-204
Common aircraft models that are NOT visible on Flightradar24 (no ADS-B transponder):
- ATR-42
- ATR-72
- Boeing 707
- Boeing 717
- Boeing 727
- Boeing 737-200
- Boeing 747-100
- Boeing 747-200
- Boeing 747SP
- All CASA models
- All Bombardier Dash models
- All Bombardier CRJ models
- Dornier 328
- All Embraer models (except most new deliveries of Embraer E190)
- Jetstream 32
- Fokker 50
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9
- McDonnell Douglas MD-8x
- McDonnell Douglas MD-9x
- Saab 340
- Saab 2000
- "Air Force One"
- Most older aircraft
- Most military aircraft
Of course there are lots of exceptions.
For example one Lufthansa CRJ900, one LOT ATR-72, one Wideroe Dash, some MD8X from Onur Air, some Saab 340 in Australia and several private Cessnas are visible.
There are also some older A300, A310, A320, B737, B747, B757, B767 aircraft without the ADS-B transponder, and that makes thoose aircraft invisible on Flightradar24.
All about coverage
Coverage on Flightradar24
Flightradar24 has a network of about 500 ADS-B receivers around the world that receives plane and flight information from aircraft with ADS-B transponders and sends this information to a server, and then displays this information on a map on Flightradar24. Only aircraft with an ADS-B transponder, within the coverage area of the 500 receivers are visible.
Flightradar24 covers about 90% of Europe. There is also some coverage in USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Middle East, Japan and other parts around the world.
Why don't you have coverage in my area?
Flightradar24 only have coverage in areas where someone has installed an ADS-B receiver and feeds his/her data into Flightradar24. If there are no connected ABS-B receivers in an area, then there is no coverage in that area.
How can I increase coverage in my area?
Coverage on Flightradar24.com is dependent of flight data from private ADS-B receivers around the world. If you want to improve coverage in your area, you have to buy an ADS-B receiver. If you already have an ADS-B receiver you can share your flight data with Flightradar24.com
Can you cover my area please?
Please read answer abowe.
What is the coverage area of an ADS-B receiver?
The coverage depends on many different factors. The antenna needs to be placed as high as possibly with free visibilty in all directions. Normally the coverage is about 150-250 km in all directions, but it's possible to have up to about 400 km of coverage with a good installation.
Last week Flightradar24.com had coverage in my area, but not any more. Why?
Flightradar24.com is a network of receivers around the world. Some receivers are online 24/7 and others are only online from time to time. There are many reasons why a receiver is offline. There can be a technical problems with the receiver, with the antenna, with the computer or with the Internet connection. There is also a possibility that the owner of the receiver has closed down his receiver. With over 500 receivers connected to the network, Flightradar24 cannot tell why different receivers are offline, and when they will be back online. If you want to be sure to have coverage in your area, buy a receiver and connect it to Flightradar24 :)
Where can I buy an ADS-B recevier and how do I share it with Flightradar24.com?
Please read this page to get more information ADS-B receivers, and how to share your data with Flightradar24.
Flightradar24 on mobile devices
Flightradar24.com has released apps for iOS (iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch) and for Andorid. The apps are available from App Store (iOS) and from Android Market.
There are 2 versions of the app available.
- 'Flightradar24 Free' is free to download and use, but it only shows limited information about the flight.
- 'Flightradar24 Pro' can be purchased for about 5 USD or 3 EUR and shows all airplane and flight info that can be found on Flightradar24.com. 'Flightradar24 Pro' has some bonus features that cannot be found in Free version. The cost of the app is supposed to cover the cost of development of the apps.
Search for 'Flightradar24' in App Store or Android Market to find and download the apps.
We will not release apps for any other platforms like Symbian, Blackberry or Windows Mobile. It takes too much time and cost too much money to develop for more platforms. We recommend you to buy an iPhone or Android phone :)
Question & answers
Why does the trail of the plane have different colors?
When you click on a plane, the path that this particular plane has taken is printed on the map. The color of the trail behind the plane differs depending on the altitude the aircraft had at that position.
The numbers are in meters. If the plane is below 100 meters in altitude, the trail will be white.
I was following an airplane when it seemed to have disappeared, why?
In most cases the reason is that the coverage from the surrounding receivers has been lost. It can also be a technical problem somewhere.
Last week Flightradar24.com had coverage in my area, but not any more. Why?
Flightradar24.com is a network of receivers around the world. Some receivers are online 24/7 and others are only online from time to time. There are many reasons why a receiver is offline. There can be a technical problems with the receiver, with the antenna, with the computer or with the Internet connection. There is also a possibility that the owner of the receiver has closed down his receiver. With over 500 receivers connected to the network, Flightradar24 cannot tell why different receivers are offline, and when they will be back online. If you want to be sure to have coverage in your area, buy a receiver and connect it to Flightradar24 :)
What are the blue X on map?
Major airports in areas where Flightradar24.com normally have coverage. The airport marks can be removed in "settings". We only plot airports with regular ADS-B traffic.
I work at an airline, and our aircraft are equipped with ModeS-transponder but not visible on your map, why?
Our receivers can receive signals from ModeS-transponders, but there is no position information from ModeS, so we cannot plot this aircraft on the map. Your have to upgrade the transponder in the airplane to ADS-B / VDL 4 to be visible on Flightradar24.com.
When will all aircraft be equipped with ADS-B transponder?
Actually we don't know, this make take several years.
Why don't you show routes for all flights?
The route is not transmitted from the airplane. The route is taken from our database based on the callsign (flight number). Today we have added about 35.000 routes into our database and we are adding new routes daily.
Why is there a plane from Spain to Italy flying over Norway?
The route is not transmitted from the airplane. The route is taken from our database based on the callsign (flight number). Sometimes the pilot types wrong callsign into the transponder, or there is an error in our database. If you think there is an error in the database you can send correct information to info@flight24.com
I found an airplane without picture. How can I add a picture?
Flightradar24.com shows aircraft pictures from Planespotters.net. If you have a picture that you want to add, please become a member on Planespotters.net and upload the picture there.
What is the coverage area of an ADS-B receiver?
The coverage depends on many different factors. The antenna needs to be placed as high as possibly with free visibilty in all directions. Normally the coverage is about 150-250 km in all directions, but it's possible to have up to about 400 km of coverage with a good installation.
What web browser should I use to watch Flightradar24.com?
Flightradar24 depends heavily on the use of Javascript. For that reason we strongly recommend to use Google Chrome as it's the fastest web browser on the market. But all newer versions of modern browsers should work. There is no support for Internet Explorer 6.
Donations?
No donations or support in that form is currently accepted. But if you like the site, and are planning to go on an holiday. Or just take a flight somewhere. Please feel free to try out our other project over at flight24.com to search and compare flight prices. Incomes derived via that project indirectly benefits flightradar24.com.
Is this legal?
Yes, the technology used to receive airplane positions is called ADS-B, where B stands for Broadcast. The signals do not have a specific recipient and can therefore be monitored and used by anyone.
Is it possible to see history of flights on Flightradar24.com ?
Yes, press the LIVE button in upper right corner to view play back from last 15 days. You can also find info about flights from the last 15 days at data.flight24.com
Can I link to Flightradar24.com from my homepage?
Yes!
Can I show the radar map on my own homepage?
Yes! Use the HTML code below to show an iframe with Flightradar24.com map on you web page. You can adjust lat, lng, zoom, width, height to your needs.
<iframe src="http://www.flightradar24.com/simple_index.php?lat=49.8&lon=12.3&z=8" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe>
When you use the iframe code and show Flightradar24.com map on your web page, you have to write that map comes from Flightradar24.com and link to Flightradar24.com from your map page.
Do you have an API available for public use?
No there is no API available at the moment.
Where can I find more information about radar spotting?
Download this PDF guide provided by RadarSpotters.eu
Past, present and future
Flightradar24.com was launched as a hobby project in Sweden in 2007. In the beginning we started to build our own network of receivers in Northern and Central Europe. In 2009 we opened this network, and made it possible for anyone with a ADS-B receiver to connect to the network. This made it possible to expand in the rest of Europe, on Greenland, in Austraila, in Canada and in Brazil. In 2011 we hope to cover most parts of Europe and other places around the world. Hopefully with your support. We greatly appreciate any contributions of "flight data", in any country, on any continent.
Big thanks to...
... all the 500 feeders to Flightradar24.com
... the 20 people updating the airplane och route databases every day
... Piopawlu for his support with the software and database
... all the visitors that makes Flightradar24 on of the most popular aviation web pages on Internet
Links to our feeders
Flightradar24.com in media
Screenshots taken from Flightradar24 may be used for free by media, if information is shown that map is "Courtesy of Flightradar24.com". Web pages publicating screenshots must link to Flightradar24.com.
Contact Flightradar24.com
Please read this page before sending us questions about Flightradar24.
We receive up to 100 e-mails per day, and we cannot answer on questions that are already answered on this page. You can also ask questions and read more about Flightradar24 on our forum or on our chat or on Twitter or on Facebook.
If you cannot find the answer on our forum, chat, twitter or Facebook you can send an e-mail to info@flight24.com.
About Cookies
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