Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the yellow and the orange planes?
In addition to ADS-B data, we also display data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This data provides full coverage of the airspace above the United States and Canada. However, this data is slightly delayed (up to 5 minutes) due to FAA regulations. Because of this delay, the planes generated from FAA data are of a different color (orange) than the planes generated from real-time data (yellow).
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 above.
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.
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.
What are the blue points on map?
Major airports in areas where Flightradar24.com normally have ADS-B 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 120.000 routes into our database and we are adding new routes daily. If a route is incorrect or missing, you can submit route information by pressing the button "Report route error" in the aircraft info window.
Why is the route information not correct?
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 our database, you can report correct route data by pressing the button "Report route error" in the aircraft info window.
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 web browser should I use to watch Flightradar24.com?
Flightradar24 depends heavily on the use of Javascript/Ajax (Flash and Java is not used), and works best with fast web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Internet Explorer is not recommended when using Flightradar24. There is no support for Internet Explorer 6.
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 'Playback' in sidebar to view history from the last 30 days. You can also find info about flights from the last 30 days at www.flightradar24.com/data
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=49.9&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.
Why do I get an error message ("The Google Maps API key used on this website was registered for a different website...") when I try to open Cockpit View?
Cockpit View uses Google Earth and Google Earth has removed API keys in the latest version. Please delete your current Google Earth software and install the latest version from Google Earth.
Where can I find more information about radar spotting?
Download this PDF guide provided by RadarSpotting.com
Who produced the side views that show up for certain aircraft?
Nicholas Knapp at airlinersillustrated.com
I work for a media company, can I use a Flightradar24.com screenshot?
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.