The numbers are in! During 2015 we activated 2,031 new Flightradar24 ADS-B receivers. With those new receivers our 2015 end-of-year total number of receivers is just a few receivers shy of 9,000. We finished the year by activating 150 new receivers in the month of December, capping off a year of expanded coverage all over the world.
The 2015 New Receivers Map
New Coverage Highlights
The more than 2000 receivers we activated in 2015 helped us track more flights than ever before. Our South American coverage got a big boost this year with new receivers in every country on the continent. We activated over 100 new receivers in Brazil and dozens more in Argentina and Venezuela. A few receivers in Fernando de Noronha are helping shrink the coverage gap between South America and Africa in the southern Atlantic Ocean. We also activated a new receiver in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.
In North America, we focused on expanding our coverage area and increasing our MLAT coverage. We activated over 300 new receivers in the United States and over 100 in Canada in 2015, providing us with additional coverage in the northwest and southeast United States, as well as Alaska. MLAT coverage in the United States expanded greatly in 2015, especially in major cities. We’ve also worked to lower the altitude at which we can track aircraft using MLAT. In cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Miami, and New York we are often tracking flights below 1000 feet with MLAT.
In Canada we went north, far north, and activated new receivers in places like Iqaluit and Resolute. We also improved our coverage in Canada’s middle latitudes. Multiple receivers in eastern Canada are now contributing MLAT coverage and tracking additional trans-Atlantic flights.
New receivers in Greenland and Iceland are helping us capture even more trans-Atlantic traffic, especially flights taking the more northern routing across the ocean.
Europe saw the continued addition of MLAT coverage and we tried to lower our MLAT coverage altitude there as well. In Russia, we activated over 150 new receivers, mostly in the south and west of the country, but we managed a few new receivers in the far north and east, giving us better coverage of polar and trans-Pacific flights.
In terms of number of additional flights tracked per receiver added, Asian coverage stood out in 2015. We added over 150 receivers in China and greatly increased our MLAT coverage in major cities there. We have also approached 100% MLAT coverage in Japan with 50 additional receivers activated. In India, we activated about 75 receivers and added MLAT coverage in New Delhi. Our coverage in Indonesia also expanded throughout the year, especially on Java.
In Australia and New Zealand we focused on expanding our coverage, especially outside of major cities. New receivers in Australia’s Northern Territory are helping capture more Australia–Asia traffic. We also added about a dozen receivers in the south Pacific Ocean, increasing our coverage of flights operating between North and South America and Australia and New Zealand.
In May, we activated our 100th receiver in Africa and we continue to activate a few new receivers each month. Reliable Internet and power connections continue to be a hindrance to expanded coverage in Africa. We added a number of receivers in South Africa enabling consistent MLAT in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Multiple receivers in west Africa have also increased our depth of coverage there.
And finally, for the first time, we also added a receiver in Antarctica! This new receiver will be situated at a research station there and provide coverage for research and supply flights.
Apply to Host a Receiver
We are always looking for receiver hosts. Especially if you or someone you know lives in a remote location, please apply to host a receiver. All of our receiver hosts get a free Flightradar24 Premium account. If you’re interested, please apply today. If you’d you like more information about our application process, you can read more about it in our blog post.
If you prefer to use your own hardware and have a Raspberry Pi you can now help us increase MLAT coverage as well. Please see our Raspberry Pi feeder page for more information and to begin feeding data today.
