Flightradar24’s new and powerful API continues to grow, and the Flight summary API endpoint is our latest addition. Flight summary is our most requested API feature and we’re excited to release this important tool for understanding what’s happening in the sky. This versatile tool offers a concise, structured view of an entire flight — a key feature for aviation analysts, operations professionals, and developers building aviation-focused applications.
Flight summary results come in two formats: Flight summary light and Flight summary full. Flight summary light includes key flight times and locations, like take off and landing as well as aircraft and operator information.
For a more detailed synopsis of a flight, the Flight summary full endpoint provides all the data included in the Light version, plus additional flight details like runway usage, flight distance and duration, and aircraft service category (e.g., passenger, cargo, etc).
How to use the Flight summary API endpoint
To get started with the Flightradar24 API you’ll need a dedicated API subscription. You can review our subscription options, including pricing, number of monthly credits, and all available endpoints on our API subscription page.
To retrieve data from the Flight summary endpoint, either Light or Full, you can query using a Flightradar24 unique flight ID (if known) or you can use a date range through flight_datetime_from and flight_datetime_to. Date range queries cannot be used with flight ID queries.
Additional filtering options are available when using a date range query, allowing you to select flights by flight number, registration, call sign, airline, airport (departure, arrival, or both), aircraft type, and more. You can see the full list of available options on our dedicated Flight summary page in the Flightradar24 API documentation.
What data is available?
Data is available in two variants, a Light variant and a Full variant.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
fr24_id | Unique identifier assigned by Flightradar24 to each flight leg. |
flight | Commercial flight number, interpreted from the callsign. |
callsign | Up to 8 characters as sent from the aircraft’s transponder. |
operated_as | ICAO code for the carrier operating the flight. |
painted_as | ICAO code for the carrier marketing the flight. |
type | ICAO aircraft type designator. |
reg | Aircraft registration number. |
origin_icao | ICAO code for the origin airport. |
datetime_takeoff | Datetime of takeoff in UTC (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS). |
destination_icao | ICAO code for the intended destination airport. |
destination_icao_actual | ICAO code for the actual destination airport (if diverted). |
datetime_landed | Datetime of landing in UTC (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS). |
hex | 24-bit Mode-S identifier in hexadecimal format. |
first_seen | Datetime when the aircraft was first detected for this flight leg (UTC). |
last_seen | Datetime when the aircraft was last detected for this flight leg (UTC). |
flight_ended | Boolean flag indicating if the flight is historical (true) or currently tracked (false). |
The full flight summary variant includes all of the data provided via the light summary, plus the following fields
orig_iata | IATA code for the origin airport. |
dest_iata | IATA code for the destination airport. |
dest_iata_actual | IATA code for the actual destination airport (if diverted). |
flight_time | Duration of the flight from takeoff to landing (in seconds). |
runway_takeoff | The runway identifier used for takeoff. |
runway_landed | The runway identifier used for landing. |
circle_distance | The great-circle distance between the first and last position (in km). |
actual_distance | Actual ground distance the aircraft traveled (in km). |
category | Type of flight/service (e.g., Passenger, Cargo). |
What does a response look like?
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-scaled.jpg)
How can I use the Flight summary API?
The flight summary endpoint is perfect for analytics, operational validation, dashboards, and more. Any application the requires a comprehensive overview of a flight’s particular information, but does not require the actual ADS-B positions, is suited for the Flight summary endpoint.
Technical documentation
To get you up and running quickly, we have a full page of straightforward technical documentation. See all of the endpoint options, syntax, and pricing in one helpful location.
