Search a callsign, airport or airline in the box above the map to jump straight to it, or read on for what the numbers mean. Deciding between a browser and phone alerts? See our practical comparison of flight-tracking apps and websites.
TL;DR - The live map in 20 seconds
- Every icon is a real aircraft, positioned from its own broadcast seconds ago.
- Click a plane for altitude, speed, heading, squawk and, usually, its route.
- Search a callsign, airport or airline in the top-left box to jump straight there.
- Amber = flying, gray = on the ground. Toggle “Airborne only” to hide ground traffic.
- Minimize the map to read the guide below without losing the radar.
The sky right now, in numbers
These figures come from the same cached snapshot as the map. The age indicator shows exactly when that snapshot was fetched.
Airborne aircraft only, barometric altitude. Most airliners cruise between 30,000 and 40,000 ft - See how high do planes fly?
Country the aircraft is registered in, not where it is flying. Full breakdown on the statistics page.
How to use the live flight map
Every symbol on the map above is a real aircraft, drawn at the position it broadcast seconds ago. Click any plane to open its data panel: current altitude, ground speed, heading, vertical rate, squawk code and, where the callsign is in the route database, the origin and destination of the flight. The panel updates as long as you keep it open, so you can watch a departure climb through 10,000 feet or follow an arrival all the way down the approach.
The search box in the top-left corner works on three levels. Type a callsign such as BAW117 to jump straight to a specific flight, an airport name or code to fly the map there, or an airline to list every one of its aircraft currently airborne. If you'd rather browse with context, the Minimize map button shrinks the radar so you can read this page while keeping one eye on the sky.
Reading the symbols
- Amber aircraft are airborne. The icon points in the aircraft's direction of travel - Its true track, not the runway it left from.
- Gray aircraft are on the ground: taxiing, holding, or parked with their transponder still alive.
- The counter in the corner shows how many aircraft are inside your current view, and the snapshot pill tells you how fresh the data is.
Zoom in over a hub like London Heathrow or Atlanta and you'll see the choreography of arrivals and departures; zoom out and the map becomes a portrait of global aviation - Dense corridors over Europe, the North Atlantic tracks, and the overnight cargo pulse around Memphis.
What every field in the flight panel means
| Field | What it tells you | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | Barometric altitude from the aircraft's own instruments | Cruise: 30,000–42,000 ft |
| Ground speed | Speed over the ground - Wind makes it differ from airspeed | Cruise: 400–560 kts |
| Heading | Direction of travel (true track), which the icon also points | 0–359° |
| Vertical rate | Climb (▲) or descent (▼) rate | ±1,000–3,000 ft/min |
| Squawk | Four-digit transponder code assigned by ATC; 7500/7600/7700 are emergencies | Full guide → |
| ICAO 24-bit | The airframe's permanent Mode-S address - Follows the aircraft, not the flight | How it works → |
Three spotter tips for the live map
1. Chase the outliers. Sort the sky by extremes on the statistics page - The fastest aircraft is usually riding a monster jet stream. 2. Watch a hub at its rush. Heathrow at 07:00 local or Atlanta mid-morning is a conveyor belt of arrivals 90 seconds apart. 3. Go night-owling. After midnight the passenger map empties and the cargo network lights up instead.
Where the positions come from
Aircraft continuously broadcast their GPS position, altitude and speed over ADS-B, and receiver networks collect those broadcasts into aggregated position snapshots. Coverage is strongest over well-covered land and thinner over oceans, deserts and polar regions, which is why a long-haul flight can fade from the map mid-ocean and reappear near the coast. Our guide on why flights disappear from tracking maps explains every gap you're likely to see, and satellite flight tracking covers how the industry closes them.
Frequently asked questions
How often does the map update?
Your viewport checks for the latest cached snapshot every 15 seconds. The source snapshot normally refreshes every minute with authenticated access and up to every 15 minutes otherwise. The age pill shows exactly when it was fetched.
Why can I not find a specific flight?
The aircraft may not be airborne yet, may have landed, or may be flying in an area with little receiver coverage. Some business jets also request to have their broadcasts filtered.
Is the flight number the same as the callsign?
Not quite. The map shows ICAO callsigns like UAL1, while your boarding pass shows a marketing number like UA1. They usually share digits but not always.
Can I use this map for real flight operations?
No. Positions are seconds to minutes old and coverage varies, so the map is for information and enjoyment. Always rely on official sources for anything operational.