Is all flight data public?

Aside from military and government sensitive flights, flight information collected by the FAA is considered public information because taxpayers pay for air traffic controllers, runways, towers, and other resources utilized by both commercial and private pilots.



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In accordance with the underlying statutory framework (49 USC Chapter 441) and as described in the applicable SORN, the information maintained in the aircraft record is available to the public upon request.

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Flight plans are among the lesser-known public records. Often confused with flight manifests, these seemingly random assortments of numbers and letters contain extensive information that could be useful in litigation or in verifying an individual's claimed whereabouts.

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Aircraft registration is public information in the USA, making it easy to find a locate and track a US-registered plane by it's tail number, and find out who owns it.

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You can search for owner, make, and model information for an aircraft on our Aircraft Registration Inquiry website.

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No, some airlines may not allow public access to their passenger lists due to privacy concerns.

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PNR data derived from flights to, from, or through the United States will be kept by CBP for a period of five years in an active status. After the first six months, the PNR will be “depersonalized,” with names, contact information, and other PII masked in the record.

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These basic airline passenger rights, or “fly rights,” cover areas such as ticket pricing, baggage issues, tickets and delayed and canceled flights. They're enforced by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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