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Is FlightAware accurate?

FlightAware began as a free interface into a single data feed from the FAA. Today, FlightAware provides the most accurate and comprehensive flight tracking by fusing data from thousands of sources around the world.



Yes, FlightAware remains one of the most accurate flight tracking platforms in 2026, often providing data that is more up-to-date than the airline's own app. It aggregates data from government air traffic control (ATC) systems, satellite-based ADS-B, and a global network of over 35,000 ground-based receivers. One of its most accurate features is "Where is my plane?", which allows you to track the incoming flight for your aircraft; this often reveals a delay before the gate agent even announces it. However, while the physical location of the plane is highly accurate, the "Estimated Time of Arrival" (ETA) can sometimes fluctuate during the final 30 minutes of flight due to local airport taxi times or holding patterns that the software cannot always predict with 100% certainty. It is the gold standard for enthusiasts and professionals alike in 2026.

People Also Ask

Flightradar24 is the more customizable of the two, and while FlightAware says it tracks more flights, it lacks options like showing planes on the ground. (There's also a third flight-tracking app and website, Planefinder, which looks and feels similar to Flightradar24 and has the same price for the premium version.)

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FlightAware is one of the best online flight trackers because of how much detail it goes into.

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According to Similarweb data of monthly visits, flightaware.com's top competitor in August 2023 is flightstats.com with 9.4M visits.

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The most tracked flight consists of 4.79 million trackings and was achieved by ZZ177 RAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, from Edinburgh, Scotland to London, England on 13 September 2022.

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This app allows you to track the real-time flight status and see the live map flight track of any commercial flight worldwide and general aviation (private, charter, etc) in the United States and Canada.

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Commercial products and services. FlightAware provides various paid commercial services designed to support aviation-related businesses, consumers, and FBOs. These services provide a significant portion of FlightAware's revenue.

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FlightAware makes record keeping, fact checking, and logbook maintenance easy by giving you historical flight data from 3, 5, or 8 months back.

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Some high profile aircraft, such as Air Force One are not displayed. Most other aircraft subject to restriction are shown as anonymized by aircraft type.

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when you click on it it's red. this is a ryanair aircraft. it's currently skorkin 7700. which means it's in an emergency.

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The Royal Air Force flight carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt near London set an all-time flight tracking record on Flightradar24 with 5 million people following along.

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From the time it lifted off from Kuala Lumpur at 15:42 local time, SPAR19 was already the most tracked flight on Flightradar24 among active flights. By the time it landed in Taipei, SPAR19 was being tracked by more than 708,000 people around the world, making it the most tracked live flight in Flightradar24 history.

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Founded in 2005, FlightAware was acquired by Collins Aerospace in 2021.

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ForeFlight Passenger This free app is a companion to the main ForeFlight EFB app, and it answers a common question: “when will we get there?” When connected to another device in the cockpit running ForeFlight, this simple app shows the route, airplane position, altitude and time remaining.

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Key features that make FlightAware a must-have for tracking private jets include: Comprehensive coverage: Gain access to live tracking of private jets as well as commercial, charter and general aviation aircraft. Global access: Find information on aircraft flying overhead and see worldwide airport activity.

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