On the map a coloured line shows the route of the aircraft. Purple colours indicate cruising altitudes. White colours indicate the plane is on the ground. As a plane takes off, the colours change from white, to yellow, to green, to light blue, to dark blue and finally to purple.

On FlightRadar24, the colors of the aircraft trails (or “routes”) on the map primarily indicate the aircraft’s altitude, not the specific airline or route. Here’s the standard color scheme:

By Altitude (Most Common Meaning)

• White/Gray: Ground level (taxiing, just departed, or about to land).
• Yellow: Up to approximately 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above ground level.
• Orange: From about 1,000 meters to 5,500 meters (18,000 feet). This covers a large portion of short to medium-haul cruising.
• Light Blue: From about 5,500 meters to 10,500 meters (34,500 feet). Common for higher cruising altitudes.
• Dark Blue: Above 10,500 meters (34,500 feet). Typical for long-haul jet cruising at high altitudes.
• Magenta/Pink: This is a special case. It indicates an aircraft transmitting an emergency squawk code (7700), a radio communication failure (7600), or an unlawful interference (7500).

Other Important Color Codes

• Green Trail: When you select a specific aircraft, its past track is shown in green.
• Aircraft Icon Colors: The little airplane icons themselves can be colored based on your settings. By default, they are often blue, but you can set them to show colors based on altitude, speed, or aircraft type in the app’s filters.
• Yellow Highlight: An aircraft highlighted with