Flightradar24. @flightradar24. The dotted line means that aircraft was out of coverage. It's a straight line between points where coverage was lost and resumed.

On live tracking platforms like Flightradar24, dotted lines (rather than solid ones) indicate interpolated or estimated paths. This occurs when the aircraft’s real-time signal—typically transmitted via ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast)—is lost or not being received by ground stations. The software "guesses" the flight path based on the plane's last known position, speed, and heading until the signal is regained. Dotted lines are most common when a plane is flying over remote oceans, high mountain ranges, or areas with poor receiver coverage. In 2026, with the expansion of satellite-based ADS-B, these dotted lines are becoming less frequent, but they still appear during short "blackouts" or when an aircraft's transponder is manually adjusted. If a path is dotted for a long period and then disappears, it usually means the aircraft has moved out of all tracking range or has landed at a small airport without ground coverage. It is a visual cue to the user that the position shown is a "best estimate" by the system's algorithm rather than a confirmed GPS coordinate.