What does it mean when a plane goes red on Flightradar24?

Flightradar24 Support center Red: When an aircraft is displayed as red that means that you are currently following that specific aircraft on the map or that the aircraft's transponder is squawking an emergency code. These codes are 7600 (Communication Equipment Failure), and 7700 (General Emergency).



On the Flightradar24 map, an aircraft icon turns red to indicate a emergency squawk code or that it is the currently selected flight. If a pilot sets their transponder to a specific emergency code, the icon flashes red to alert trackers. The most common codes are 7700 (General Emergency), 7600 (Radio Failure), or 7500 (Hijack/Unlawful Interference). When an aircraft squawks 7700, it means the crew needs priority assistance from Air Traffic Control for issues like engine failure or a medical emergency. However, if you are simply using the app and click on an aircraft to see its details, that specific icon will also turn red just to highlight it for you. In 2026, the app also uses red highlighting for "trending" flights that are being watched by thousands of people simultaneously, often during high-profile arrivals or in cases where a flight has declared an emergency.

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The numbers are in meters. If the plane is below 100 meters in altitude, the trail will be white. If it is above 100 meters, the trail will yellow, then green, then above 2500 meters it will become light blue, then dark blue, purple and for the highest altitude it will be red.

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It appears as BLOCKED due to security and privacy reasons. Aircraft type - (It will only show the 'type code' [LJ35,C750,PA31,etc)] of the aircraft on flightradar24 map. Blocked - Any aircraft without any type codes in the database.

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SQUAWKing is the process of communicating between the air and the ground, the process is essential for keeping planes in the air safe and ensuring a smooth and manageable air traffic control process, both for pilots and air traffic controllers.

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A Squawk 7700 indicates an emergency. This can be an emergency of any kind. Pilots may input it into the transponder themselves – or when instructed to do so by ATC. As a result, ground control will know that the aircraft is dealing with a serious issue and needs help.

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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. Over the seven hours from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, a total of 2.92 million people followed at least a portion of the flight.

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Aircraft located using satellite data are coloured blue on the map, and yellow if located by terrestrial receivers.

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A note about Estimated coverage: when you see a dashed or gray line behind an aircraft, that's estimated coverage. Colored lines indicate actual positions. When an aircraft is out of coverage, we estimate based on great circle routes to destination.

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What is the longest flight in the world by distance? The longest flight in the world by distance is New York (JFK) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines clocking in at 9,537 miles. What plane can fly the farthest in the world?

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If an aircraft you are looking for is not visible on Flightradar24 it either does not have a compatible transponder or it's out of Flightradar24 coverage. Please visit our FAQ to find answers to frequently asked questions about Flightradar24.

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Dark blue means they are over deep water. Light blue means they are over shallow water. Green means they are over grass. White means they are over snow or concrete. Purple means they are purplexed.

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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.

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According to FlightAware, a flight-tracking software company, the short answer is: a lot. Since planes are constantly landing and taking off, the exact number fluctuates but in 2017, FlightAware calculated there were, on average, 9,729 commercial aeroplanes in the sky at any time.

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Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking service that provides you with real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world. Our service is currently available online and for your iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) or Android device.

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To provide additional clarity about what balloons are and are not visible on Flightradar24, we've updated our database entry for N257TH. N257TH is a standard high altitude research balloon, often released over the US and is not the Chinese balloon. flightradar24.com/HBAL617/2f0983…

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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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FlightRadar gives detailed information about all flights in the near future and the past while Plane Finder shows flights which have departed and are in the air. You can't see flights in the future. A point for FlightRadar. Plane Finder allows you to set multiple Filters at once, FlightRadar doesn't.

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Websites such as ADSBExchange.com, FlightRadar24.com and FlightAware.com aggregate flight data in the United States and abroad using a mix of commercial and citizen-owned sensors that capture the movements of commercial, civilian and military aircraft in real time, 24 hours a day.

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Alert 3: Indicates that an aircraft has crashed on or off the airport, or there is a high probability the aircraft will crash, or the pilot has indicated that the aircraft landing gear will not work and, therefore, the pilot will have to crash land on the airport.

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The second emergency squawk code is 7600, showing ATC that the aircraft has lost verbal communication. This could mean that it can still hear ATC and yet not respond, in which case the ATC will direct the pilot to speak with them through the Ident button.

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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.

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Squawking 7700 in an emergency The most well know of these is the code 7700. This is used to indicate an emergency of any kind. A pilot will enter this when in an emergency situation - either instructed by ATC after declaring an emergency or without communication if there is no time.

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