On Flightradar24, the red dot is the real-time, current position of the selected aircraft on the map.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
What it represents:
- Live Location: It shows where the plane is at that exact moment as it transmits its position via ADS-B.
- Aircraft Icon: Often, the dot is at the center of a small airplane icon. The direction the icon is pointing shows the aircraft’s current heading.
- Selected Aircraft: You only see the red dot when you have clicked on a specific flight (a plane icon with a flight number) to select it and view its details.
What it is NOT:
- It is not an emergency indicator. A plane in distress is not shown with a special red dot on the main map.
- It is not a standard color for all planes. Unselected aircraft appear as yellow icons on the default map view.
Key Context: The Trail Line
When you select an aircraft, you’ll also see a trail line behind the red dot. This line is color-coded to show recent altitude changes:
Green Trail: The aircraft was climbing.
Blue Trail: The aircraft was descending.
Yellow/Orange Trail: The aircraft was flying at a relatively constant altitude.
Important Note on Emergency / Squawk Codes
If you’re asking because you’ve heard about aircraft showing emergencies on flight trackers, the red dot is not that signal.
Aircraft in emergency broadcast a special transponder code known as a “squawk.” On Flightradar24: