Last updated: November 21, 2025
Live flight trackers can save you time and money. Especially if you are eagerly waiting for a loved one to arrive and need to know if it’s time to head to the airport. Or if you are anxiously waiting for a connecting flight at the airport.
They can also be fun!
Have you ever looked up at the contrails of planes flying over your head thinking: I wonder where this plane is going? You can easily find out using a live flight tracker.
Not long ago nearly 5 million viewers used a similar platform to track Queen Elizabeth II’s final journey in real time as the coffin was being transported from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt. This became the most tracked flight in history. In fact, so many viewers wanted to follow the plane online that the website crashed and some of them had to watch the live stream on YouTube.
Yes, you can. Using a live flight tracker you can explore the busy skies anywhere in the world. All you have to do is open the flight tracking website or app. You will see a flight tracking map. Click on an aircraft to follow its journey or click on an airport to explore planes departing and arriving at the moment.
Flight trackers also provide information about scheduled and actual time of departure, estimated time of arrival (ETA), airline, plane type and even weather conditions.
So if you are at the airport waiting for a connecting flight, feeling anxious due to a flight delay in the first leg of your journey, you can use the flight tracker to check the ETA for your next flight.
About to miss the connecting flight ? You might be eligible for compensation under EU 261. SkyRefund can help you assert your rights and get up to €600 for your flight delay, cancellation or denied boarding.
Most live flight trackers have a free version which has all the features a traveller (or an aviation geek) needs, such as:
This basic live flight tracking information is usually also available in the flight tracker app and most apps can be downloaded free of charge.
Some apps even have fascinating extra features. For example, Flightradar24 ’s app has an augmented reality mode which allows you to point your device at the sky and identify the origin and destination of the flight, plus airline, flight number, altitude, etc.
Flighty, on the other hand, offers a feature, called ‘Flighty Friends’ which allows you to track loved ones’ flight details automatically. The app allows users to connect directly. Then they can get personalized reminders (e.g. ‘Ryan arrives in 1 hour’) or messages (e.g. ‘Mom arrived in Austin’).
Flight trackers also offer highly specialized data, reports and extra features in their paid versions which are geared at airlines, air traffic control staff and aircraft owners and operators.
Here is a list of flight tracker apps and websites that can help you prepare for any unexpected twists on your journey. They all provide valuable real-time updates and comprehensive flight information, plus a little extra.
You can also use Google's flight tracker which is a web-based service. If you don’t want to download a special app, you can simply enter your flight number in the search bar. Google will display a quick snippet with basic flight information, such as airline, origin/ arrival point, departure/ arrival time (both scheduled and estimated). The snippet also contains a link to the tracker providing the information, which you can follow for more details.
The aviation industry uses a technology called Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B). Here is how the data transmission process works:
The live flight tracker technology is still in its infancy and is expected to grow significantly. Its main advantages are:
The main benefit of a flight tracker for travel-lovers is that they can track delays and cancellations in real time and filter data by airline or airport. You can browse flights by operator, airport or even aircraft type and find your flight by origin or destination.
In case you are experiencing a flight disruption, feel free to contact us to get help with your compensation claim.
Yes, you can track certain military flights on platforms like FlightRadar24 and ADSBExchange. Both services offer options in their menus that allow you to display military aircraft if the data is available, so you just need to explore the settings and enable the relevant filters.
However, the visibility of military flights largely depends on whether the aircraft are actively transmitting their position through ADS-B or other civilian transponder signals. Many military planes do broadcast these signals during routine operations, training flights, or when passing through civilian airspace, which is why they sometimes appear on these platforms.
Still, for security reasons, military aircraft frequently switch off their transponders—especially during sensitive missions, conflict zones, or whenever operational secrecy is required. When this happens, the aircraft will not show up on any flight-tracking app, regardless of the platform.
In short: you can track some military flights, but not all, and what you see greatly depends on what the aircraft chooses to broadcast.
No, you cannot track an individual passenger, as this would involve accessing personal information that is strictly protected for privacy and security reasons. What you can track, however, is the flight itself using various flight-tracking apps and websites. These tools show the aircraft’s route, status, delays, and real-time position, but they do not reveal anything about the people on board.
Airlines also never share passenger lists with the public. Due to privacy regulations, carriers cannot confirm whether a specific person is on a flight, even if you provide their name. In cases of emergencies, such as safety concerns or if someone is missing, your best option is to contact the airline directly.
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