The 9 Best Sites, Apps, and Maps for Tracking Airline Flight Paths

Having up-to-date tracking information about when a flight will take off or land at an airport can come in handy. Waiting to pick up someone from the airport or trying to make a flight connection, airline tracking tools can save you time and even money.

Here are five great airline tracker apps for iOS and Android devices along with four sites to track a flight in real-time.

1. FlightStats

FlightStats is one of the best live flight trackers available. To start, you can track flights anywhere in the world via a specific flight number, route, or airport. After searching for any flight, the information will be saved in the My Flights tab to quickly access later.

One of the best features of the app is a real-time flight tracker live map. The map shows the exact position of the airplane. You can select from a number of different layers to include the flight plan, actual flight path, weather radar and more. The flight information can also quickly be shared directly from the app.

While on the go, anyone with an Apple Watch can take a look at flight information on the small screen of the wearable device. Users can even customize a specific Apple Watch face with the widget that will provide information without needing to open the app.

Download: FlightStats for iOS | Android (Free)

2. The Flight Tracker Pro

If you hate ads, try out The Flight Tracker Pro. You can track any flight in the world and view departure and arrival information right along with aircraft information and seat maps. If you’re traveling, the app also automatically syncs with a TripIt account, making it a perfect choice for business travelers. The information can also be saved and then shared through a number of outlets like text or social media.

Push notifications are available for a number of different situations, including the ability to customize a departure or arrival reminder so you can remember to pick up someone from the airport.

Download: The Flight Tracker Pro for iOS | Android ($5.99)

3. FlightAware Flight Tracker

Along with being able to see the status of any commercial airline flight worldwide, FlightAware Flight Tracker can track general aviation flights like private and charter planes in the United States and Canada.

Users can search for a flight by aircraft registration, route, airline, flight number, city pair, or airport code. Along with the full flight information, the app provides a full-screen map with a radar overlay.

As a nice touch, you can receive push notifications with departure and arrival information for a specific flight along with cancellations, gate changes, delays, and diversions.

Download: Flight Aware Flight Tracker for iOS | Android (Free, premium version available)

4. FlightRadar24

As you could probably tell by the name, FlightRadar24’s top feature is a map that shows aircraft as they travel around the world. You can select a flight to see more information like the route, estimated time of arrival, speed, altitude, and much more. It’s also easy to search for an individual flight by flight number, airport, or airline. Selecting a specific airport will show more information like current weather conditions and delay stats.

If you’re ever wondering what flights are currently overhead, just point your device at the sky to see flight information and a photo of the actual aircraft. You can even view exactly what the pilot of an aircraft is currently seeing in 3D. It’s a great real-world use of augmented reality technology.

Subscription options provide more features like additional flight history and more.

Download: FlightRadar24 for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

5. Flight Board

Flight Board takes a unique approach to track an airline flight. You can view an old-school arrivals or departures board for almost any airport in the world that updates every minute with real-time information. The information covers more than 16,000 airports and 1,400 airlines.

You can search for a specific flight by number, destination, or airline. It’s also easy to quickly switch between the departures and arrivals board at a specific airport with just a single touch.

Download: Flight Board for iOS | Android (Free)

6. FlightView

There’s no need to search around while using the FlightView site. Front and center is a box to track flights by number or route. Along with all of the most up-to-date information about the flight, users can also call up a live view that will let you see where exactly the airplane is along with other information like speed, heading, and altitude.

After creating a FlightView account, you can forward any current and future flight itinerary emails to a specific email address and then see them on the site. You can also share the flight information with friends, family, and coworkers, quickly access the information, and even receive alerts on your mobile device if there are any changes during travel.

7. Plane Finder

You’ll definitely want to visit Plane Finder on as big a screen as possible. The home page is a map of the globe with a real-time look at flight route maps around the world including both commercial and private traffic. With the top search bar, you can search for a specific flight and view more information like aircraft type. Users can also click on any flight on the map to see the same data.

The fun doesn’t stop there as the online flight tracker live map allows users to create a number of filters to see only planes by aircraft type, airline, and more. There’s even an animated map that will show the world’s flights in motion at a certain date and time. If traffic from a certain airport interests you, there is also a bookmark feature to quickly move to the location.

8. Flight Arrivals

The top navigation bar is the best place to start with when visiting Flight Arrivals. You can select from categories to search from including arrivals, departures, route maps, and more.

If snagging the perfect seat is important to you, the site has a dedicated seat information section that will allow you to view seat configurations by a specific airline and type of aircraft. You can even select a certain seat to view more information. The map will also identify exit rows and overwing rows.

9. Google

There’s no need to rely on a specific flight tracking app or site if you’re looking for quick information about a particular flight.

As long as you know the flight number, just enter it into a Google search and a quick snippet of its status will appear before any search results. If you’re needing more information than the Google flight tracker can provide, there is a link to more detailed information from Flight Stats.

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Using one of these smartphone apps or sites, you should definitely be able to track an airline flight no matter where you are.

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