Flight Tracker API

Learn how you can integrate real-time Flight Tracking API (also known as Live ADS-B Data API).


In this part of the documentation, we describe how you can take full advantage of the real-time Flight API.

Some of our customers use flight data api to monitor individual flights, display information in their applications, and guide users through flight preparation.

Some provide flight data on a map, displaying absolutely all active flights in a convenient format with constantly updated information on status, coordinates, speed, direction and other useful data.

Others use data on flight regularity and airspace density to calculate environmental impacts and build regional climate models.

Imagine how many truly unique ideas you can implement using the Flight API to its full potential!

Just take a look at this Flight Radar API example map.


Real-Time Flight Data API request:


                https://airlabs.co/api/v9/flights?api_key={{params.api_key}}

Live ADS-B Data API Request Parameters:

Parameter Description
api_key required Your API Key from acccount dashboard.
bbox optional Bounding box (South-West Lat, South-West Long, North-East Lat, North-East Long)
zoom optional Map zoom level to reduce the number of flights to speed up rendering (0-11)
hex optional Filtering by ICAO24 Hex address.
reg_number optional Filtering by aircraft Registration number.
airline_icao optional Filtering by Airline ICAO code.
airline_iata optional Filtering by Airline IATA code.
flag optional Filtering by Airline Country ISO 2 code from Countries DB.
flight_icao optional Filtering by Flight ICAO code-number.
flight_iata optional Filtering by Flight IATA code-number.
flight_number optional Filtering by Flight number only.
dep_icao optional Filtering by departure Airport ICAO code.
dep_iata optional Filtering by departure Airport IATA code.
arr_icao optional Filtering by arrival Airport ICAO code.
arr_iata optional Filtering by arrival Airport IATA code.
_fields optional Fields to return (comma separated, e.g.: hex,airline_iata,lat,lng)
_view optional View format - object (default) or array (good for browser)

Live Flight Data API Response:


              [{
                "hex": "780695",
                "reg_number": "B-5545",
                "flag": "CN",
                "lat": 28.397377,
                "lng": 115.1008,
                "alt": 7078,
                "dir": 269,
                "speed": 775,
                "v_speed": -7.8,
                "squawk": "0205",
                "flight_number": "9429",
                "flight_icao": "CSH9429",
                "flight_iata": "FM9429",
                "dep_icao": "ZSPD",
                "dep_iata": "PVG",
                "arr_icao": "ZGHY",
                "arr_iata": "HNY",
                "airline_icao": "CSH",
                "airline_iata": "FM",
                "aircraft_icao": "B738",
                "updated": 1626153069,
                "status": "en-route"
              }, {
                ...
              }]


Flight Radar API Response Parameters:

Parameter Description
hex ICAO24 Hex address.
reg_number Aircraft Registration Number
flag ISO 2 country code from Countries DB. Available in the Free plan.
lat Aircraft Geo-Latitude for now. Available in the Free plan.
lng Aircraft Geo-Longitude for now. Available in the Free plan.
alt Aircraft elevation for now (meters).
dir Aircraft head direction for now. Available in the Free plan.
speed Aircraft horizontal speed (km) for now.
v_speed Aircraft vertical speed (km) for now.
squawk Aircraft squawk signal code.
airline_icao Airline ICAO code.
airline_iata Airline IATA code.
aircraft_icao Aircraft ICAO type. Available in the Free plan.
flight_icao Flight ICAO code-number.
flight_iata Flight IATA code-number.
flight_number Flight number only.
dep_icao Departure Airport ICAO code.
dep_iata Departure Airport IATA code. Available in the Free plan.
arr_icao Arrival Airport ICAO code.
arr_iata Arrival Airport IATA code.
updated UNIX timestamp of last aircraft signal.
status Current flight status - scheduled, en-route, landed.

Example API Request for array view:


                https://airlabs.co/api/v9/flights?_view=array&_fields=hex,flag,lat,lng,dir,alt&api_key={{params.api_key}}

Flight Tracking API response for array view:


              [
                ["140668","NP",55.879863,37.159452,310.1,320],
                ["300164","IT",42.040581,12.156564,131,1219],
                ["300390","IT",40.634564,13.063431,154,11887],
                ["300554","IT",44.84135,11.544286,6,3718],
                ["300781","IT",48.149957,10.199397,332.5,8724],
                ["300782","IT",43.940002,11.151442,47,3002]
              ]


By the way, you may also be interested in the leaflet.js or d3.js libraries.

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See also

Aircraft Fleets Database API
Live Airport Schedules API
Global Aviation Routes Database API
Airlines Database API


Questions? Contact us.