Two tools, different questions
Our realtime map displays available aircraft-position data and supplementary flight details when supplied. The airline directory links to official passenger-status services. These are separate sources: a map position is not a boarding instruction, booking record or confirmation of the route flown today.
Checking a result
Compare the complete flight identifier, travel date, airports and update time. Route and weather fields may be unavailable or outdated. We do not guarantee global coverage or uninterrupted updates. Check scheduled, estimated and actual travel times with the operating airline. Editorial guides link to relevant sources and distinguish examples from live information.
What the tracker fields mean
Altitude, speed, heading and vertical rate describe different parts of an aircraft report. A field can be missing even while other fields remain available. An identifier can be a passenger flight number, an operating callsign or an aircraft registration; those are not interchangeable. Our guides explain how to compare them before deciding that a result matches your itinerary.
Route and weather are context, not proof
Departure and destination information can come from a route lookup separate from the position feed, and airport weather is another separate source. Either can be absent or stale while the aircraft position is still updating. A route label is therefore useful context, not proof of today's schedule, gate or passenger status.
Position age and visual interpolation
A marker can move smoothly between received reports. That animation improves readability but does not create a new aircraft observation. When update age is shown, treat it as more important than visual smoothness. A several-minute-old point should not be described as an exact current position.
How we handle uncertainty
We do not label a missing aircraft as cancelled, diverted or in difficulty without a reliable source. We separate passenger-status links from map position information and explain known limitations in the page where a user encounters them. If our wording, airline link or technical explanation is wrong, use the contact page and include a source so it can be reviewed.