FlightAware guide: flight search, history, alerts and how it differs from Flightradar24

If you look up a flight for the first time, you often land on FlightAware by chance – and then take the service for yet another flight tracker map. That falls short. FlightAware is originally a flight status and schedule service, and that is exactly where its strength for spotters lies: which aircraft is coming today, where was a particular registration last week, when can an arrival really be expected? This guide shows you step by step how to use flight search, airport pages, history and alerts – and how FlightAware differs from Flightradar24.

FlightAware in brief

FlightAware is a flight tracking service based in Houston, Texas. It began operating in 2005, and the idea came from co-founder Daniel Baker. In November 2021, Collins Aerospace, a company of the RTX group (formerly Raytheon Technologies), completed the acquisition. You use FlightAware in the browser or via an app for iOS and Android, and the basic features are free.

The data mix is the exciting part. FlightAware doesn’t run its own radar but, by its own account, bundles several sources:

• Air traffic control: Radar positions and flight plan data from air traffic organizations in more than 40 countries, partly relayed over oceans by HF radio or satellite.
• Its own ADS-B network: Tens of thousands of ground stations run by volunteers. In its FAQ for 2025, FlightAware cites more than 41,000 receivers worldwide.
• MLAT: Aircraft without an ADS-B transmitter are located by multilateration when enough stations hear the signal. The technology behind it is explained in MLAT and multilateration explained.
• Satellite ADS-B: Through a partnership with Aireon, space-based positions are added – how that works is in Satellite ADS-B explained.
• ACARS and airline data: Position reports via datalink and status messages from the airlines, such as pushback, takeoff, landing and arrival at the gate.

For you as a spotter that means: FlightAware often knows more about a flight than just its position – schedule, gate, delay and airline status messages all feed in. You will find the basics of position reception in Flight tracking with ADS-B for spotters.

Step 1: Find a flight or an aircraft

The search box is the most important entry point. FlightAware names two ways: the flight identifier, that is, the flight number or callsign in the format ABC123, and the aircraft’s registration. For spotters the second variant is worth its weight in gold: you type in a registration and see exactly where that aircraft is right now or where it last flew.

A few tips to make the search work:

• ICAO instead of IATA for callsigns: FlightAware relies heavily on ICAO identifiers. A Lufthansa flight then appears as DLH plus number, not as LH. The difference is explained in IATA and ICAO codes explained, and why callsign and flight number can differ, you can read in Callsign and flight number: the difference.
• Try registrations without special characters: If the search with a hyphen turns up nothing, try the registration without it. The system behind registrations is shown in Understanding aircraft registrations.
• Airports by code: You find airports through their ICAO or IATA code, Frankfurt for example as EDDF or FRA respectively.

On the flight page you then see departure and destination airport, scheduled, estimated and actual times, the aircraft type, the route flown on the map and – where available – an altitude and speed profile as well as the individual position reports. The profile in particular tells you whether an aircraft is already descending and roughly when it will show up on final approach at your spot.

Step 2: The airport page as a day planner

For planning a spotting day, the airport page is the best starting point. There you find lists of arrivals, departures, scheduled flights and aircraft on approach as well as notes on delays and current weather. Because FlightAware merges schedule and status data, you often see hours in advance which type to expect on which rotation.

Here is how to proceed:

1. Scroll through scheduled arrivals: Watch the type column. Widebody jets, freighters or unusual airlines jump out quickly.
2. Check flights on approach: This lists the aircraft that are already en route, with estimated arrival.
3. Keep an eye on delays: A delay of the feeder flight shifts the arrival at your spot.
4. Check the weather: Wind gives you a hint at the runway direction in use. How to derive the active runway from it is explained in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport, and you decode the raw data with Reading METAR and TAF.

How to evaluate arrival and departure schedules for a spotting day in general is described in Using arrival and departure boards for spotting. At big hubs like Frankfurt Airport or Munich Airport, it is also worth looking at the hub waves: Understanding hub waves and banking.

Step 3: Using the live map properly

Of course, FlightAware also has a live map. In the app it shows you the traffic around you via GPS, you can zoom, pan and tap an aircraft to get to the flight page. The app also overlays weather radar – FlightAware cites NEXRAD data here, which is mainly available in the US.

In everyday use, though, you notice: at FlightAware the map is more a window into the flight data than a standalone spotting tool. If you want to watch the approach corridor in a targeted way, filter out types and configure labels, you are better off with Flightradar24 – the Flightradar24 guide shows this with its filters and placeholders. What the symbols and colors on different maps mean is summarized in Flight tracker symbols and colors explained.

Step 4: Using the history

FlightAware doesn’t show flight history without limits. According to the FAQ, the last seven days are viewable on the website by default. Premium subscriptions reach back three, five or eight months depending on the tier. Anyone who contributes data with their own station gets eight months through the Enterprise account.

What you can do with the history:

• Assign photos after the fact: You photographed an approach but the registration is blurry? With the capture time, airport and the arrivals of that period, you can usually narrow down the aircraft. The whole process is described in Determining an unreadable registration.
• Recognize an aircraft’s patterns: Does a particular registration regularly fly the same rotation? A look at the last few days’ history tells you whether the wait is worth it.
• Complete your logbook: Type, route and time from the history add to your notes. How to approach this systematically is shown in Matching sightings with ADS-B logs, and general tips on documentation are in Documenting sightings: the spotter logbook.

A comparison of how far back different services go and where you can find older flights of an aircraft is provided by Looking up an aircraft’s flight history.

Step 5: Setting up alerts

Alerts are the part where FlightAware plays out its origins as a status service most strongly. According to FlightAware, the app reports, among other things:

• estimated departure times,
• delays and schedule changes,
• departure and arrival notices,
• airport delays,
• gate changes.

The messages come by push, and on request by SMS or email as well. For spotters, the arrival and departure notices are especially interesting: you set up an alert for a particular flight and get notified when the aircraft lifts off. Then you work backward from the flight time to when you need to be at the fence.

Unlimited alerts are a feature of the premium subscriptions and of the Enterprise account for feeders. An overview of how the alert systems of FlightAware, Flightradar24 and other services differ is provided by Flight tracking: setting up alerts.

Step 6: The Enterprise account through PiAware

FlightAware lives on its receiver network – and rewards feeders generously. Anyone who runs a PiAware station gets, according to FlightAware, a free Enterprise account with:

• eight months of flight history,
• unlimited flight alerts,
• registrations for airline and callsign flights,
• air traffic control callsigns,
• ad-free full-screen maps.

The third point in particular is interesting for spotters, because the registration of a scheduled flight is exactly the information you need for your logbook. The hardware consists of a Raspberry Pi, a USB receiver and an antenna; FlightAware puts the cost at around 100 US dollars or 80 euros and the setup at about two hours. If you already have a Pi, you install the software in a few minutes according to FlightAware. You will find the instructions in Setting up PiAware, and the components in Building your own ADS-B receiver.

Alternatively, FlightAware gives free FlightFeeder devices to suitable locations, preferably airports and FBOs. FlightAware takes care of antenna, cable and shipping, and here too the Enterprise account comes with it. What other networks offer their feeders is compared in Feeder programs compared; whether you can send your data to several services in parallel is covered in Feeding multiple networks at once.

FlightAware and Flightradar24: the differences

Both services show aircraft on a map – but the similarities end quickly there. The following overview contrasts their orientation, without claiming to be a complete feature comparison. You will find the detailed test in Flightradar24 vs. FlightAware.

Criterion	FlightAware	Flightradar24
Base and origin	Houston, founded 2005, now part of Collins Aerospace	Stockholm, Sweden
Focus	flight status, schedules, delays, airport pages	live map with filters, playback, AR view
Data sources	ADS-B, MLAT, air traffic control data, ACARS, Aireon, airline status data	ADS-B, MLAT, satellite and other sources
Free history	last seven days according to the FAQ	up to 7 days
History with subscription	three, five or eight months depending on tier	up to 90 days, 365 days or 3 years depending on tier
Feeder reward	free Enterprise account	Business subscription as long as the station transmits
Strength for spotters	planning, status, registration history	watching the approach in real time

The most important difference lies in the way of thinking. Flightradar24 starts with the map: you see the sky and tap your way to the data. FlightAware starts with the flight: you search for an identifier or an airport and get status, times and history. For North America, where FlightAware additionally incorporates a lot of air traffic control data, the service is especially strong – anyone planning a trip to Chicago O’Hare, for example, will find detailed schedule data there.

An overview of all the relevant services – from the big all-rounders to community maps – is given by the flight tracker apps comparison.

FlightAware at the spot: a typical routine

Here is how to combine FlightAware sensibly with your spotting day, for example at the Munich visitors’ hill, at the Zeppelinheim viewing platform or at the Affenfelsen in Hamburg:

1. The evening before: Open the airport page, go through scheduled arrivals, note interesting flights.
2. In the morning: Set up alerts for the two or three most important flights so you catch the departure at the origin airport.
3. On the way: Check delays and weather at the destination airport.
4. At the spot: Switch to the live map of FlightAware or Flightradar24 for a view of final approach.
5. Afterward: Assign photos via the history and record them in your logbook.

Conclusion

FlightAware plays out its strengths where Flightradar24 is rather thin: schedules, status messages, delays and the history of individual registrations. The airport page is an excellent day planner, the alerts tell you when a flight is really on its way and the history helps you assign photos after the fact. The live map is solid, but for watching the approach many spotters turn to Flightradar24. If you like to tinker, a PiAware station gets you the Enterprise account – and with it registrations for scheduled flights, eight months of history and unlimited alerts.