Track aircraft online - how it works

Tracking planes online has become fairly easy. In this practical tip, we will show you how to find out where an aircraft is currently located.

Track the aircraft online - this is how you track down the plane

The largest platforms for aircraft tracking are "Flightradar24", "Radarbox24" and "Flightaware":

Both services determine the flight position either via ADS-B Data (Live) or via FAA Data (5 minutes delay). Which airline is used depends on the airline.
If you want to search for a flight, first enter the flight number in the search field. You can view these and the departure and arrival airports on the airlines' website.
You can also view what's going on at any airport. To do this, enter the official abbreviation of the airport in the search bar. For Düsseldorf Airport, for example, this is "DUS".
For all flights, you can also use Flightaware to display the average delay on the flight route, the time on the tarmac, photos of the aircraft and speed, pace and altitude.
Unfortunately, you cannot find out which aircraft is circling above your head by searching. Here you have to use the map instead and approach your place of residence as in Google Earth.

With the app from "Flightradar24" you not only track planes around the world: hold your iPhone in the sky, the app shows you which plane is currently flying over you. You can also calculate altitude and speed in this way.
Radarbox24 also has an app that you can use to check planes and their routes. With the "SkyView" you track down planes in the sky and - as with Flightradar - get more information.

Want to fly? We also show you how to fly a drone and which models are suitable for beginners and advanced users.