Márk's Travel Blog

Travel apps #1: Flightradar24

Flightradar24 is probably the most basic app for every traveller. With over 100 million downloads it is one of the most popular apps out there. With flightradar you can see all commercial (plus many cargo, military and general aviation) aircraft that is currently live and you can also pull up schedules from airports, airlines or routes. The app is free to download and free to use with some ads or has a paid premium version.

Use case #1: There are many use cases of flightradar but one that I like the most is following any aircraft live. If I have to go to the airport to pick someone up, I don’t just go there for the scheduled arrival time, but instead I monitor the flights progress and only get into the car when the plane is on final approach. This function works with nearly all planes, the only exception might be near active war zones where these tracking signals can be jammed, making the location unreliable.

Use case #2: Every single time I fly I pull up flightradar, tap on the icon of my departure airport, select the departure tab and find my flight in the schedule. Then, I click on ‘Aircraft Info’, which lets me see the schedule for the actual aircraft that is coming to pick me up. This way you can see how the inbound flight is progressing and if there is any delay. I found that I can get to know about delays much earlier through flightradar than live screens at the airport or emails from the airline. This way I have way more time to eat or shop while all other passengers are standing at the gate for no reason.