The best flight trackers for your iPhone
Whether you travel by plane yourself, want to track someone else’s flight or are crazy about airplanes: there are plenty of reasons to install a flight tracker on your iPhone. In this guide we list the best for you. Are you going on a trip yourself? Then check out our list of the best flight information apps on iPhone and iPad
- Flightradar24
- FlightAware
- Plane finder
- App in the Air
- Airline Flight Status Tracker
- More flight trackers
- Flight tracking in iOS
iCulture recommends: Flightradar24
Flightradar24 is undoubtedly the most popular flight tracker of them all. The app consistently ranks high in the App Store, especially around the holiday season. Flightradar24 is packed with all kinds of useful features such as Apple Watch support and has all the basic functions on board. For a fee you can upgrade to the premium version with even more options.
Not only can you track a flight by entering the flight number, but you can also point your iPhone’s camera upwards to see which plane is currently flying over. Once you have found a flight, it is even possible to see what the pilot is seeing at that moment via a Google Street View-like way. In addition, the app contains information about airports, including departure times and possible delays. On the Apple Watch app you quickly get information about the flights in your area.
FlightAware Flight Tracker
If you’re looking for a free alternative, give FlightAware a try. The app is completely free and you only pay a few euros to remove the ads. To use FlightAware Flight Tracker you need to know the flight number, tail number or flight route of the aircraft you want to track. Push notifications keep you informed of departure times, cancellations and if the gate changes. You can also use ‘Near Me’ to see a map of flights near you. However, the planes do not move in real time and you have to refresh them manually. FlightAware is a bit slow, although the options are extensive for an app that you do not have to pay for.
Plane finder
Plane Finder does exactly what you’d expect from an app with such a name: find planes. On a map you can see countless planes flying, and if you select one you will see extensive information about it. Just like Flightradar, you can also use your camera to spot planes flying overhead. Via notifications you can select an aircraft and the app will keep you informed if an aircraft is nearby or in the air.
Let’s say you have friends flying to Rome and arriving at 4:25 PM this afternoon. Via the app you can then keep an eye on air traffic on the Amsterdam-Rome route and always track where the flight is. You can even see when the landing is about to start in near real-time as the plane begins to drop altitude. Plane Finder shows on a map which aircraft are circling above the airspace in a certain region. Tap it and you’ll see your flight number, departure and destination, flight status, speed, altitude, direction, aircraft type and manufacturer, and much more. You can request additional information from each aircraft, such as the date of registration, model and serial number, first flight and a technical drawing.
Plane Finder is useful for people who want to keep track of family and friends on vacation, collectors and people who are just curious about air traffic. The really professional plane spotters can buy additional maps, for example from the American aviation organization FAA (via in-app purchase). But as a normal user you don’t need it.
Plane Finder shows 95% of all European flights in real time and tracks more than 12,000 flights simultaneously. The app reviews are purely positive, which more than makes up for the slightly higher price tag.
App in the Air
App in the Air is a flight app that tackles several things at the same time. You can use it to track flights, but the app is mainly intended if you are actually going to fly yourself. After entering your flight, App in the Air does its best to make your journey as smooth as possible. For example, you will first see your gate via a smart info screen and when you have checked in you will see how long it will take before you land again. You can customize this information screen with widgets such as a checklist for your luggage and a map showing the plane going from point A to B. In the review of App in the Air we said the following about it:
“App in the Air scores well in terms of providing information about your flight and the airport, but on a practical level the app falls short compared to the official apps of airlines. For example, there is no option to save a boarding pass in the app, so you still need another app (or a piece of paper) before you can board the plane.”
Airline Flight Status Tracker
A Russian app that has been translated into Dutch. Displays information from 16,500 airports, including 4,200 with comprehensive flight status and weather information. This app is especially useful if you want to track the flights at a particular airport. You can see the selected flight approaching the airport on the map, with many aircraft immediately showing speed and altitude. The app also shows how recent the information is. You can view the map in normal, satellite or hybrid view.
Airline Flight Status Tracker is mainly suitable for people who want to track a specific flight (or series of flights), not for people who want to see which aircraft are currently circling above Schiphol. You can always request a ticket of the current flight route per flight, with an indication at the top of the screen how much flight time has already passed. The app contains all kinds of filters, a color scheme for day and night and a favorites list with the 5 recently viewed airports. You pay for synchronization with TripIt via an in-app purchase. But you don’t need it if you just want to pick up travelers.
More flight tracker apps
- LiveATC Air Radio ($3.99, iPhone/iPad, iOS 12.0+) – Listen to messages from the control tower. Handy if there is a delay and you want to know what is going on.
- Find My Friends (Free, iPhone/iPad/Watch, iOS 10.0+) – Apple’s official friend finder app. Focused on current location, not so much on flights. At least you can see if friends have already landed at the destination.
- Flight Board: Flight Information (Free, iPhone/iPad, iOS 12.0+) – Tip from iCulture reader Rob: This departure and arrival app looks like the airport. It is not actually a flight tracker, but more of an app to view arrival and departure times at the airport. We have a separate list for that: The best apps with flight information on your iPhone and iPad
Extra: flight information in iOS and macOS
Finally, we look at Apple’s own flight tracker, which has been standard since iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. You can consult flight information as soon as you enter a flight number.
You can see the current flight status, the planned route and what time the plane will arrive. The flight status can be On Time, Early, Delayed or Landed. If you want to know more accurately at what time the plane takes off and lands, you will find the exact times at the bottom of the screen.
This article is part of the iCulture Holiday Special and was updated in July 2018. Do you have any tips or comments? Please send a comment using the form below.
