flight-tracker

Flight Tracker

Track flights in real-time and search flight schedules between airports.

Quick Commands

Live Flight Tracking

Flights over a region (bounding box)

# Switzerland (lat_min, lat_max, lon_min, lon_max)
curl -s "https://opensky-network.org/api/states/all?lamin=45.8&lomin=5.9&lamax=47.8&lomax=10.5" | \
  jq -r '.states[] | "\(.[1]) - \(.[2]) | Alt: \(.[7])m | Speed: \(.[9])m/s | From: \(.[5])"'

Track specific flight by callsign

curl -s "https://opensky-network.org/api/states/all?icao24=<aircraft-icao>" | jq .

Get live flight info

# Use helper script
python3 scripts/track.py --region switzerland
python3 scripts/track.py --callsign SWR123
python3 scripts/track.py --airport LSZH

Flight Schedules

Search for scheduled flights between airports:

# Basic usage (shows search links)
python3 scripts/schedule.py HAM ZRH

# With specific date
python3 scripts/schedule.py --from HAM --to ZRH --date 2026-01-15

# With API key (optional, for detailed results)
export AVIATIONSTACK_API_KEY='your_key_here'
python3 scripts/schedule.py HAM ZRH

Without API key: Shows helpful search links (Google Flights, FlightRadar24, airline websites)

With API key: Fetches live schedule data with departure/arrival times, terminals, gates, and status

Free API key available at aviationstack.com (100 requests/month)

Regions

Pre-defined regions in the script:

• switzerland: Swiss airspace
• europe: European airspace (rough bounds)
• zurich: Area around Zurich
• geneva: Area around Geneva

API Endpoints

All states

GET https://opensky-network.org/api/states/all

Optional parameters:

• lamin, lomin, lamax, lomax: Bounding box
• icao24: Specific aircraft (hex code)
• time: Unix timestamp (0 = now)

Response Format

Each flight state contains:

[0]  icao24      - Aircraft ICAO24 address (hex)
[1]  callsign    - Flight callsign (e.g., "SWR123")
[2]  origin_country - Country name
[5]  origin      - Origin airport (if available)
[7]  baro_altitude - Altitude in meters
[9]  velocity    - Speed in m/s
[10] heading     - Direction in degrees
[11] vertical_rate - Climb/descent rate in m/s

Airport Codes

ICAO (for live tracking)

• LSZH - Zurich
• LSGG - Geneva
• LSZB - Bern
• LSZA - Lugano
• LFSB - Basel-Mulhouse (EuroAirport)

IATA (for schedules)

• ZRH - Zurich
• GVA - Geneva
• BSL - Basel
• BRN - Bern
• LUG - Lugano
• HAM - Hamburg
• FRA - Frankfurt
• MUC - Munich
• BER - Berlin
• LHR - London Heathrow
• CDG - Paris CDG
• AMS - Amsterdam

Notes

Live Tracking (OpenSky Network)

• Free API with rate limits (anonymous: 400/day)
• Real-time data from ADS-B receivers worldwide
• No API key required
• Data updated every 10 seconds
• Create account for higher limits and historical data

Flight Schedules (AviationStack)

• Optional API key for detailed schedule data
• Free tier: 100 requests/month
• Without API: provides search links to Google Flights, FlightRadar24, etc.
• Supports date-specific queries