Flight Delay Tracker
Check one flight and departure date against sample or provider data, then compare schedule differences and select the matching carrier route.{{ summaryTitle }}
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Verification boundary
Compare this provider row with the airline, departure airport, or operating carrier before a time-critical connection, pickup, or rebooking decision.
The chart renderer is unavailable. The same delay values remain in the timeline.
| Flight | Route | Status | Departure | Arrival | Delays | Select | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{ row.flight_number }} | {{ row.route }} | {{ row.status_label }} | {{ formatDateTime(row.departure, row.departure_timezone) }} | {{ formatDateTime(row.arrival, row.arrival_timezone) }} | {{ formatDelay(row.dep_delay_minutes) }} / {{ formatDelay(row.arr_delay_minutes) }} |
A flight number identifies a published service, but it does not identify one operation by itself. The departure date and route are needed to distinguish today's flight from yesterday's arrival, an overnight service, or another leg that uses the same number. Code-share partners can also publish different flight numbers for the same physical aircraft.
Delay is a difference between a reference schedule and a later time. Departure and arrival can tell different stories: a flight may leave late and recover time, leave on time and arrive late, or be diverted or cancelled before a useful arrival estimate exists. The latest provider row is evidence to verify, not a guarantee of future operation.
| Time | Meaning | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled | The published departure or arrival baseline | Delay is measured from this time |
| Estimated | A forecast that can change before the event | Useful for planning, but not final evidence |
| Actual | The provider's recorded event time | Preferred over estimated time when present |
| Provider delay | A direct minute value supplied by the data source | Used before a timestamp-derived difference |
The departure date should be the local calendar date at the origin airport. A UTC date copied from another system can select the wrong operation around midnight. Route, airline, and airport codes are therefore essential checks when several records match a number.
A delay category is not a passenger-rights decision. Rebooking, refund, compensation, connection, and airport-assistance rules depend on the operating carrier, jurisdiction, cause, itinerary, and current carrier instructions. Use provider data to organize the question, then confirm time-critical action with the airline or airport.
How to Use This Tool:
Identify one dated flight operation first, then decide whether demonstration data or a live provider is appropriate.
- Enter an IATA or ICAO Flight number and choose the origin airport's local Departure date.
- Select a Data source. Keep Use sample data on to learn the result flow; turn it off only when a valid credential for the selected provider is ready.
A sample result is synthetic. Never use its times, route, aircraft, or status for travel.
- For live data, enter the provider credential. Use a custom endpoint or proxy only when it is trusted and compatible, because it can observe the request and may receive the credential.
- Select Check flight. If several rows return, compare airline, route, date, and airport codes in Flight matches before selecting the operation.
- Use Flight record for the current status and time fields, then compare departure and arrival minutes in Delay comparison. Recheck the carrier or airport before acting.
Interpreting Results:
The selected row defaults to the first retained record, with exact normalized flight-number matches moved ahead when Exact flight number first is selected. That ordering does not prove the first row is the itinerary.
- Positive minutes mean later than schedule; negative minutes mean earlier than schedule.
- Compare both departure and arrival. The larger absolute difference is useful for triage, while the arrival estimate usually matters most for pickup or an onward connection.
- Cancelled and Diverted / severe delay require carrier confirmation. A missing actual arrival on an active flight is normal before landing.
- An On time label can result when the source lacks enough timestamps to derive a delay and supplies no direct delay value. Inspect the time fields before trusting zero.
Technical Details:
A provider response is mapped into one common flight record with status, carrier, route, departure, arrival, aircraft, and code-share fields. Direct delay values are retained when available; otherwise the latest actual-or-estimated timestamp is compared with the schedule.
Formula Core
For each phase, the direct provider delay is rounded to the nearest whole minute. If it is missing, actual time is preferred over estimated time and the timestamp difference is rounded.
Tlatest is actual time when present, otherwise estimated time. If either timestamp is unavailable and no direct provider delay exists, the normalized delay is 0 minutes. Departure and arrival are calculated separately, and displayed times use the airport time zone when the provider supplies one.
Lookup Core
| Stage | Rule |
|---|---|
| Flight key | Uppercase the flight number and remove characters other than letters and digits. |
| Provider mapping | Normalize AeroDataBox or AviationStack response fields into the same departure, arrival, status, route, carrier, and aircraft structure. |
| Row filters | Optionally remove code-share rows and cancelled rows after normalization. |
| Exact-first order | Move rows whose normalized flight number exactly matches the request ahead of close variants without discarding other returned rows. |
| Result bound | Keep 1 to 30 records, with 5 as the default. |
Rule Core
Status rules run in order, so an earlier match takes precedence over later delay thresholds.
| Order | Condition | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raw status contains “cancel” | Cancelled |
| 2 | Raw status contains “divert” | Diverted / severe delay |
| 3 | Raw status contains “land” or “arriv” | Landed |
| 4 | Maximum of departure and arrival delay is ≥ 60 minutes | Diverted / severe delay |
| 5 | Maximum delay is ≥ 15 minutes | Delayed |
| 6 | Status is active, scheduled, or en route and maximum delay is > 5 minutes | Delayed |
| 7 | No earlier rule matches | On time |
The 15- and 60-minute boundaries are repository-authored review rules. They do not replace a provider's raw status, an airline's disruption policy, or a legal definition of delay.
Accuracy and Privacy Notes:
Live flight records can lag operations or omit times, gates, terminals, aircraft, code-share links, and cancellation detail. Every result records one retrieval time and should be checked again near the decision.
- The provider receives the flight number, date, row limit, and relevant filter choices. It also receives the credential required by that service.
- Credentials and proxy settings are kept in browser session storage and are excluded from the shareable settings and exported flight result.
- A configured proxy can observe the provider request and may receive the credential. Use only a proxy you trust.
- Provider evidence does not determine refunds, compensation, rebooking eligibility, or connection protection.
Worked Examples:
Sample flight with different phase delays
The fixed SA101 example leaves 10 minutes after schedule and is estimated to arrive 18 minutes after schedule. Because the larger value is at least 15 minutes, the record is labelled Delayed. The arrival value is the more relevant planning clue for a pickup, but the entire example remains synthetic.
References:
- Gate departure and arrival delay reporting definitions, U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, August 7, 2024.
- Aviationstack API documentation, APILayer.
- AeroDataBox API official documentation, AeroDataBox.