FlightAware is the Houston flight tracker that most American travellers have open on the morning of a trip. It does something its biggest rival keeps behind a paywall: it sends free push alerts when your flight is delayed, cancelled, diverted or changes gate. Add a view that shows whether your inbound aircraft is running late, and the free app covers most of what a passenger needs.
It is also busier to look at than Flightradar24, carries adverts and is at its best over North America. Here is our FlightAware review: what is free, what the upgrades cost in pounds, how it handles privacy and how it compares with Flightradar24 and Flighty.
FlightAware Promo Code: None needed
Best deal: flight alerts are free; ads go for £8.99 a year
| Offer detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Promo Code | None needed. FlightAware does not publish promo codes |
| Welcome offer | None listed; the core app and flight status alerts are free |
| Who qualifies | Anyone on the web, iPhone, iPad or Android |
| Key terms | Ad Remove is 99p a month or £8.99 a year on the UK App Store; subscriptions renew automatically |
| How to claim | Download the app, create a free account and add the flights you want alerts for |
FlightAware at a glance
- Owner: FlightAware, Houston, Texas; part of Collins Aerospace (an RTX business) since 2021
- Launched: 2005
- Platforms: web, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro and Android
- Free plan: yes; live map, flight status, push alerts, airport delays, weather radar and “Where is my plane?”, with ads
- Paid from: 99p a month for Ad Remove (UK App Store)
- Offline use: no; it needs a data connection
- Ratings: App Store (UK) 4.7/5 from 8.4k ratings; App Store (US) 4.9/5 from 391k ratings
Our verdict
FlightAware is the best free flight tracker for alerts. Its notifications for gate changes, delays and cancellations cost nothing, and “Where is my plane?” explains a delay before the departure board does. The map is less polished than Flightradar24’s and there is no AR sky view, but for £8.99 a year the ads disappear, one of the cheapest upgrades in the category. The Aviator plans are for private pilots and most passengers can ignore them.
Pros
- Free push alerts for delays, gate changes, cancellations and diversions
- “Where is my plane?” shows whether the inbound aircraft is late
- Ad Remove costs 99p a month or £8.99 a year
- Data from air traffic control in more than 45 countries, ground receivers in 195 and satellites
- Free Enterprise-level web account if you feed data from a home receiver
Cons
- Busy interface and a cluttered map on smaller phones
- Adverts in the free app
- No AR mode for identifying planes overhead
- Strongest in North America; Flightradar24 feels more complete over Europe
- App Store privacy label lists identifiers and user content used to track you
What FlightAware does and who it is for
FlightAware combines air traffic control feeds from more than 45 countries, ADS-B ground stations in 195 countries, Aireon’s space-based ADS-B and datalink messages from providers such as ARINC and SITA. The result is a worldwide map plus flight pages with scheduled and actual times, gates, route and aircraft type.
It is useful in moments like these:
- Your brother is flying into Heathrow from Chicago. FlightAware sends a push alert when the flight departs and another when it lands, so you are not refreshing a web page all afternoon.
- Your easyJet flight from Edinburgh shows a 40-minute delay. “Where is my plane?” reveals the aircraft is still on its previous leg from Paris, which tells you the delay is likely to grow.
It suits passengers, people meeting arrivals and US-bound travellers. Enthusiasts wanting AR and 3D will prefer Flightradar24 or Plane Finder.
Is FlightAware free? What you get without paying
Yes. The free app tracks any flight, shows aircraft overhead, checks delays at both airports, displays weather radar and saves favourite airports and aircraft. Crucially, it sends free alerts for departures, arrivals, cancellations, gate changes, delays and diversions.
The free version shows ads. On the website, a free account also keeps a limited number of flight alerts active at once.
FlightAware price: Ad Remove, Aviator and Aviator+
The UK App Store lists these in-app purchases.
| Plan | UK monthly | UK yearly | US yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | £0 | $0 |
| Ad Remove | 99p | £8.99 | $8.99 |
| Aviator | £8.49 | £99.99 | $99.99 |
| Aviator+ | £16.99 | £199.99 | $199.99 |
US prices are from the US App Store, where Ad Remove is $1.49 a month.
Ad Remove does what it says. Aviator and Aviator+ are for owners and pilots of piston-engine aircraft, with Aviator+ adding extra weather overlays. Passengers can ignore both.
On the website, FlightAware sells Premium subscriptions with unlimited alerts and 3, 5 or 8 months of flight history, billed monthly and cancellable at any time.
The free route for tinkerers: if you build a PiAware receiver with a Raspberry Pi and share its data, FlightAware gives you a free Enterprise account. The company has said it normally costs $89.95 a month and includes up to eight months of history, unlimited alerts, tail numbers for airline flights and ad-free full-screen maps.
FlightAware features that matter
Alerts. Free push notifications for departure, arrival, gate changes, delays, cancellations and diversions.
Where is my plane? Shows the aircraft due to operate your flight and whether a late inbound is to blame.
Coverage. Ground stations in 195 countries plus Aireon satellites over the oceans. In the US and Canada it also shows many private and charter flights, using FAA data.
Platforms. iPhone, iPad, Android, web and Apple Vision Pro. No Apple Watch app is listed on the App Store.
Is FlightAware safe? Privacy and blocked aircraft
FlightAware was founded in 2005 and bought by Collins Aerospace, then part of Raytheon Technologies, in a deal announced in August 2021, when it employed about 130 people.
The app is safe but collects a fair amount. Its US App Store privacy label lists user content, identifiers and diagnostics as data used to track you, and location, contact info, search history and usage data among data linked to you.
Some aircraft will not appear. The FAA’s LADD programme lets owners ask for their aircraft to be withheld, and companies taking FAA data feeds must filter them from public display, so blocked private jets are hidden. For unfiltered data, enthusiasts use ADS-B Exchange; see our ADS-B Exchange review.
What users say about FlightAware
Store ratings are excellent on Apple: 4.9 out of 5 from about 391,000 ratings on the US App Store and 4.7 from 8,400 on the UK store.
On the US App Store, a reviewer called FranciscoIV credited its notifications with flagging delays before the airline did on a multi-leg trip with tight connections. Another, nlgess, uses it to meet flights as a volunteer driver. The grumbles are about the busy interface and an update prompt that has to be dismissed before use.
How to get started with FlightAware
- Download FlightAware from the App Store or Google Play, or open flightaware.com.
- Create a free account so your alerts and saved flights sync.
- Search your flight number, tap the bell icon and choose which alerts you want.
- Allow notifications, or the alerts will not reach you.
- If the ads bother you, buy Ad Remove for £8.99 a year.
To cancel: on iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose FlightAware and cancel. On Android, go to Google Play, Payments and subscriptions, Subscriptions. Website subscriptions are managed from your FlightAware account. Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal.
FlightAware vs Flightradar24 vs Flighty
| FlightAware | Flightradar24 | Flighty | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, with ads | Yes, with ads | Yes, no ads |
| Free push alerts | Yes | No (Silver) | First flight only |
| Paid from | 99p a month | £2.99 a month | £59.99 a year |
| AR sky view | No | Yes | No |
| Android | Yes | Yes | No |
| App Store rating (UK) | 4.7 (8.4k) | 4.8 (378k) | 4.8 (19k) |
Pick FlightAware if you want free delay and gate alerts, or mostly fly to and within the US.
Pick Flightradar24 for the best live map, AR identification and coverage over Europe. See our Flightradar24 review.
Pick Flighty if you fly often, use an iPhone and want delay predictions and a clean timeline for each trip. See our Flighty review.
FlightAware alternatives
- Plane Finder: a cleaner map from Pinkfroot, with Premium at £19.99 a year. See our Plane Finder review.
- AirNav Radar: ad-free from £13.99 a year. See our AirNav RadarBox review.
FlightAware FAQs
Is FlightAware free?
Yes. Tracking, flight status, airport delays, weather radar and push alerts are free, with ads. You pay only to remove ads or for the pilots’ Aviator plans.
How do I remove ads on FlightAware?
Buy Ad Remove in the app: 99p a month or £8.99 a year on the UK App Store. Feeders running a PiAware receiver also get an ad-free web account.
Is FlightAware better than Flightradar24?
For free alerts, yes. For the live map, AR mode and European coverage, Flightradar24 is better. Many travellers use both.
Who owns FlightAware?
Collins Aerospace, part of RTX, which bought it in 2021. It is still based in Houston.
How do I cancel FlightAware?
Through App Store subscriptions on iPhone, Google Play on Android, or your FlightAware account for website plans.
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