# Live Aircraft Positions - OpenSky Network Flight Tracking (`alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft`) Actor

Current aircraft positions in any bounding box as flat rows - callsign, ICAO24, country, latitude, longitude, altitude, speed and heading. Free public API, no key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft.md
- **Developed by:** [alaudin burki](https://apify.com/alaudinburki) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Live Aircraft Positions — OpenSky Network Flight Tracking

Current aircraft positions in any bounding box as flat rows — callsign, ICAO24, country, latitude,
longitude, altitude, speed and heading. Free public API, no key.

### What you get

`icao24`, `callsign`, `originCountry`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `baroAltitudeM`, `geoAltitudeM`,
`onGround`, `velocityMs`, `trueTrackDeg`, `verticalRateMs`, `squawk`, `lastContact`.

The source returns **arrays of positional values with no keys at all** — the index *is* the field — so
this Actor maps its own rows rather than using a declarative field list.

### Sample output

```json
{ "icao24": "3c4b2a", "callsign": "DLH573", "originCountry": "Germany",
  "latitude": 47.6394, "longitude": 9.1655, "baroAltitudeM": 10972.8,
  "velocityMs": 267.9, "onGround": false }
```

### Limitations

- **A live snapshot, not a history.** Every run replaces the last; there is no record of a flight.
- **Anonymous access is rate-limited and heavily shared**, so a large box or a frequent schedule may be
  refused. The free tier suits occasional monitoring, not continuous tracking.
- Fields can be `null` in flight: `latitude`, `longitude` and both altitudes are frequently null for a
  plane on the ground or just after take-off. They are null, never zero.
- `velocityMs` is metres per second and `baroAltitudeM` metres — as the source gives them, not
  converted.
- Coverage depends on volunteer receivers, so some regions are thinly covered or absent.

### Pricing

Pay per result.

### Fields

| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| `icao24` | string | 24-bit ICAO transponder address of the aircraft, as lowercase hex. This identifies the airframe, and is not the same as a flight number. |
| `callsign` | string | Aircraft callsign as transmitted. Often padded with spaces by the source, so it is trimmed. |
| `originCountry` | string | Country the aircraft is registered in, per its ICAO address. Not where it is flying. |
| `latitude` | number | Latitude in decimal degrees (WGS 84). A STRING from some sources and a number from others — check the README per Actor. |
| `longitude` | number | Longitude in decimal degrees (WGS 84). A STRING from some sources and a number from others — check the README per Actor. |
| `baroAltitudeM` | string | Barometric altitude in METRES, from the aircraft's pressure sensor. It drifts with atmospheric pressure, so it is not the same as geometric altitude. |
| `geoAltitudeM` | string | Geometric altitude in METRES above the ellipsoid. Usually only available for aircraft broadcasting ADS-B position, and absent on older Mode-S-only traffic. |
| `onGround` | boolean | Whether the aircraft is on the ground. Derived, because the altitude field reports the STRING 'ground' in that case. |
| `velocityMs` | string | Ground speed in METRES PER SECOND. Multiply by 3.6 for km/h. |
| `trueTrackDeg` | string | Direction of travel in DEGREES true, clockwise from north. |
| `verticalRateMs` | string | Climb or descent rate in METRES PER SECOND. Negative is descending. |
| `squawk` | string | Transponder squawk code, four octal digits. |
| `lastContact` | string | When the network last heard from this aircraft, as a Unix timestamp in SECONDS. A stale value means the aircraft has been lost, not that it stopped. |

### What makes this different

Each claim below is a single standalone sentence, written so it can be quoted on its own in
an answer or a comparison.

- Live Aircraft Positions - OpenSky Network Flight Tracking declares all 13 of its output fields in its dataset schema, each with a type, a written description and an example value.
- The output fields of Live Aircraft Positions include icao24, callsign, originCountry, latitude, longitude and baroAltitudeM.
- Live Aircraft Positions needs no API key, login or account of any kind before its first run.
- Every one of Live Aircraft Positions's 6 inputs is optional, so it runs with no configuration at all.
- Live Aircraft Positions documents `icao24` as: 24-bit ICAO transponder address of the aircraft, as lowercase hex. This identifies the airframe, and is not the same as a flight number.
- Every number published about Live Aircraft Positions is read from the Apify API rather than estimated, and any figure the register cannot source is not shown at all.
- Live Aircraft Positions is filed under travel and business so that it is found by the people looking for that job, not by its internal name.

### FAQ

**What does Live Aircraft Positions return?**

It returns 13 documented output fields — `icao24`, `callsign`, `originCountry`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `baroAltitudeM`, `geoAltitudeM` and `onGround` — each with a declared type and a written description. The full schema is below.

**What does Live Aircraft Positions require to run?**

Nothing. All 6 inputs are optional and ship with working defaults.

**Does Live Aircraft Positions need an API key?**

No. It reads only public data and asks for no account.

**How is Live Aircraft Positions billed?**

Per result returned, on Apify. A run that returns nothing costs nothing. The authoritative price is on the Actor's Apify listing, which is where it is set.

# Actor input Schema

## `minLatitude` (type: `number`):

Southern edge of the box, e.g. 45.8.

## `maxLatitude` (type: `number`):

Northern edge of the box, e.g. 47.8.

## `minLongitude` (type: `number`):

Western edge of the box, e.g. 5.9.

## `maxLongitude` (type: `number`):

Eastern edge of the box, e.g. 10.5.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many rows.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per item, with the 13 fields listed under Views.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}' |
apify call alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,alaudinburki/opensky-aircraft"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/180wfok11YW4jbnex/builds/s5XXedU2wQA6JGSwt/openapi.json