Live Flight Tracker API – ADS-B Aircraft Positions

Live flight tracker API on open ADS-B data from adsb.lol: get real-time aircraft positions with callsign, registration, aircraft type, altitude, ground speed, heading, squawk and distance around any point, or find aircraft by callsign, ICAO hex, registration, type code, squawk or military status.

What does it do?

• Aircraft around any coordinate (up to 250 nm), sorted by distance.
• Lookups by callsign (e.g. BAW123), ICAO hex, registration, ICAO type (A388, B789), squawk (7700 emergencies) or all military aircraft.
• Clean JSON: position, barometric/geometric altitude, on-ground flag, speed, track, vertical rate, emergency status.
• Aircraft in FAA privacy programs (PIA/LADD) are hidden by default.
• Open, community-fed ADS-B network (ODbL), not a scrape of a commercial tracker.

Use cases

• Aviation dashboards and spotting apps: what is flying over an airport right now.
• Logistics and travel: check whether a flight is airborne.
• Emergency monitoring: squawk 7700/7600/7500 alerts on a schedule.
• Research and journalism: snapshots of traffic over a region.
• AI agents answering "what plane is that?" questions.

Input

Field	Description
mode	Example: point
latitude	Only for mode "point". Example: 51.47 (London Heathrow)
longitude	Only for mode "point". Example: -0.4543
radiusNm	Only for mode "point". Example: 50
values	Callsigns, hex codes, registrations, ICAO type codes or squawks, depending on mode. Example: A388
excludePrivacyFlagged	Hide aircraft in the FAA PIA / LADD privacy programs. Example: true
onlyWithPosition	Example: true
maxItems	Example: 25

Example input:

{
  "mode": "point",
  "latitude": "51.47",
  "longitude": "-0.4543",
  "radiusNm": 50,
  "maxItems": 25
}

Output

Real output (first items of a run on 26 Oct 2026):

[
  {
    "icao24": "406e11",
    "callsign": "VIR130C",
    "registration": "G-VOWS",
    "aircraftType": "B789",
    "aircraftDescription": null,
    "category": "A5",
    "latitude": 51.468338,
    "longitude": -0.457009,
    "altitudeBaroFt": null,
    "onGround": true,
    "altitudeGeomFt": null,
    "groundSpeedKt": 3.2,
    "trackDeg": null,
    "verticalRateFpm": null,
    "squawk": "7644",
    "emergency": "none",
    "isMilitary": false,
    "distanceNm": 0.142,
    "bearingDeg": 225.4,
    "secondsSincePosition": 24.838,
    "sourceType": "adsb_icao",
    "observedAt": "2026-10-31T08:51:23+00:00",
    "attribution": "Data: adsb.lol (https://adsb.lol), ODbL 1.0"
  },
  {
    "icao24": "a913d6",
    "callsign": "UAL958",
    "registration": "N684UA",
    "aircraftType": "B763",
    "aircraftDescription": null,
    "category": "A5",
    "latitude": 51.466641,
    "longitude": -0.45517,
    "altitudeBaroFt": null,
    "onGround": true,
    "altitudeGeomFt": null,
    "groundSpeedKt": 7.8,
    "trackDeg": null,
    "verticalRateFpm": null,
    "squawk": "7745",
    "emergency": "none",
    "isMilitary": false,
    "distanceNm": 0.204,
    "bearingDeg": 189.2,
    "secondsSincePosition": 1.002,
    "sourceType": "adsb_icao",
    "observedAt": "2026-10-31T08:51:23+00:00",
    "attribution": "Data: adsb.lol (https://adsb.lol), ODbL 1.0"
  }
]

Export the results as JSON, CSV or Excel, read them through the API, or send them to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n or webhooks. You can also run this Actor from AI agents through the Apify MCP server.

Pricing

Pay per event: $2.70 per 1,000 aircrafts plus $0.00005 per run start. There is no extra platform usage charge.

FAQ

Where does the data come from? adsb.lol, an open, community ADS-B / MLAT network whose data is published under the ODbL 1.0 licence.

Is it real time? Yes, positions are typically a few seconds old (see secondsSincePosition). Each run is a snapshot; schedule it for time series.

Does it include origin and destination? No, only what aircraft broadcast (ADS-B).

Coverage? Depends on volunteer receivers: excellent over Europe and North America, thinner over oceans.

Why are some aircraft missing? Privacy-flagged aircraft (PIA/LADD) are excluded by default; aircraft without a position are skipped.

Can I schedule it? Yes, e.g. every 5 minutes.

Do I need a login or API key? No. It uses the source's public API; you only need an Apify account.

Can AI agents use it? Yes. Call it through the Apify API, or from Claude, Cursor or any MCP client via the Apify MCP server.

Data source and license

Data: adsb.lol open data API, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. Attribution "adsb.lol" is included in every result; derived databases must be shared under ODbL. Not affiliated with adsb.lol.

This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the data source. You are responsible for using the data in line with the source's license and terms.