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

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