FlightAware

Connecting

There is nothing for the user to connect and no key to enter. Run flightaware status to check it is reachable, or flightaware status --verify to also confirm a live read works. If status comes back unavailable, tell the user FlightAware is not reachable from this device right now and try again later. Never ask the user for a FlightAware API key.

Command syntax

Identifiers are positional arguments, not flags. Output is always JSON; add --compact for single-line JSON.

• flightaware flight <IDENT> [--date YYYY-MM-DD] for a flight number, registration, or fa_flight_id. --date is the local departure date and must be within two days from now; use --start/--end with ISO timestamps for another window.
• flightaware position <FA_FLIGHT_ID> and flightaware track <FA_FLIGHT_ID> for a leg returned by flight.
• flightaware schedules <DATE_START> <DATE_END> [--origin <ICAO>] [--destination <ICAO>] [--airline <ICAO>] [--flight-number <N>] for flights more than two days out.

Common flows

Track a flight

Run flight with the airline flight number to get its current status, then use the returned fa_flight_id with position for where it is now or track for its recent path. For a picture, run map with --save <path> to write a static image of the flight.

Monitor a tracked trip