Flight Status

Flying out or meeting a cousin coming in from Denver, you want to know two things: is it on time, and where do I go? Type the flight number above and this free tool shows departure and arrival times, any delay, terminal, gate, baggage carousel and the aircraft. No account, no app.

Checking a flight in under a minute

Enter the airline code and number, for example DL 1234 or ua925; spaces and capitals don’t matter. Choose Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow, or open the calendar, which goes back 30 days and up to 60 days ahead. Hit the button, a brief sponsored video runs, and the status page for that date opens.

On the status page, Refresh status plays one more short ad and fetches the newest data.

Finding the right flight number

Check your confirmation email, boarding pass or the airline’s app. The number starts with a two-character carrier code: AA American, DL Delta, UA United, WN Southwest, AS Alaska, B6 JetBlue. Short domestic hops flown by SkyWest, Republic or Envoy under the American Eagle, United Express or Delta Connection brands keep the mainline code.

Codeshares are different. A Delta number on a KLM jet to Amsterdam, or an American number on a British Airways flight to London, is one airplane carrying several numbers. Our page marks such numbers as codeshares; if details look thin, try the operating airline’s number.

What the status labels mean

• Scheduled – on the timetable, check-in hasn’t started.
• Check-in open, Boarding, Gate closed – the countdown at the departure airport.
• Delayed – the departure was pushed back; watch for an updated time.
• Departed, In flight, Approaching, Landed, Arrived at the gate – pushback, airborne, descent, touchdown, then parked with the jet bridge attached.
• Diverted – it came down at another airport. If we flag a likely cancellation the carrier hasn’t confirmed, call or check the app before you drive in.

Gate times, wheels-up and time zones

Every time comes in up to three versions: scheduled, estimated by the airline, and actual. Sometimes a predicted time appears too, our own forecast based on how this flight has run before.

Airlines count departure from pushback, not take-off, which is why runway times are listed separately. At Atlanta or O’Hare, taxiing alone can take twenty minutes.

All times are local to their airport, on the 12-hour clock. A red-eye from San Francisco lands in Boston the next morning, marked +1. Hawaii and most of Arizona skip daylight saving time, so the gap to the rest of the country shifts twice a year.

Meeting someone at arrivals

Leave home once the flight shows as departed, not on the booked time. JFK, LAX, O’Hare and most other large airports have a free cell phone lot where you can wait until your passenger calls. Domestic travelers with only carry-ons usually reach the curb 15 to 30 minutes after the aircraft is at the gate. Checked bags add time; when the airport publishes it, the status page shows the carousel. International arrivals clear CBP passport control and customs first, faster with Global Entry.

Delays, cancellations and DOT refund rules

Federal law does not require US airlines to pay cash just because a flight runs late. What Department of Transportation rules do give you:

• Automatic cash refunds when the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you turn down the rebooking or other offer. A shift of three hours or more is significant on domestic trips, six hours or more on international ones. Refunds are due within 7 business days for card payments and 20 calendar days otherwise.
• A bag fee refund if a checked bag on a domestic flight shows up more than 12 hours after you land.
• Tarmac delay limits: you must normally be allowed off after three hours on a domestic flight and four on an international one.

Meals and hotel nights depend on each airline’s customer service plan; the DOT runs a dashboard comparing what the big carriers promise when a delay is their fault.

How we calculate on-time performance

Each flight number has its own page built from the days our visitors looked it up. A flight is on time when it reaches the gate less than 15 minutes after the timetable, the same yardstick the DOT uses. You also get the typical delay, cancellations, a chart of arrival delay by day, the usual schedule, aircraft types and every tracked date.

A badge next to the data shows its source: Live data from the airline, airport or aircraft, Timetable when nothing fresher exists yet (normal weeks ahead and for some small carriers), or Approximate. To see every plane in the sky right now, open the live flight radar.

Flight status FAQ