8 Best Mobile Flight Tracker Apps

The best flight tracker apps do way more than update you on your departure time.Traveling on a holiday weekend or during the holiday season is generally not a very relaxing experience thanks to crowds and flight delays. Fear not: There are ways to make the ordeal a lot less stressful, thanks to handy little things called flight tracker apps. These pieces of software—easily downloadable on a smartphone or tablet—not only track your flight and alert you to delays, but will also often go above and beyond, allowing you to pinpoint your exact location at 40,000 feet or even provide a rundown of the best places to eat during your six-hour layover. With scores of flight tracker apps to choose from, we’ve picked eight of the best.

1.FlightAware Flight Tracker

In addition to tracking the real-time flight status and location of any commercial flight worldwide, FlightAware can give you the whereabouts of those lucky enough to be cruising on a charter or private plane in the U.S. or Canada. With a GPS system that lets you determine your own whereabouts, see which aircraft are in your nearby vicinity (and where they’re headed), and zoom and pan around a map of the world, this free app is an aviation geek’s fantasy. (free; iOS, Android)

2.FlightTrack 5

A 2013 report by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development indicated that a growing number of airline passengers (more than 35 percent) are utilizing portable devices in flight, but only 10 percent are using WiFi service. Which makes FlightTrack’s offline capabilities—including updates on delays, gates and cancellations for more than 3,000 airports and a zoomable map—practically a necessity. ($4.99; iOS, Android)

3.GateGuru

As part of the TripAdvisor family of travel products, GateGuru aims to take the guesswork out of your travels and customize your door-to-door adventure. It offers all the basic flight tracking capabilities, but where GateGuru really exceeds is in customizing your travel day plans. Once the details are set, input your itinerary and GateGuru promises to “connect the dots,” spitting out detailed info on where to check in, current airport weather conditions, estimated security wait times, airport amenities (with more than 35,000 reviews from users), and even last-minute deals on car rental rates. (free; iOS, Android)

4.FlightBoard

Sometimes, all you want is a simple flight board—the kind you can find in any airport that lists all arrivals and departures in a simple, easy-to-digest design. Luckily for travelers, this is exactly the kind of straightforward information that FlightBoard offers for more than 1,400 airlines traveling to and from more than 3,000 airports, with updates made every five minutes. If the app’s appealingly old-school design looks familiar, that’s probably because it’s based on the flight board of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. ($3.99; iOS, Android)

5.FlightView Free

A trip through the airport is a bit of a balancing act; there are shoes and jewelry to remove, laptops that must be placed in their own tray, IDs and tickets to keep in order—the list goes on. FlightView’s My Trips function lets you organize your itinerary: simply forward all of your travel confirmation emails and let the app do the rest. (free; iOS, Android)

6.iFly Airport Guide

No two airports are created equal, and neither are their amenities. This free app is a must for frequent travelers, including a list of which restaurants are closest to your gate (complete with user reviews), whether or not there’s WiFi, parking rates and locations, on-site banks and ATMs, and what your transportation options are if you've reached your final destination. (free; iOS, Android)

7.Flightwise Flight Tracker Pro

Though there’s a $.99 “Lite” version, Flightwise’s pro edition is well worth the sawbuck for serious aviation buffs. Its advanced capabilities include a range of archived data, going all the way back to 2001. Yes, you can pull up the current position, destination, and arrival time of any plane within American and Canadian airspace. But with the touch of a few buttons, you can also easily retrieve images and specifics of the plane, including its flight history. ($9.99; iOS)

8.Flightradar24

Play air traffic controller with Flightradar24, an app that’s both educational and entertaining. At its most basic level, you can review such real-time flight status info as scheduled and actual departure and arrival times, plus the route, speed, and altitude of individual flights. The fun part comes with features like Cockpit View, which allows you to see through the eyes of a pilot, and an Augmented Reality View, which identifies the planes flying overhead when you point your phone’s camera at the sky. ($2.99; iOS, Android)