What plane is flying over me?

Find the aircraft in three steps

1. Open the map and move to your area. You can use your location or explore the map manually.
2. Tap an aircraft near you. Check its direction and the age of its latest position to help match it to what you can see.
3. Open the flight details to see the available airline, route, altitude, aircraft type and registration. A photo may help you recognize the aircraft.

Know which way to look

Watch the Sky puts a nearby aircraft on your widget. Save a place in Contrail and choose a radius. The reading shows distance, compass direction and an angle above the horizon: a low angle means look closer to the horizon; a higher angle means look further up.

The widget watches your saved place. If you move somewhere else, update that place. Widgets refresh periodically, so check the reading’s age and open the app when you want live tracking.

Set up a flight tracker widget

Why can I hear a plane but not see it on the map?

A flight tracker can only show the aircraft available in its data. Receiver coverage, terrain, aircraft altitude and gaps in position reports can affect what appears. Some aircraft may be missing or have limited details.

Check the latest position time, widen the map and try again. An empty map or widget means no aircraft were found in the available data for that area; it does not prove the sky is empty. Contrail is for exploration, not flight navigation.

Do I need a subscription?

Basic flight tracking and Watch the Sky widgets are free, with no ads and no account required. Contrail Pro adds features such as flight alerts and aircraft watchlists. You can check current plans and prices inside the app.

Contrail is available for iPhone, iPad and Android. Home Screen widgets are available on iOS and Android; the Lock Screen sky widgets described in our guide are for iPhone.