Understanding the popularity of Flightradar24 Tracking aircraft during conflicts and international crises is becoming increasingly common

The flight monitoring website Flightradar24 has become one of the most widely used tools for observing the effects that conflicts have on air traffic. In recent days, as expected, it has been consulted mainly to understand how the war in the Middle East is changing aircraft routes: it is used by travelers who want to know whether their flight will depart regularly, but also by journalists, aviation industry professionals, and people curious to observe what happens in the airspaces of different countries during an international crisis.

The functioning of Flightradar24 is relatively simple: aircraft flying in a specific area of the world are shown in real time, and for each aircraft various data are displayed – including the departure airport, the destination airport, the takeoff and arrival times, or the distance traveled, in addition to various technical details. Since the war in Iran began, it has been possible to notice a large area without traffic around the Persian Gulf, as many airlines have in fact suspended or diverted their flights due to the bombings and security risks.

Monitoring flights during major international events

In recent years Flightradar24 has been increasingly used to monitor air traffic during conflicts, diplomatic operations or significant political events – a way for many users to feel, in their own small way, part of History. On February 24, 2022, for example, many people checked it to “observe” the no-fly zone imposed over the skies of Ukraine following the beginning of the Russian invasion.

In 2022 more than 4.8 million people followed the flight that carried the coffin of Queen Elizabeth from Edinburgh to the Northolt air base near London. In 2021, meanwhile, nearly 500,000 users followed live the flight that brought Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny from Berlin to Moscow, where he was arrested immediately after landing. In the same year the platform was also used to monitor the United States’ evacuation from Afghanistan – an operation that, among other things, was characterized by intense military and civilian flight traffic.

The growing interest in tracking

When the platform was developed in 2006, the two founders – the Swedes Mikael Robertsson and Olov Lindberg – did not imagine it would become so popular: one of the features that makes the service particularly appreciated is the speed with which data are updated. Flight tracking, in fact, occurs with almost no delay, something that also encourages sharing on social networks, where users often comment in real time on the routes of specific aircraft. Today Flightradar24 has more than 1.5 million paying subscribers to its premium services and is visited on average by around 60 million people per month.

However, interest in monitoring means of transport does not concern only airplanes. In recent years services that allow users to follow the real-time movement of other vehicles have become increasingly widespread, including ships – platforms such as VesselFinder and MarineTraffic are now quite popular.

The growing spread of tracking tools could be linked to a habit that is now widespread among many users: following online the journey of goods purchased online. As reported by the Guardian, this familiarity with tracking systems has likely helped increase interest in platforms that allow people to observe in real time the movements of means of transport on a global scale.