At any given time, there are approximately 7,000 aircraft overhead in the United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. With so many flights en route, it is important that people know about delays. Passengers need to know when they can expect to take off. Friends and family members need to know when to arrive at the airport to pick up the passengers. With just a few mouse clicks, tracking flights is an easy way to find this information.
Use a website dedicated to tracking flights, such as flightaware.com or flightstats.com. Or, if you know the airline, the airline's website will have tracking available.
Enter the known information. Ideally to track a flight, you would have the airline and flight number available. If you do not have this information, enter what information you do have, such as departure city and expected time of arrival.
Choose the correct flight. If you do not have the specific flight number, the website may pull up several flights based on the information you entered. If you are looking for a Delta flight arriving in Los Angeles at noon, you may have three flights come up on your screen. If you know the flight departed from Nashville, click on the flight that fits that description.
Read the tracking information. Once you have pulled up the correct flight, the website will tell you whether the flight is already en route, has arrived, or is delayed. If there is a delay, you should also see an estimated time of arrival (ETA), or an estimated time of departure (ETD).
