Tracking passenger airflights has become easier with the advent of a number of web-based flight monitoring sites. If you know the date and number of the flight that you want to track, or even just the cities where the route will start and end, you can find out whether the flight will be on time or delayed. You can also find out what airplane will be used and the gates that will be used for departure and arrival.
Log on to the airline's website and enter whatever information you have. Continental, for example, allows users to search by the flight number and date, or the cities of departure and arrival and the date. Be sure to select the flight that corresponds to the time you want, as some routes have several flights a day.
Write down information such as flight status, estimated times of arrival and departure, and departure and arrival gates. Whether you are a passenger on the flight or looking to pick someone up, this information will help you make arrangements for transportation between the airport and your ultimate destination.
Use private trackers such as FlightStats or FlightAware to provide a backup source of information. You will need to input the same information as on the airline website but, because private companies use different sources, it's possible that one site may offer more recent updates than another.
Visit both the company site and private trackers frequently. Delays and other issues that can impact the flight times and gates can change quickly as airport and airline staff work to ensure that passenger flights remain on time.
