Global aircraft snapshot
Browse every aircraft available in the latest merged snapshot without a fixed 12,000-aircraft display cap.
Flight details
Select an aircraft to inspect callsign, altitude, speed, heading, freshness and route metadata when available.
Airports and local pages
Move from the global map to airport, city, arrival and departure context using stable deep links.
Progressive loading
A fast initial view appears first; the complete world snapshot continues loading without blocking interaction.
What the live map shows
PocketWorld combines current aircraft positions from public and community ADS-B sources into one globe. Each marker can expose the callsign, coordinates, altitude, ground speed, vertical rate and track supplied by the upstream feed. Route, aircraft model and photo information appear only when reliable metadata can be matched.
The global count is the number of distinct aircraft in the latest server snapshot, not a marketing estimate. Coverage changes throughout the day because receivers, providers and aircraft transponders do not cover every region equally.
From global traffic to a local answer
Use the airport directory for local context, or open a city departure or arrival page for a server-rendered count of aircraft whose route metadata currently matches that airport. If no route-matched aircraft are present, the page states that explicitly rather than treating missing public metadata as proof that no scheduled flight exists.
Update and accuracy limits
Positions refresh continuously, but public feeds may be delayed or incomplete. PocketWorld rejects implausible route matches and labels stale observations. It is an exploration and situational-awareness tool, not an operational source for navigation, dispatch or safety decisions.
Aviation data sources
Live positions are aggregated from OpenSky Network and community ADS-B providers. Coverage, update intervals and route metadata vary by aircraft and region.
Frequently asked questions
How many aircraft does PocketWorld display?
The globe loads the available world snapshot progressively. The visible count changes with current provider coverage and filtering.
Why is a route sometimes unavailable?
ADS-B position feeds do not always include origin and destination. PocketWorld adds route metadata only when a sufficiently reliable match is available.
How fresh are the positions?
Each aircraft carries a freshness signal from its latest observation. Update intervals vary by provider, region and receiver coverage.