Flight following allows an operation to easily view and track real-time movements of aircraft. This is setup and enabled per aircraft when subscribed to the Flight Following integration. This article explains:
accessing flight tracking; and
map features; and
diversion tracking.
To create automatic email notifications, please see: Flight Following: Notifications
Also see related article: Flight Following: Setup
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ACCESS FLIGHT TRACKING
The map is provided by Google, with the flight following information by FlightAware. There are four places/methods to accessing the real-time tracking of an aircraft.
From the:
Operations > Dashboard > Fleet Map;
Operations > Dashboard > Flight Card;
Trip > Overview; and the
Scheduling (Calendar).
Operations > Dashboard > Fleet Map
The Fleet Map blue button on the right will access the map for all aircraft.
Operations [page] > Dashboard [tab] > Flight Card
The button with the location bubble icon on a Flight Card on the Dashboard will access the map for the specific flight leg selected.
In the upper right-hand corner of the page, the color key matches the colors alongside each fight card. These are assigned to correspond to the colors assigned to the Leg Status within Operations > Settings > Stages/ Leg Status.
Trip > Overview [tab]
The button with the location bubble icon on a flight leg entry will access the map for the specific flight leg selected. This opens in the same tab. Then x out of the pop-up at the top right corner to return to the trip overview.
Scheduling [Aircraft]
Click on the flight leg > edit [button] > show all [button] > track [button], a new tab will open with a map of the tracked flight leg.
Schedule Board
Right click on the flight card > track flight [button]. A new tab will open with a map of the tracked flight leg.
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MAP FEATURES
Map View Styles
Route Lines and Track Lines
Detailed Information per Aircraft
Map View Styles
In the upper left corner of the map, it may be toggled to Map or Satellite for different viewing style options.
Map [Terrain]
Map [Satellite]
Click on the map pin icon to view last arrival details and/or the next departure details.
Route Lines and Track Lines
Before a flight departs, there will be a blue line ahead of the aircraft displaying the estimated route of flight based on the filed flight plan. The white line after the aircraft is the actual route flown.
Detailed Information per Aircraft
Click on an aircraft to view more details and access the same functionality available from the Operations Dashboard, i.e. Crew Emails, Flight Tracking Notifications, Service Overview, Log and Trip.
Map Overlays are available to show/hide. Refer to Map Overlays for a list of available overlays.
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DIVERSION TRACKING
Flight diversions are visible in the Operations Dashboard and the Map. If while en-route the crew files for a diversion, the flight card updates. A red banner appears with a message indicating where the aircraft is diverting. Once a user updates the trip, the red banner will no longer display.
On the map, the original destination will be identified with an orange pin, while the aircraft will display at the landed destination. The route displaying the diversion will be visible along with the original planned city pairs.
All parties who have been set up to receive flight following notifications will receive an email that the leg has diverted. Here is an example of the email:
Ref: O-O06