LAX Internet Flight Tracks

Click on this link to launch LAX AirportMonitor™ - Internet Flight Tracking System.

Welcome to Los Angeles World Airports LAX Internet Flight Tracking System, AirportMonitor™. This system allows you to watch the movement of flights and air traffic patterns within the greater Los Angeles region. If you are a first time user of this system, please take a few minutes to read the following information, which should assist you in understanding and utilizing the full capabilities of this site.

Using LAX AirportMonitor

The system shows the flight tracks of aircraft arriving and departing to and from LAX, and from other airports throughout the region. It also shows aircraft transiting through the region. The size of the icons is much larger than the aircraft they represent and are uniform regardless of the actual size of the aircraft.

  • Green aircraft icons represent departures from LAX.
  • Blue aircraft icons represent arrivals to LAX.
  • Black aircraft icons represent aircraft operating to or from another airport in the region, or that are transiting through the region and bypassing local airports.
  • Red aircraft icon indicates the aircraft selected for viewing.
These flight tracks, although taken from actual raw radar data, are not in real time. There is a delay of approximately ten minutes as indicated by the date and time located in the Date/Time box located in Flight Information fields on right side of the screen. This delay can be useful if you notice an overflight of your neighborhood and you need time to bring up the LAX Internet Flight Tracking System to find out the identification of the aircraft type and its altitude.

In the 10-minute delay mode you will see the following information about that particular flight displayed in the Flight Information fields on the right side of the screen:

  • Aircraft Type
  • Altitude
  • Track ID Number.
Please be aware that the Flight Information for general aviation aircraft flying under Visual Flight Rules will not display aircraft identification information in the Aircraft Type field due to the nature of the data transmitted by their transponder.

Just under the map you will notice 5 buttons with corresponding zoom settings ranging from 6 miles to 96 miles. In order to change the view just click the button corresponding to the map setting you wish to view.

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Flight Tracks Replay Function

The LAX Internet Flight Tracking System has a replay function that archives flight track data for 3 months. This allows you to log on to the system anytime during the 3-month period and view past flight tracks. This replay function will be useful if an aircraft overflew your neighborhood and you were unable to log onto the system within the 10-minute delay period to view the flight tracks, or if you wish to view additional information about the aircraft.

To operate the replay, use the pull-down menus at the top of the page and enter the corresponding date and time you wish (using the 24-hour clock system), and then press the Start Replay button. To end the replay and return to the 10-minute delay mode press the Current button.

In the replay mode after an hour's delay for security reasons, you will be able to view

  • Airline/Flight ID, tail number or radio call sign (for General Aviation aircraft flying under Instrument Flight Rules)
  • Airport of Origin
  • Destination Airport
This will be in addition to the data displayed in the 10-minute delay mode.

The information contained in some of the data fields is encoded to conform to standard FAA contractions (or shorthand). If you wish to decode the information in the Flight ID, Aircraft Type, and Origin and Destination fields please click on the following link: (DECODE PAGE)

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A Word about Radar

Aircraft tracking, using secondary surveillance radar and the software that supports it, while highly reliable, is also complex. Sometimes circumstances can interfere with the signal, causing temporary distortions. For example, you will probably notice that an aircraft flying over LAX will temporarily disappear from the screen and then reappear away from the airport. This is due to the aircraft passing directly over the radar antenna and the temporary loss of signal. This is known in the industry as the cone of silence. You may also notice aircraft icons sometimes "dropping off" and/or suddenly doing unusual things. This is especially true in the area immediately around LAX, but could also occur away from the airport as well. These "ghost" aircraft are due to radar and aircraft transponder reflections from the ground and high rise buildings around the airport, and possibly from terrain and meteorological conditions farther away from LAX.

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System Requirements/Information

  • AirportMonitor is data intensive and is best-viewed using broadband or high speed internet access. If you are using a dial-up modem, the site will be slow to load.
  • AirportMonitor is designed to run on any computer that runs Java Applets and JavaScript.
  • A reasonable amount of memory is necessary (a minimum 64 MB of RAM is recommended), but nothing greater than people have for basic word processing applications; LAX AirportMonitor uses much less memory than the capacity of most newer computers.
  • AirportMonitor runs best in Netscape or Internet Explorer versions 3.0 and greater. JavaScript and Java must be enabled.
  • AirportMonitor is a resource intensive application that is best run without too many other applications open at the same time.
  • The optimal screen resolution for viewing this site is 1024 x 768.
  • This site will not work with WebTV.

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Liability Statement

THIS WEB PAGE AND THE FLIGHT TRACKING INFORMATION IS A PUBLIC RESOURCE OF GENERAL INFORMATION. THE USE OF THIS SITE IS FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. IFLYLAX.COM, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS MAKES NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR GUARANTEE AS TO THE CONTENT, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY OF THE DATABASE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN. THE USER OF THIS SITE SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE DATA PROVIDED HEREIN FOR ANY REASON. THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS SHALL ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR:

  1. ANY ERRORS OMISSIONS, OR INACCURACIES IN THE INFORMATION PROVIDED REGARDLESS OF HOW CAUSED; OR

  2. ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN OR NOT TAKEN BY THE USER OF THIS SITE IN RELIANCE UPON ANY INFORMATION OR DATA FURNISHED HEREUNDER

LAX AirportMonitor - Internet Flight Tracking System