Frequently Asked Questions

Browse the most frequently asked questions about aviationstack, API features, access keys, data sources, billing and account management.

General

  • What is aviationstack?

    The aviationstack API was built to offer a simple and cost-effective way of accessing global flight tracking data in real-time. More than 5,000 companies worldwide are using aviationstack to power booking platforms, map visualizations and flight tracking applications.

  • Who runs the API?

    aviationstack is a product built and maintained by apilayer, a software company based in London, United Kingdom and Vienna, Austria. apilayer is the company behind popular API and SaaS products worldwide, including weatherstack, invoicely and eversign.

Aviation Data & API

  • How scalable is this API?

    The aviationstack API is built on top of powerful, auto-scaling apilayer cloud infrastructure, making it capable of handling anything from a few thousands requests per month all the way to millions of calls per hour. This efficient setup allows for consistently quick API response times even during times of high throughput.

  • How real-time is aviationstack data?

    Status updates of global, real-time flights are delayed by as little as 30-60 seconds. This low delay and high frequency of data updates is made possible by a real-time data integration with one of the most sophisticated aviation data vendors on the market.

  • Which type of historical flight data is available?

    Our system provides global flight data for the last 3 months as a sliding window, enabling the aviationstack API to deliver granular historical flight data, including information about routes, flight numbers, location, dates, times, airports, terminals, gates, aircrafts, and much more. You can learn more by reading our API documentation.

Plans, Pricing & Payment

  • What is the difference between free and paid subscriptions?

    The aviationstack Free Plan offers a way to implement the API in your application and try it out using real-time flight data.

    As soon as your use of the API requires a commercial license and a more advanced set of functionalities, such as historical data or airline routes, you can choose from one of the available paid subscriptions or contact us for a custom solution.

  • Which subscription plan fits my needs?

    The most decisive factor when it comes to your technical requirements is the number of API requests you need to make on a monthly basis. Other factors include license type, HTTPS encryption, access to airline routes, autocomplete features, historical data, and more.

    Signing up for the Free Plan is a great way of getting to know the API and implementing it without any commitments.

  • Which payment methods are supported?

    Payments can be made via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Diner's Club, American Express). Enterprise and high-volume customers may request annual bank transfer payments to be enabled. You can change your payment method at any given time in the "Payment" section of your account dashboard.

  • Can I also pay yearly?

    Yes. If you choose annual billing, the total price of your subscription plan will be up to 15% lower than the total amount you would pay with a monthly payment frequency.

  • How do I cancel/downgrade?

    You can initiate a cancellation or downgrade by selecting a new plan and providing at least one reason for your decision. The customer service team will cancel or downgrade your plan. Downgrades are not effective immediately; your premium subscription will remain active until the end of the current billing period.

  • How do I cancel/downgrade?

    You can initiate a cancellation or downgrade by selecting a new plan and providing at least one reason for your decision. The customer service team will cancel or downgrade your plan. Downgrades are not effective immediately; your premium subscription will remain active until the end of the current billing period.

  • How do I change between monthly and yearly billing?

    To change your subscription from monthly to yearly billing, submit a request on the Contact Us page on the website following these steps:

    Step 1: Sign in to your account

    Step 2: Go to Contact Us page

    Step 3: Fill out the form and choose the “Sales” category for this request.

    Step 4: In the text box, include your specific request for example “Change from Monthly to Yearly subscription.”

API Access & Features

  • What is an API Request?

    Pricing is based on the number of monthly API requests allowed. Each time the aviationstack service is used to deliver aviation data, one API request is made. In the event that an error should occur, your request does not count towards the monthly volume.

  • What happens if I exceed my API Request volume?

    Users will be automatically notified via e-mail and on their Account Dashboard once at least 75%, 90%, and 100% of their monthly API Request allowance has been reached. After reaching 100% of the allowance, overages fees will apply so we make sure you won’t experience any disruptions and your website/application will keep running smoothly. You can learn more about overages billing here.

  • What is the API's uptime?

    Our API's system status is closely monitored around the clock. Every effort is made to ensure the highest possible level of availability and consistency, and we are proud to have an average uptime rate of nearly 100% (99.9%), calculated based on the past 12 months.

    There is a public API status page available at the following URL: status.aviationstack.com.

Convinced? Join aviationstack now, it's free for 100 requests per month

Get Free API Access