Flight Information Lookup

When to Use This Tool

Want to know if a flight is on time before heading to the airport to pick up family or friends? Traveling for business or leisure and worried about delays or cancellations so you can reschedule in advance? Or maybe you just want to check a flight's historical on-time performance before booking a ticket. Our flight status tracker is perfect for all these scenarios.

How to Use: From Input to Results

1. Enter the departure city or 3-letter airport code in the "Departure Airport" field, such as "Beijing Capital" or "PEK".
2. Enter the destination in the "Arrival Airport" field, such as "Shanghai Hongqiao" or "SHA". You can also enter just one airport to search for all arriving or layover flights.
3. Select a date from the "Departure Date" dropdown. The default is today.
4. To check a specific flight, enter the alphanumeric flight number in the "Flight Number" field, such as "CA1234". Leave this blank to show all flights on that route for the day.
5. Click the "Search Flights" button. In a few seconds, the results table below will display the scheduled departure/arrival times, actual times, status (on time/delayed/canceled), gate, and terminal.

Example: Checking a Domestic Flight

Suppose your friend is flying from Guangzhou to Beijing today on flight CZ3101, scheduled to depart at 10:00 AM. Open the tool and:

• Enter "Guangzhou Baiyun" or "CAN" for the departure airport.
• Enter "Beijing Capital" or "PEK" for the arrival airport.
• Select today's date.
• Enter "CZ3101" for the flight number.

After clicking search, the results table shows: Scheduled Departure 10:00, Actual Departure 10:12; Scheduled Arrival 13:00, Actual Arrival 13:18; Status: "Delayed by 12 minutes". At the bottom, it also shows a departure on-time rate of 82% and an arrival on-time rate of 79%.
Interpretation: A delay of less than 30 minutes is generally manageable, but if you are timing an airport pickup, we recommend allowing an extra 30 minutes beyond the scheduled arrival time.

More Examples: Checking All Daily Flights vs. Comparing On-Time Rates

Example 1: Checking an Entire Route
Leave the flight number blank, enter "Chengdu Tianfu" for departure and "Hangzhou Xiaoshan" for arrival, and select tomorrow's date. The tool will list all direct flights for that day (typically 5 to 10 flights), displaying each flight number and its status. If you haven't booked your ticket yet, you can choose a flight with a "Scheduled" status and a high on-time rate.

Example 2: Extreme Scenarios — Flight Cancellations
Suppose the weather is severe one day, and we search for flight MU5101 from "Shanghai Pudong → Beijing Capital". The result shows "Canceled". The tool will also display "Previous Flight Status: Diverted to Nanjing" and "Next Steps: Contact the airline for a refund or reschedule". This feature is especially useful during sudden thunderstorms, saving you from waiting in line for customer service.

How to Interpret the Results

A status card will be displayed on the right side of the tool:

• On Time: The actual departure/arrival time is within 15 minutes of the scheduled time (Green label).
• Delayed: Shows the exact number of minutes delayed (Orange label). If the delay is ≥ 30 minutes, an estimated reason for the delay will be provided.
• Canceled: Red label, indicating the current flight status (e.g., "Canceled due to weather").
• Previous Flight: If the current flight hasn't departed, the tool shows the real-time location of the incoming aircraft, helping you estimate the boarding time.

For on-time rates, 80% or higher is considered the industry standard. If it's below 60%, we recommend choosing carefully or allowing ample time for layovers.

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

• Confusing 3-letter codes with city names: When you enter "Beijing", the tool automatically matches "Beijing Capital (PEK)" and "Beijing Daxing (PKX)". However, if you specifically want to go to Daxing, you must manually select "Beijing Daxing" or enter "PKX"; otherwise, the results may be incomplete.
• Ignoring time zones: International flight results default to local time, though the system calculates internally using UTC. For example, on a New York → Shanghai flight, the scheduled time might show 15:00 local time in New York. If you're picking someone up, remember to calculate based on Shanghai local time (+13 hours). We label the interface with "All times are local".
• Ignoring the letters in flight numbers: For instance, "CA" stands for Air China and "MU" for China Eastern. If you enter "3U8888", the system will automatically recognize it as Sichuan Airlines without issue. However, some users just enter "8888" without the letters, resulting in no matches. We recommend using the standard format.
• Getting cross-day dates wrong: For a red-eye flight departing at 22:00 and arriving at 2:00, just select the departure date. The tool will automatically display the cross-day arrival time. Don't try to force the departure and arrival to be on the same day.

Limitations & Things to Note

• This tool sources data from real-time interfaces authorized by the Civil Aviation Administration, which typically lags behind actual airport status by about 3 to 5 minutes. Delays may occur during extreme weather or system outages.
• It cannot be used to track non-commercial aircraft (like private jets or helicopters) and does not include charter or cargo flights.
• For codeshare flights, only the operating airline's flight number is displayed. For example, a flight shared by CA might show the actual operating ZH flight number, and the results will note "Operated by: Shenzhen Airlines".
• Historical on-time performance data is based on the past 6 months and updated monthly. It serves as a reference but does not guarantee future performance.
• If flight statuses are changing frequently (e.g., due to incoming flight delays), we recommend refreshing the page every 15 minutes.

Typical Use Cases

Scenario 1: Planning an Airport Pickup
Mrs. Li's son is flying back to Beijing from Sydney, and she isn't very familiar with mobile apps. She enters the flight number her son gave her, "CA174", into our tool and sees the scheduled arrival is 17:30, but it's currently delayed until 19:20. She decides to leave home at 19:00, avoiding a two-hour wait at the airport.

Scenario 2: Rescheduling a Business Trip
Mr. Zhang was scheduled to fly from Shenzhen to Shanghai at 17:00. He opens the tool at 2:00 PM and sees the flight is "Canceled". He immediately uses the airline's app to rebook onto another flight at 16:00, taking only 3 minutes in total.

Scenario 3: Travelers Choosing Flights
Chen is planning a trip to Kunming for the Dragon Boat Festival and is debating between a 7:00 AM or 11:00 AM ticket. He enters the "Chengdu → Kunming" route into the tool and sorts by "On-Time Rate". He sees the 7:00 AM flight has only a 55% on-time rate over the past six months (due to morning fog), while the 11:00 AM flight has a 91% on-time rate. He decisively books the 11:00 AM ticket.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why does my flight show "No Data Available