Overview
ADS-B Exchange is a community-driven API that provides real-time and historical position data for aircraft around the world. Unlike commercial providers it does not filter out military or sensitive flights, making it popular with aviation enthusiasts and researchers. No API key is required for basic access, so you can start querying aircraft data immediately.
Beginner Tip
Use an ICAO hex code or a geographic bounding box to narrow results; querying the entire feed at once can return thousands of aircraft and slow your app. Check the ADS-B Exchange docs for the correct endpoint version as v2 endpoints differ from legacy ones.
Measurement Record
What actually happened when we called this API from our own infrastructure. Every value below was recorded by the request, not copied from the provider's documentation.
- Request
- GET https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/json/lat/37.62/lon/-122.38/dist/25/
- Result
- HTTP 200 · application/json · 11 bytes · compressed
- Response time
- 137 ms (median of 3) · fastest 134 ms
- Transport
- TLSv1.3 · TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 · certificate issued by Google Trust Services
- Browser CORS
- Allowed — Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://apisscore.com
- Served by
- cloudflare
- Recorded
- 2026-08-10
Available Data
The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.
Example Response
Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.
{
"route": "Line 1",
"origin": "Station A",
"destination": "Station B",
"departure": "08:30",
"arrival": "09:15",
"status": "On Time",
"delays_min": 0
} Field Reference
icao The 6-character ICAO 24-bit transponder address uniquely identifying the aircraft. call Flight callsign as broadcast by the aircraft transponder. lat Latitude of the aircraft in decimal degrees. lon Longitude of the aircraft in decimal degrees. alt_baro Barometric altitude in feet above sea level. spd Ground speed of the aircraft in knots. Implementation Example
Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.
const url = "https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/json/lat/37.62/lon/-122.38/dist/25/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data); What Can You Build?
Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.
Common Errors & Troubleshooting
Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.
Measured Score Breakdown
Live HTTP request to the API endpoint
Fully tested on Aug 10, 2026
Technical Specifications
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