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Unusual flights, explained

What the unusual flights are, what they look like on a track, and how to follow them. Every example is a real flight FlyScout found.

Unusual flights explained

What each kind of unusual flight is, what it looks like on a track, and the usual reasons behind it.

What does squawk 7700 mean? The emergency codes 7700, 7600 and 7500 Squawk codes list: what 7000, 2000, 1200 and the emergency codes mean What is a go-around? Why your plane aborted its landing Why is my plane circling? Holding patterns, and how long they last Why did my flight turn back? Turnbacks and U-turns explained Why do flights divert? Diversions explained Why is a military plane circling? Tankers, AWACS and spy planes on station Why is a plane flying round and round the airport? Circuits explained What an emergency descent looks like on a flight tracker The fastest airliner flights: riding the jet stream at over 800 mph The highest-flying aircraft you can see on a flight tracker Why would a jumbo jet fly a 20-minute flight? Wide-body short hops Rare military aircraft you can see on flight trackers

Finding unusual flights

How to follow emergencies, military aircraft and rare visitors while they happen.

How to track emergency flights live How to track military aircraft How to get an alert when something unusual is flying How to find interesting flights on Flightradar24, and the faster way FlyScout vs Flightradar24: finding unusual flights vs tracking every flight

Flight tracker basics

What the codes, gaps and estimates on a flight tracker mean.

Callsign, flight number, registration and hex code: what each one is Why flight trackers lose planes over the ocean What is MLAT? Why some positions on a flight tracker are estimates