Flighty has long been one of our must-have apps, indispensable for up-to-the-second updates on your flights. Now, the company behind the popular iPhone app is becoming the best way to track disruptions at all airports – not just on your individual flights.
Released Tuesday, Flighty calls it Airport Intelligence. It gives travelers a broad overview of what's happening at airports all across the glove – more than 14,000 of them, in fact – to flag potential disruptions or trends that could affect their travels. And it's not just available to paying Flighty Pro users or even via app – anyone can scope things out for free on its website at Flighty.com/airports.
From staffing issues to strikes to weather impacts, and tarmac delays, this new feature will give travelers an estimated delay time based on what is happening at airports, the company said in its announcement Tuesday.
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“Airport meltdowns are increasingly common, and historically it would take a pilot, controller, or a serious aviation expert to explain why, until now,” Flighty CEO Ryan Jones said. “Airport Intelligence turns raw data into real insights so you always know what's happening at your airport.”
Watch or Listen: Flighty CEO Ryan Jones Joined the Thrifty Traveler Podcast!
Delays and cancellations are inevitable in the airline world. We've typically turned to other tools like FlightAware.com or FlightRadar24 for a big picture look at disruptions going on at airports or airlines. Flighty takes that approach and folds in even more helpful information to get you up to speed quickly.
Additionally, it has a “TV Mode” that is built to be cast onto televisions in newsrooms or onto your personal TV at home if you're a real travel sicko like we us!
Like all of Flighty's features, the app decodes complicated aviation data into an easy-to-understand way. The new Airport Intelligence, for instance, includes Meteorological Aerodrome Reports (METARs), Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs), Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs), and much more. If acronyms like this one make your head spin, I hear you! That's why I love Flighty – no acronyms, just information.
In addition to the flight disruption data from Airport Intelligence, the app update includes a treasure trove of other data analyses that can be useful, if not just fun and cool.
“Runway Regulars,” for example, uses the Flighty Friends feature to let you see who among your tracked friends has visited the airport you're flying through most often. You can also mark your favorite airports on the app and get notifications when disruptions begin, even if your scheduled flights aren't impacted.
But the data goes much further. You can also now see airport boards showing every arrival and departure at any airport, along with trends about flight performance and delays throughout the day, plus what Flighty is calling “Deep Airport Stats” for the busiest airlines, most impacted routes, airport rankings, and more, too.
Bottom Line
Flighty just leveled up (again) by launching its new Airport Intelligence feature, giving all travelers the tools to see what's happening at airports all over the world – even if you're not a subscriber to Flighty Pro or even an iPhone user.
The new website and app update brings in millions more data points to give travelers the tools to understand if, why, and by how much their tracked flights will be disrupted. It's a must-have tool for frequent flyers.
