Flight Status Information
About VATSIM Deparr
VATSIM Deparr displays simulated airport departure and arrival screens using real-time data from the VATSIM online flight simulation network. All flights shown are virtual pilots flying on flight simulators, not real aircraft.
Data Source
Flight data is obtained from the official VATSIM public API at
https://data.vatsim.net/v3/vatsim-data.json.
This data is refreshed every 15 seconds to provide near real-time information.
The API provides:
- Pilot positions (latitude, longitude, altitude)
- Flight plans (departure, arrival, aircraft type, route)
- Ground speed and heading
- Connection times
Departure Statuses
| Status | How It's Determined |
|---|---|
| EXPECTED | Flight plan filed but the pilot has not yet arrived at the departure airport. The aircraft may still be at a different location. |
| GO TO GATE | Aircraft is on the ground at the departure airport with low ground speed (<5 kts). This is the initial state when a pilot connects at the gate. |
| BOARDING | Aircraft is at the gate within 30 minutes of scheduled departure time. |
| GATE CLOSED | Aircraft is at the gate within 10 minutes of scheduled departure time, indicating imminent pushback. |
| TAXIING | Aircraft is on the ground at the departure airport with ground speed ≥5 kts, indicating taxi to runway. |
| DEPARTED | Aircraft is airborne (altitude >2000ft or ground speed >80 kts) and within 50nm of the departure airport. |
| EN ROUTE | Aircraft is airborne and more than 50nm from the departure airport. |
| DELAYED | Scheduled departure time has passed but the aircraft is still on the ground. Shows delay in minutes. |
| NO SHOW | More than 60 minutes past scheduled departure time and the pilot is not at the departure airport. The flight is considered abandoned. |
Arrival Statuses
| Status | How It's Determined |
|---|---|
| AT ORIGIN | Aircraft is still on the ground at the departure airport. The flight hasn't departed yet. |
| ON GROUND | Aircraft is on the ground but not at the departure or arrival airport. May have diverted or landed elsewhere. |
| EN ROUTE | Aircraft is airborne and more than 150nm from the arrival airport. |
| ARRIVING | Aircraft is airborne and within 150nm of the arrival airport. |
| APPROACHING | Aircraft is airborne and within 50nm of the arrival airport, typically on approach. |
| LANDING | Aircraft is very close to the airport (<10nm) and at low altitude, on final approach. |
| TAXIING | Aircraft is on the ground at the arrival airport with ground speed ≥5 kts. |
| LANDED | Aircraft is on the ground at the arrival airport with low ground speed, indicating arrival at gate. |
| CANCELED | Flight plan was filed (prefile) but the pilot never connected or departed. Shown when scheduled departure time + 60 minutes has passed. |
| LOST | Aircraft was tracked in flight but suddenly disappeared from the network (pilot disconnected mid-flight, simulation crash, or network issues). |
ETA Calculation
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is calculated using the aircraft's current position, ground speed, and distance to the arrival airport. The formula is:
ETA = Current Time + (Distance to Airport / Ground Speed)
Note: This is a simplified calculation and doesn't account for route deviations, approach patterns, or speed changes during descent.
Distance Calculation
Distances are calculated using the Haversine formula, which computes the great-circle distance between two points on a sphere given their latitudes and longitudes. Results are shown in nautical miles (nm).
Limitations
- Gate assignments are not available from VATSIM data
- Actual runway in use is not displayed
- Status detection relies on position and speed thresholds, which may occasionally be inaccurate
- Some airports may not be in our database, showing only ICAO codes