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Output

Messages output by the endpoint are encoded in JSON format. The message(s) output when calling the endpoint will have the form of a Flight Object as detailed below.

Flight Object#

The Flight Object will contain all available fields which describe a flight observed by ADS-B and each is identified by a unique flight_id. All fields included in the Flight object are described below.

Content#

Flight object information#

The fields in this table are taken directly from ADS-B messages:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
icao_addressstringHexadecimal representation of ICAO 24-bit address"02013F"
callsignstringCall sign"RAM200"
latitudefloatLatitude in degrees, between -90 and 90 (both inclusive)-26.80491819
longitudefloatLongitude in degrees, between -180 (exclusive) and 180 (inclusive)28.64151588
altitude_barointegerBarometric altitude in feet38000
on_groundbooleanSpecifies if the aircraft is on the ground. true if the aircraft is on the ground, false if the aircraft is airbornefalse
speedfloatAircraft speed in knots477
headingfloatAircraft heading in degrees (0 is North)273
vertical_rateintegerVertical rate of ascent/descent, in ft/min100
squawkstringMode-A squawk code"6617"

Spire flight object metadata#

These fields are merged into each record to provide additional information regarding the ADS-B message:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
flight_idIDSpire internal unique flight ID. Random UUIDv4 sequence"9bfe2152-471a-402d-9c07-07b2da25649c"
timestampdatetimeTimestamp for which all data fields are valid"2023-01-04T07:55:25Z"

Aircraft Information#

The following fields are enhanced data and may be present in the record depending on availability:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
tail_numberstringAircraft Registration"G-EUUL"
aircraft_type_icaostringAircraft type (ICAO code)"A320"
aircraft_type_namestringFull aircraft type name"Airbus A320 (sharklets)"
aircraft_rolestringAircraft rolePAX,CAR
airline_icaostringIATA code of the airline"BAW"
airline_iatastringIATA code of the airline"BA"
airline_namestringAirline commerical name"British Airways"

Flight Information#

The following fields are enhanced data and may be present in the record depending on availability:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
flight_numberstringFlight number (IATA format)"AK512"
departure_airport_icaostringDeparture airport ICAO code"WMKK"
departure_airport_iatastringDeparture airport IATA code"KUL"
departure_scheduled_timedatetimeScheduled departure time, format is in ISO 8601"2023-03-20T04:05:00Z"
departure_utc_offsetstringDeparture airport timezone offset from UTC"+0800"
arrival_airport_icaostringArrival airport ICAO code"VVNB"
arrival_airport_iatastringArrival airport IATA code'HAN"
arrival_scheduled_timedatetimeScheduled arrival time, format is in ISO 8601"2023-03-20T07:20:00Z"
arrival_utc_offsetstringArrival airport timezone offset from UTC"+0700"

Flight Analytics#

The following fields are enhanced data and may be present in the record depending on availability:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
flight_statestringFlight state"ARCHIVED"
takeoff_timetimestampTimestamp of actual detected take off"2023-03-20T04:37:25Z"
landing_timetimestampTimestamp of actual detected landing"2023-03-20T07:28:19Z"
flight_starttimestampTimestamp reflecting point when ADS-B tracking begins"2023-03-20T04:15:25Z"
flight_endtimestampTimestamp reflecting point when ADS-B tracking ends"2023-03-20T07:35:19Z"
off_block_timetimestampTimestamp of actual detected OFF block event"2023-01-04T11:44:15Z"
on_block_timetimestampTimestamp of actual detected ON block event"2023-01-04T11:44:15Z"

Sample#

Here is an example of a typical Flights History Object broadcast by our API:

{
"flight_id":"a8236288-06cf-4319-9f59-95f36b700c09",
"timestamp":"2023-03-20T07:25:41Z",
"icao_address":"750470",
"tail_number":"9M-AGV",
"aircraft_type_icao":"A20N",
"aircraft_type_name":"Airbus A320neo",
"aircraft_role":"PAX",
"airline_icao":"AXM",
"airline_iata":"AK",
"airline_name":"AirAsia",
"flight_number":"AK512",
"callsign":"AXM512",
"flight_state":"ARCHIVED",
"departure_airport_icao":"WMKK",
"departure_airport_iata":"KUL",
"arrival_airport_icao":"VVNB",
"arrival_airport_iata":"HAN",
"departure_utc_offset":"+0800",
"arrival_utc_offset":"+0700",
"departure_scheduled_time":"2023-03-20T04:05:00Z",
"arrival_scheduled_time":"2023-03-20T07:20:00Z",
"latitude":21.251562,
"longitude":105.701447,
"altitude_baro":1950,
"on_ground":false,
"speed":140.0,
"heading":106.97796,
"vertical_rate":-1080,
"squawk":"2117",
"takeoff_time":"2023-02-02T04:37:25Z",
"landing_time":"2023-02-02T07:28:19Z"
"flight_start":"2023-03-20T04:15:15Z",
"flight_end":"2023-03-20T07:35:15Z"
}