Business aircraft search
Use tail numbers and aircraft identifiers to find the aircraft you want to follow.
Central Aviation Tracking
Private jet tracker: find private flights by tail number
Use a confirmed aircraft registration to look for private, business or corporate aircraft in CAT. Available observations can help you follow an airframe, but they do not identify its passengers.
Open CAT to search a private aircraft
Airport activity
Explore aircraft around business aviation airports and major commercial fields.
Weather context
View aviation weather alongside the map when conditions matter to the traffic picture.
How to track private flights by tail number
- Find the aircraft registration, such as the tail number painted on the aircraft. Use a confirmed registration rather than assuming who owns or travels on a flight.
- Open CAT’s aircraft search and enter the registration. A callsign or six-character ICAO address can also help when available.
- Inspect the latest observation timestamp, aircraft identity and coverage. An absent result does not establish that the aircraft is on the ground.
- Save the aircraft to Favorites. Open available recent history to view observed tracks or a recorded 3D replay.
What CAT can and cannot show
Private and corporate aircraft may appear when the provider has recent observations and matching identity information. Coverage, equipment, signal reception and source availability can all leave gaps. CAT does not guarantee that every private aircraft is visible. Tracking an aircraft does not identify its passengers or establish who is on board.
Observed history is not an airline schedule or a filed flight plan. Airport associations are based on available track evidence. For an actual travel booking, confirm departures, delays and cancellations directly with the operator or airport.
Save aircraft and watch updates
Free includes saved aircraft; current limits are listed on the plans page. Alerts can report observed flight changes while CAT remains open and receives the relevant aircraft. Notifications when CAT is closed are not available yet. Compare Free and Premium or learn about 3D flight playback.
Private plane, corporate jet, or charter flight?
The search starts with the aircraft’s confirmed identity, not an assumption about ownership or the purpose of a trip. Use tail number search for a specific airframe and verify the observation timestamp. A charter’s flight identifier may differ from the registration painted on the aircraft.
Explore an airport instead of guessing an aircraft
When you know the field but not the aircraft, start with Teterboro KTEB, Naples KAPF or the airport directory. Airport proximity alone does not prove an aircraft departed from, or is landing at, that field.
Respect missing and restricted information
Coverage gaps, unmatched identities and source privacy restrictions can limit visibility. CAT does not promise access to every aircraft and does not provide a way to bypass privacy restrictions. Use registration records for identity context and route details only when available; neither establishes who is travelling.