Traveller engagement with aircraft flight tracker applications

In exploring flight trackers through a mobility lens, this study is situated at the nexus of the movements of people and objects, near real-time location-based navigational technologies, cartographic and mobile digital applications, and flows of information. Flight tracking applications (apps), allow users to see where aircraft are at any given moment from digital devices such as smartphones, yet little is known about their use, a gap which this paper starts to fill. This qualitative survey provides new insights into people’s actual day-to-day use of flight trackers. Within the context of critical mobilities and the right to information and movement, findings indicate (un)equal access to, and use of, flight trackers. Implications for the travel industry, particularly airports and airlines, include effectively integrating flight tracker and other information, through the digitalised and co-ordinated development of a seamless door-to-door journey, to enhance the experience for all travellers

Aeronautics · Aerospace and Aviation Technology · Air Traffic Management and Optimization · Computer Science · Engineering · Human-Automation Interaction and Safety · Aerospace Engineering