FlightAware: what it is, how to track flights in real time and why Cuba appears on the map in 2026

es.flightaware.com is the Spanish-language gateway to the flight tracking service most used by professionals and curious passengers. You open the map and see thousands of icons moving: it's not magic or secret government radar, but ADS-B signals that planes emit by law, captured by a global network of antennas — many installed by amateurs on their rooftops. In 2026, that screen has also become a political window: with Cuba without aviation fuel (Jet A-1), electrical blackouts and mass cancellations, families in Miami and Havana consult FlightAware to find out if the repatriation flight took off or if the plane from Toronto made a technical stopover in the Dominican Republic. This guide explains what the platform is, who controls it, how to use it, and what it can—and can't—tell you about the Cuban sky.

What is FlightAware

FlightAware defines itself as a digital aviation company and the largest flight data platform in the world (About FlightAware). Offers:

• Live map of global air traffic (web and iOS/Android apps).
• Flight status: delays, cancellations, gates, history.
• Alerts by SMS, email or push when a flight takes off, lands or is delayed.
• Enterprise APIs: AeroAPI (on-demand queries) and Firehose (real-time streaming).
• B2B tools for airlines, airports, FBOs and operators.

Its commercial slogan – Central to Aviation® – reflects that it is not just a “screen Flightradar”: it processes hundreds of gigabytes daily and feeds operational decisions with predictions (Foresight) based on AI and machine learning.

ADS-B: the “AIS of the sky”

If MarineTraffic uses AIS for ships, FlightAware mainly uses ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) for aircraft. The airplane transponder:

1. Read GPS position, altitude, heading and speed.
2. Transmits at 1090 MHz (ES mode) approximately every second.
3. Includes identifier (ICAO hex), callsign, aircraft type and sometimes destination.

In the US and Europe, most controlled airspace has required ADS-B Out since the mid-2010s. Ground-based receivers — such as FlightAware's FlightFeeder — pick up these signals in line-of-sight up to ~250–400 km depending on altitude (blog FlightAware — airspace modernization).

HyperFeed: how it merges thousands of feeds

An aircraft can appear simultaneously on ATC radar, terrestrial ADS-B, satellite and ARINC/SITA datalink messages. The HyperFeed® engine (FlightAware blog):

• Processes +10,000 positions per second.
• Validates, deduplicates and filters erroneous signals.
• Assigns a persistent FlightAware Flight ID from departure to arrival.
• Enriched with data from drivers in +45 countries.

The result is a coherent “flight history” visible on the aircraft sheet, not just an isolated dot on the map.

Who controls FlightAware

Epoque	Control	Notes
2005	Foundation in Houston (Texas)	Pioneer of massive commercial tracking
2015–2020	Independent, indirectly quoted via growth	Community ADS-B network expanding
Nov 2021	Collins Aerospace (RTX unit)	Acquisition announced; integrated into Connected Aviation Solutions (release)
Today	Collins / RTX + open community network	FlightAware maintains brand and public site; data also for corporate connected aviation

The purchase by Collins — supplier of in-flight systems to Boeing and Airbus — linked ground tracking with the “connected aviation” strategy: less fuel burned, more efficient routes, predictive maintenance. For the casual user, the site is still free with paid premium features.

How to use es.flightaware.com

1. Search flight: number (e.g. AA2690), route (MIA–HAV) or registration (N12345).
2. Live map: click on any plane → tab with altitude, speed, type (B737, A320...), origin/destination.
3. Airports: dedicated pages such as José Martí (MUHA) or Miami (KMIA) with arrivals/departures in real time.
4. Layers: top right icon → weather, clouds, precipitation (premium part).
5. Free account: limited alerts, custom fleets, basic history.
6. Playback: play traffic from previous hours (advanced subscription).

The interface at español shares data with flightaware.com; They only change language and regional format.

Cuba on the map: jet fuel crisis and blackouts (2026)

In February 2026, Cuban authorities published NOTAM A0356/26: Jet A-1 not available from February 10 to March 11 at nine international airports, including José Martí (Flightradar24 Blog; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aviation Week).

• Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat: suspended service; repatriation flights with tankering (refueling in Canada for round trip without refueling in Cuba).
• Iberia, Air France, Turkish: adjustments, booking flexibility or technical stopovers in the Caribbean.
• American, Delta, Southwest from Miami: short routes; They can operate carrying enough fuel for the return without refueling on the island (Aviation Week).

On July 7, 2026, a third national blackout worsened the crisis — hospitals and airports rely on generators with diesel also in short supply (Al Jazeera). In FlightAware you will see less traffic density over Cuba than in 2024: not because the map hides planes, but because there are fewer scheduled flights.

What to look for on the map about Havana:

• Empty ferry flights of Canadian airlines returning passengers.
• Detours towards SDQ (Santo Domingo) or PTY (Panama) on long-haul routes.
• Cancellations that disappear from the MUHA departures board.
• Rossiya / Aeroflot and other operators who announced technical stopovers.

FlightAware vs Flightradar24 and others

Platform	Fortress	Data source
FlightAware	B2B APIs, HyperFeed prediction, Collins integration	Own ADS-B + ATC + Aireon + datalink
Flightradar24	Popular interface, news blog, massive app	Own ADS-B network + multilateration + satellite
ADS-B Exchange	Without filtering planes “blocked” for privacy	Community, data without commercial censorship
RadarBox / OpenSky	Academy, research, European alternatives	ADS-B + MLAT + research

For the citizen tracking a Miami–Havana family flight, FlightAware and FR24 usually coincide on ADS-B equipped commercial flights. The differences appear in executive aviation with a PIA (Position Intent Anonymous) privacy program or in areas with little land coverage.

The community network: PiAware and FlightFeeder

FlightAware does not own all its antennas: thousands of volunteer hosts install a FlightFeeder (own hardware) or PiAware (Raspberry Pi + RTL-SDR 1090 MHz dongle) on the roof (Engineering blog). In exchange they receive:

• Free Enterprise account (business value ~$100/month).
• Statistics for your site and list of aircraft your antenna “sees”.
• Contribution to air safety and route efficiency.

In Florida — especially Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Keys — the density of receivers is very high; That's why flights to the Caribbean are accurately tracked from takeoff to approach to MUHA. See FlightAware's ADS-B coverage map.

Payment products and APIs

• Premium: unlimited alerts, more history, less advertising.
• AeroAPI: REST for third-party apps, airlines and media (AeroAPI).
• Firehose: business stream of real-time positions.
• GlobalBeacon: GADSS compliance for global emergency tracking.
• FlightAware TV: full screen map at FBO and airports.

Limits and myths

Belief	Reality
«FlightAware is military radar»	It is public ADS-B + commercial data merged; does not show objects without transponder
«They hide secret flights to Cuba»	Military aircraft and many private jets do not use public ADS-B or use PIA jamming; It is not specific censorship of Cuba
«If it doesn't appear, it didn't fly»	Can fly out of coverage, with ADS-B off or identity changed
«Map delay = real delay»	Typical latency seconds to ~1 min; satellite may be slower
«Replaces official NOTAM»	For real operations, pilots use FAA/ICAO sources; FlightAware is public reference

Parallel with MarineTraffic: air and maritime OSINT

The same logic that we apply to tracking oil tankers to Matanzas in MarineTraffic is repeated in the sky: automatic signals (AIS / ADS-B), community networks, commercial mergers and limits when someone turns off the transponder. In 2026, the Cuban crisis can be read on both maps: fewer visible tankers and fewer jets over MUHA; those that remain tell a story of energy blockade verifiable with open sources.

Conclusion

FlightAware — in es.flightaware.com or in English — is the public thermometer of global air traffic. It does not control the planes or decide who refuels in Havana; reflects what aircraft emit and what a giant network of antennas captures. In July 2026, looking at the map over Cuba is looking at the consequences of a fuel and electricity crisis in almost real time: each icon that disappears from the Caribbean sky is often a suspended route, a repatriated tourist or an airport generator at its limit.

For the reader in Miami who is expecting a family member: look up the flight number, activate a free alert and check the airline's statement. FlightAware tells you where the plane is; It does not tell you when the power will return on the island — that is still politics, engineering and energy logistics much below the clouds.