Getting Started

Access aviation data including global airport directories, aircraft lookups, callsign lookups, and operator intelligence — all through a key-authenticated REST API.

Base URL https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/

The API is built on REST principles, accepts query parameters for GET requests, and returns standard JSON. All requests require an active API key.

Current Dataset

—Operators

—Aircraft

—Callsigns

—Airports

—Runways

Available Endpoints

GET

Airport Short

Compact airport summary: ident, country, GPS code, FIR, and name.

GET

Airport Full

Full airport metadata plus detailed runway specifications.

GET

Aircraft Short

Look up an aircraft by registration or ICAO24 for identity and operator details.

GET

Aircraft Full

Full details including serial, manufacturer, engines, and optional callsign history.

GET

Callsign Search

Look up an exact callsign and retrieve its master record, flights, and aircraft.

GET

Callsigns by Operator

List all known callsigns associated with a given airline operator.

NEW GET

Route Search

Find all callsigns and aircraft that have operated a specific route pair.

GET

Operator Search

Look up an operator by name to see their callsigns and known fleet.

Data Coverage

The API is powered by a live, autonomously growing dataset.

How Data is Collected

All aircraft, callsign, route, and operator data is captured automatically by monitoring live flight tracking. Every time a flight is observed the system records the relevant information and adds it to the database. No manual data entry is involved.

Airport data is sourced from a static reference dataset and is available from day one. Aircraft and callsign records are only created once that specific aircraft or callsign has been observed in the live feed.

Missing records are not errorsA 404 Not Found response for an aircraft, callsign, or operator does not necessarily mean the resource doesn't exist — it may simply not have been observed yet.

You may encounter

Situation	Explanation
Aircraft not found	Registration or ICAO24 hasn't been seen in the live feed yet.
Callsign not found	That specific callsign variant hasn't been logged yet.
Incomplete operator fleet	Only aircraft observed operating under that name are listed.
Sparse route results	The route hasn't been operated many times since data collection began.

Authentication

All requests require an active API key passed as a query parameter on every call.

Append your API key to every request using the api_key query parameter.

GET https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?airport_short=EGKK&api_key=asb_live_...

Rate Limits

All API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your current plan.

Current Tiers

Plan	Requests Per Minute
Free	10
Standard	300

Rate limit headersEvery response includes X-RateLimit-Limit and X-RateLimit-Remaining headers so you can track usage.

429 Too Many Requests

Response
{
  "error": {
    "code": 429,
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Maximum 10 requests per minute."
  }
}

Errors

All error responses follow the same shape — an error object with a numeric code and a human-readable message.

Error shape
{
  "error": {
    "code": 401,
    "message": "Invalid API key."
  }
}

404 doesn't always mean missingFor aircraft, callsigns, and operators a 404 means the resource hasn't been observed in the live feed yet. See Data Coverage.

Status Codes

200

OK — request successful.

400

Bad Request — missing or invalid parameter.

401

Unauthorized — missing or invalid api_key.

403

Forbidden — API key is disabled.

404

Not Found — resource doesn't exist or hasn't been observed yet.

429

Too Many Requests — rate limit exceeded.

500

Server Error — something went wrong on our end.

Airport Short

GET /api/v1/airports.php?airport_short={icao}&api_key={key}

Returns a compact airport summary containing just the key identifying fields.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
airport_shortstring	Required	ICAO identifier (e.g. `EGKK`). 2–5 alphanumeric characters.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?airport_short=EGKK&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
import requests
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php", params={
    "airport_short": "EGKK", "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
print(r.json()["airport"]["name"]) # London Gatwick Airport
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ airport_short: "EGKK", api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?" . http_build_query([
    "airport_short" => "EGKK", "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);
$data = json_decode(file_get_contents($url), true);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "airport": {
    "ident": "EGKK",
    "iso_country": "GB",
    "gps_code": "EGKK",
    "FIR": "EGTT",
    "name": "London Gatwick Airport"
  }
}

Airport Full

GET/api/v1/airports.php?airport_full={icao}&api_key={key}

Returns complete airport metadata alongside all associated runway records with threshold and heading data.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
airport_fullstring	Required	ICAO identifier (e.g. `EGKK`).
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?airport_full=EGKK&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php", params={
    "airport_full": "EGKK", "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ airport_full: "EGKK", api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/airports.php?" . http_build_query([
    "airport_full" => "EGKK", "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "airport": {
    "ident": "EGKK", "type_left": "large_airport",
    "elevation_ft": 202, "iso_country": "GB",
    "iso_region": "GB-ENG", "municipality": "London",
    "gps_code": "EGKK", "local_code": null,
    "coordinates": "51.148744, -0.185739",
    "FIR": "EGTT", "name": "London Gatwick Airport"
  },
  "runways": [
    {
      "id": 239573, "airport_ident": "EGKK",
      "length_ft": 10883, "width_ft": 148,
      "surface": "ASP", "lighted": 1, "closed": 0,
      "le_ident": "08R", "le_heading_degT": 78,
      "he_ident": "26L", "he_heading_degT": 258
    }
  ]
}

Aircraft Short

GET/api/v1/aircraft.php?aircraft_short={reg_or_icao24}&api_key={key}

Returns a compact aircraft identity record. Accepts either a tail number or a 6-character ICAO24 hex address.

Most-recent recordReturns the most recent record from the history table. If an aircraft has changed operators the current name will be reflected.

Aircraft may not yet be in the databaseRecords are created the first time a registration or ICAO24 address is observed. A 404 means it hasn't been seen yet.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
aircraft_shortstring	Required	Registration (e.g. `G-EZUC`) or 6-char ICAO24 hex (e.g. `40643D`).
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?aircraft_short=G-EZUC&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php", params={
    "aircraft_short": "G-EZUC", "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ aircraft_short: "G-EZUC", api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?" . http_build_query([
    "aircraft_short" => "G-EZUC", "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "aircraft": {
    "registration": "G-EZUC",
    "icao24": "40643D",
    "aircraft_type": "A320",
    "aircraft_model": "A320-200",
    "operator": "easyJet"
  }
}

Aircraft Full

GET/api/v1/aircraft.php?aircraft_full={reg_or_icao24}&api_key={key}

Returns complete aircraft details including serial, manufacturer, engine count, and optional callsign history.

Optional callsign historyAdd &callsigns=1 to include a known_routes array. Use &limit=N to cap results (default 20, max 100).

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
aircraft_fullstring	Required	Registration or 6-char ICAO24 hex address.
callsignsinteger	Optional	Set to `1` to include `known_routes`.
limitinteger	Optional	Max callsign records when `callsigns=1`. Default 20, max 100.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?aircraft_full=G-EZUC&callsigns=1&limit=5&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php", params={
    "aircraft_full": "G-EZUC", "callsigns": 1, "limit": 5, "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ aircraft_full: "G-EZUC", callsigns: 1, limit: 5, api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/aircraft.php?" . http_build_query([
    "aircraft_full" => "G-EZUC", "callsigns" => 1, "limit" => 5, "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json — without callsigns

Response
{
  "aircraft": {
    "registration": "G-EZUC", "icao24": "40643D",
    "aircraft_type": "A320", "aircraft_model": "A320-200",
    "operator": "easyJet", "serial": "2200",
    "manufacturer": "Airbus", "engines": "2",
    "modes_country": "United Kingdom"
  }
}

200 OKapplication/json — with callsigns=1

Response
{
  "aircraft": { /* ...same as above... */ },
  "known_routes": [
    { "callsign": "EZY12AB", "route_from": "EGKK", "route_to": "LEMD" }
  ]
}

Callsign Search

GET/api/v1/callsigns.php?callsign_search={callsign}&api_key={key}

Retrieve the route for an exact callsign, along with all associated historical flights and unique aircraft that have operated it.

Exact match onlyCallsign records are only created when that specific callsign string is seen in the live feed. A 404 means it hasn't been observed yet.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
callsign_searchstring	Required	Exact callsign (e.g. `EZY65CG`). 2–10 alphanumeric characters.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?callsign_search=EZY65CG&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php", params={
    "callsign_search": "EZY65CG", "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ callsign_search: "EZY65CG", api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?" . http_build_query([
    "callsign_search" => "EZY65CG", "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "master": {
    "callsign": "EZY65CG", "operator": "easyJet",
    "route_from": "LPPT", "route_to": "EGGW",
    "callsigns_total": 1, "last_seen_time": "2026-06-08 00:37:46"
  },
  "flights": [
    {
      "registration": "G-EZUC", "icao24": "40643D",
      "route_from": "LPPT", "route_to": "EGGW",
      "aircraft_type": "A320", "operator": "easyJet"
    }
  ],
  "aircraft": [
    { "registration": "G-EZUC", "aircraft_type": "A320", "aircraft_model": "A320-200" }
  ]
}

Callsigns by Operator

GET/api/v1/callsigns.php?callsign_operator={operator}&api_key={key}

Returns all known callsigns for a given operator name, ordered by most recent activity.

Case-sensitive operator namesNames are matched exactly as stored (e.g. easyJet, not Easyjet). Use Operator Search to confirm the exact stored name.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
callsign_operatorstring	Required	Exact operator name (e.g. `Ryanair`, `easyJet`). Min 2 characters.
limitinteger	Optional	Max records. Default 10, max 100.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?callsign_operator=Ryanair&limit=2&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php", params={
    "callsign_operator": "Ryanair", "limit": 2, "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ callsign_operator: "Ryanair", limit: 2, api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?" . http_build_query([
    "callsign_operator" => "Ryanair", "limit" => 2, "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "count": 2,
  "results": [
    {
      "callsign": "RYR13YB", "operator": "Ryanair",
      "route_from": "LEMD", "route_to": "EGSS",
      "callsigns_total": 1, "last_seen_time": "2026-06-07 19:18:43"
    }
  ]
}

Route Search NEW

GET/api/v1/callsigns.php?route_search={ICAO-ICAO}&api_key={key}

Returns all distinct callsigns and aircraft that have operated a specific route pair, identified by departure and arrival ICAO codes joined with a hyphen.

Route formatSupply both airport ICAO codes separated by a hyphen — e.g. EGKK-LEMD (Gatwick → Madrid).

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
route_searchstring	Required	Route pair in `ICAO-ICAO` format (e.g. `EGKK-LEMD`).
limitinteger	Optional	Max records for callsigns and aircraft. Default 20, max 100.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?route_search=EGKK-LEMD&limit=5&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php", params={
    "route_search": "EGKK-LEMD", "limit": 5, "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ route_search: "EGKK-LEMD", limit: 5, api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/callsigns.php?" . http_build_query([
    "route_search" => "EGKK-LEMD", "limit" => 5, "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "route": { "from": "EGKK", "to": "LEMD" },
  "count": 2,
  "callsigns": [
    {
      "callsign": "EZY12AB", "route_from": "EGKK", "route_to": "LEMD",
      "operator": "easyJet", "callsigns_total": 4,
      "last_seen_time": "2026-06-07 22:14:09"
    }
  ],
  "aircraft": [
    {
      "registration": "G-EZUC", "icao24": "40643D",
      "aircraft_type": "A320", "operator": "easyJet"
    }
  ]
}

Operator Search

GET/api/v1/operator.php?operator_search={operator}&api_key={key}

Look up an airline operator by exact name to retrieve a summary, their known callsigns, and their full fleet of known aircraft.

Case-sensitive operator namesNames are matched exactly as stored (e.g. easyJet).

Query Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
operator_searchstring	Required	Exact operator name (e.g. `easyJet`, `Ryanair`). Min 2 characters.
limitinteger	Optional	Max callsigns to return. Default 20, max 100. Does not affect aircraft list.
api_keystring	Required	Your active API key.

Example Request

cURL
Python
JavaScript
PHP
cURL
curl -X GET "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/operator.php?operator_search=easyJet&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
Python
r = requests.get("https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/operator.php", params={
    "operator_search": "easyJet", "api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
})
JavaScript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ operator_search: "easyJet", api_key: "YOUR_KEY" });
const data = await fetch(`https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/operator.php?${params}`).then(r => r.json());
PHP
$url = "https://aviationdb.uk/api/v1/operator.php?" . http_build_query([
    "operator_search" => "easyJet", "api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);

200 OKapplication/json

Response
{
  "operator": {
    "operator": "easyJet", "total_callsigns": 842,
    "total_aircraft": 156, "last_seen_time": "2026-06-08 01:12:04"
  },
  "callsigns": [
    { "callsign": "EZY65CG", "route_from": "LPPT", "route_to": "EGGW",
      "callsigns_total": 1, "last_seen_time": "2026-06-08 00:37:46" }
  ],
  "aircraft": [
    { "registration": "G-EZUC", "icao24": "40643D",
      "aircraft_type": "A320", "aircraft_model": "A320-200" }
  ]
}

Response Objects

Field-level reference for every object returned by the API.

Airport (Short)

{
"ident"string— ICAO identifier (e.g. EGKK)
"iso_country"string— 2-letter ISO country code
"gps_code"string— GPS code (usually matches ident)
"FIR"string— Flight Information Region code
"name"string— Full airport name
}

Airport (Full) — additional fields

{
"type_left"string— Classification (e.g. large_airport, small_airport)
"elevation_ft"integer— Field elevation in feet
"iso_region"string— Region code (e.g. GB-ENG)
"municipality"string— Associated city or municipality
"local_code"string | null— Local aviation code if applicable
"coordinates"string— Decimal lat/lon (e.g. "51.148744, -0.185739")
"runways"array— Array of runway objects (see below)
}

Runway

{
"length_ft"integer
"width_ft"integer
"surface"string— Surface material code (e.g. ASP, CON, GRS)
"lighted"integer— 1 if lighted
"closed"integer— 1 if closed
"le_ident"string— Low-end threshold designator (e.g. 08R)
"le_heading_degT"float— Low-end true heading
"he_ident"string— High-end threshold designator (e.g. 26L)
"he_heading_degT"float
}

Aircraft (Short)

{
"registration"string— Aircraft tail number (e.g. G-EZUC)
"icao24"string— 24-bit Mode-S transponder address (e.g. 40643D)
"aircraft_type"string— ICAO type code (e.g. A320)
"aircraft_model"string— Common model name (e.g. A320-200)
"operator"string— Current operator name
}

Aircraft (Full) — additional fields

{
"serial"string | null— Manufacturer serial number (MSN)
"manufacturer"string | null
"engines"string | null— Number of engines
"modes_country"string | null— Country of Mode-S registration
"known_routes"array | undefined— Present only when callsigns=1
}

Callsign (Master)

{
"callsign"string
"operator"string
"route_from"string— Most common departure airport ICAO
"route_to"string— Most common arrival airport ICAO
"callsigns_total"integer— Times this callsign was logged
"last_seen_time"string— UTC timestamp of most recent sighting
}

Operator

{
"operator"string
"total_callsigns"integer— Total distinct callsigns observed
"total_aircraft"integer— Total distinct aircraft observed
"last_seen_time"string— UTC timestamp of most recent activity
}

API Documentation

Getting Started

Current Dataset

Available Endpoints

Data Coverage

You may encounter

Authentication

Rate Limits

Current Tiers

Errors

Status Codes

Airport Short

Query Parameters

Example Request

Airport Full

Query Parameters

Example Request

Aircraft Short

Query Parameters

Example Request

Aircraft Full

Query Parameters

Example Request

Callsign Search

Query Parameters

Example Request

Callsigns by Operator

Query Parameters

Example Request

Route Search NEW

Query Parameters

Example Request

Operator Search

Query Parameters

Example Request

Response Objects

Airport (Short)

Airport (Full) — additional fields

Runway

Aircraft (Short)

Aircraft (Full) — additional fields

Callsign (Master)

Operator