# OpenSky Flight Scraper (`parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes live aircraft states, airport arrivals, airport departures, and flight history from OpenSky Network. Returns each flight as a flat row with callsign, position, altitude, velocity, heading, and origin country.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, Developer tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 5 total users, 2 monthly users, 87.1% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.99 / 1,000 result items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### OpenSky Flight Scraper

**Scrape live aircraft states and flight history from OpenSky Network, up to a million flights per run.** Every flight comes with its callsign, position, altitude, velocity, heading, and origin country. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

OpenSky's official API limits anonymous users to 400 credits per day and needs a registered account for more. This Actor reads the public live and historical endpoints directly, filtered by bounding box, airport, or time window, and returns each flight in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape OpenSky Network for |
|---|---|
| Aviation analysts | Monitor air traffic density over a region in real time |
| Flight tracking apps | Feed live aircraft positions into a map or dashboard |
| Airport operators | Analyze arrival and departure patterns at a specific airport |
| Researchers | Study historical flight trajectories for academic work |

### What it does

This Actor collects live aircraft states, airport arrivals, airport departures, or all flights in a time interval from OpenSky Network, and returns each flight as a flat row.

- 🛰️ **Live States:** current snapshot of all aircraft airborne, optionally filtered by a bounding box.
- 🛬 **Airport Arrivals:** planes that landed at a given ICAO airport within a time window.
- 🛫 **Airport Departures:** planes that took off from a given ICAO airport within a time window.
- 🕒 **All Flights in Interval:** every flight in a time interval, up to 2 hours.
- 🔑 **Optional OpenSky account:** pass a username and password to raise rate limits.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with OpenSky Network data

**📡 Monitor live air traffic over a region.**

An aviation analyst sets a bounding box over the Alps and runs the Actor every minute to see which aircraft are airborne right now.

**🛬 Track arrivals at a major airport.**

An airport operator enters EDDF and a 24-hour window to get every landing at Frankfurt for delay analysis.

**🛫 Analyze departure patterns.**

A researcher pulls a week of departures from KJFK to study taxi-out times and runway usage.

**🕒 Reconstruct historical flights.**

A flight tracking app queries a 2-hour interval to rebuild the path of a specific aircraft for a user.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Works with the public OpenSky endpoints, no registration needed |
| **Four modes** | Live states, arrivals, departures, or all flights in an interval |
| **Flat output** | One row per flight with callsign, position, altitude, velocity, heading |
| **Optional login** | Use a free OpenSky account for higher rate limits |

### How it compares

This Actor covers the same OpenSky endpoints as the two direct competitors below, with the added option to use an OpenSky account for higher rate limits.

| Feature | ParseForge | OpenSky Flight Scraper - Live Aircraft & ADS-B Data | Live Flight Tracker (OpenSky) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live aircraft states | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Airport arrivals and departures | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| All flights in a time interval | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Bounding box filter | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Optional OpenSky account for higher rate limits | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| No API key required | Yes | Yes | Yes |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a bounding box, an airport ICAO code, or a time window, alone or together, and filters run as each flight is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "mode": "liveStates",
 "airportIcao": "EDDF"
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "mode": "liveStates",
 "airportIcao": "EDDF"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.01199 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.20 |
| 1,000 results | $11.99 |
| 10,000 results | $119.90 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [OpenSky Flight Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to OpenSky Network through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your filters. For Live States, make sure your bounding box coordinates are correct and cover an area with air traffic. For airport modes, verify the ICAO code and that your time window is in the past and within the allowed span.

**Why did the run fail with a rate limit error?**

OpenSky limits anonymous requests to 400 credits per day. If you hit the limit, wait until it resets or provide a free OpenSky account username and password in the input to get 1000 credits per day.

**Why is my time window rejected?**

For airport modes, the maximum span is 7 days. For the Flights mode, it is 2 hours. Also ensure your begin timestamp is before the end timestamp and both are in the past.

**Why do I get fewer flights than expected?**

OpenSky's data depends on volunteer receivers, so coverage is not complete everywhere. Some flights may be missing, especially in remote areas. Also check that your filters are not too restrictive.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need an OpenSky account? | No. The Actor works with the public OpenSky endpoints without any login. If you have a free OpenSky account, you can pass your username and password to get higher rate limits. |
| What is the difference between Live States and All Flights in Interval? | Live States returns a snapshot of all aircraft currently airborne, optionally filtered by a bounding box. All Flights in Interval returns every flight that was active in a given time window, up to 2 hours long. |
| How do I filter by airport? | Use the Airport Arrivals or Airport Departures mode and enter the 4-letter ICAO code, like EDDF for Frankfurt or KJFK for JFK. You also need to set a begin and end Unix timestamp. |
| What is a bounding box? | A bounding box is a rectangular area defined by minimum and maximum latitude and longitude. In Live States mode, you can set these four values to only get aircraft inside that area. |
| What time format do I use for begin and end? | Unix timestamps in seconds since epoch. For example, 1700000000 is November 14, 2023. The maximum span is 7 days for airport modes and 2 hours for the Flights mode. |
| Can I get more than 1 million flights? | The maximum per run is 1,000,000 flights. If you need more, split your query into smaller time windows or bounding boxes and run the Actor multiple times. |
| What data does each flight row contain? | Each row includes the ICAO 24-bit address, callsign, origin country, time of last contact, position (latitude and longitude), barometric altitude, velocity, heading, and vertical rate. |
| Is the data real-time? | Live States mode returns the current snapshot from OpenSky, which is updated every few seconds. Historical modes return data as recorded by OpenSky's network of receivers. |
| Can I export the results? | Yes. The Actor outputs a dataset that you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform. |
| What is the rate limit without an account? | OpenSky allows anonymous users 400 credits per day. Each API call costs credits, so a single run may use several credits. With a free account, you get 1000 credits per day. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenSky Network. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of flights to collect per run.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

LiveStates: snapshot of aircraft currently airborne. AirportArrivals: planes that landed at an airport in a time window. AirportDepartures: planes that took off. Flights: all flights in a time interval.

## `boundingBoxMinLat` (type: `string`):

LiveStates only. South edge of the area (e.g. 45.8 for Alps).

## `boundingBoxMaxLat` (type: `string`):

LiveStates only. North edge.

## `boundingBoxMinLon` (type: `string`):

LiveStates only. West edge.

## `boundingBoxMaxLon` (type: `string`):

LiveStates only. East edge.

## `airportIcao` (type: `string`):

AirportArrivals / AirportDepartures modes. 4-letter ICAO (e.g. EDDF for Frankfurt, KJFK for JFK).

## `beginTime` (type: `integer`):

Airport and Flights modes. Start of the time window in seconds since epoch.

## `endTime` (type: `integer`):

Airport and Flights modes. End of the time window (max span 7 days for airports, 2 hours for Flights).

## `username` (type: `string`):

Free OpenSky account username for higher rate limits.

## `password` (type: `string`):

Password that goes with the username.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "mode": "liveStates",
  "airportIcao": "EDDF"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "mode": "liveStates",
    "airportIcao": "EDDF"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "mode": "liveStates",
    "airportIcao": "EDDF",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "mode": "liveStates",
  "airportIcao": "EDDF"
}' |
apify call parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/opensky-flights-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/9vHNGj6b4Mlkpy2KE/builds/UAqGj35rht1bMnfP5/openapi.json