> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.planeconnection.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How to Use the Trip Map and Live Tracking
> Visualize trip routes on an interactive map, monitor real-time flight tracking with position updates and ETA calculations, review waypoints and alternates, and play back historical tracks.
By the end of this guide, you will have visualized trip routes on the interactive map, monitored real-time flight tracking, reviewed ETA calculations, and played back historical tracks.
The Operations module must be enabled for your workspace. You also need the appropriate operations
permissions. Contact your workspace administrator if you cannot access these features.
You need the `dispatch.read` permission to view the map. Live tracking requires a tracking data
source (ADS-B Exchange, SatCom Direct, or FlightAware integration) configured in workspace
settings.
## Prerequisites
* At least one trip with a complete route (departure and destination
airports).
* For live tracking: a tracking integration enabled under **Admin >
Integrations**. Without an active integration, the map shows
planned routes only.
* A modern browser with WebGL support (required by MapLibre GL).
## Access the trip map
You can access the trip map from several locations:
1. **Trip detail page** -- Open any trip and click the **Map** tab
to see the route for that specific trip.
2. **Dispatch Dashboard** -- The fleet map widget on the dashboard
shows all active flights on a single map.
3. **In-Flight Display** -- Navigate to **Ops > In-Flight** in the
sidebar for a full-screen map focused on currently airborne
aircraft.
4. **Schedule page** -- Click the map icon on any scheduled trip row
to open a route preview popover.
## Understand the route visualization
The map shows the great-circle route line (blue arc), departure airport (green marker), destination airport (red marker), alternate airports (orange markers), waypoints along the route, and the total distance in nautical miles.
Use the layer toggle in the top-right corner of the map to show or hide optional layers: FIR
boundaries, weather radar overlay, airspace boundaries, and terrain elevation shading.
### Multi-leg routes
For trips with multiple legs, each leg is rendered as a distinct
route segment with its own departure and destination markers. Legs
are color-coded sequentially (blue, teal, indigo) so you can
distinguish them visually. The active leg (if in flight) is
rendered with a thicker, animated line.
### Map controls
The map supports standard navigation:
* **Zoom** -- Scroll wheel, pinch gesture, or the `+`/`-` buttons.
* **Pan** -- Click and drag, or use arrow keys.
* **Rotate** -- Right-click and drag, or hold Ctrl while dragging.
* **Tilt** -- Right-click and drag vertically to enter 3D
perspective view.
* **Reset** -- Click the compass icon to return to north-up, 2D
view.
* **Fit route** -- Click the **Fit** button to zoom the map to
encompass the entire route.
## Use live tracking during active flights
When a trip transitions to **Active** status and the aircraft is
airborne, the map switches to live tracking mode.
### Step 1: Confirm tracking data is flowing
On the trip detail page or the In-Flight Display, look for the **Tracking** status indicator in the map toolbar. A green **Live** pulse means data is flowing, yellow **Stale** means the last update is older than 60 seconds, and gray **No Data** means no tracking data is available.
### Step 2: Monitor the aircraft position
The aircraft appears as a directional icon on the map, oriented
along its current heading. The icon trails a fading breadcrumb line
showing the path flown so far.
Clicking the aircraft icon opens a **flight info card** showing altitude, ground speed, heading, vertical rate, position coordinates, and last update timestamp.
### Step 3: Review ETA calculations
The map toolbar displays the estimated time of arrival (ETA) for
the current leg, calculated from the aircraft's current position,
ground speed, and remaining distance. The ETA updates every time a
new position report is received.
The ETA card shows:
* **ETA (local)** -- Arrival time in the destination airport's
local timezone.
* **ETA (UTC)** -- Arrival time in Zulu.
* **Time remaining** -- Hours and minutes until arrival.
* **Distance remaining** -- Nautical miles to destination.
ETA calculations assume the current ground speed remains constant. Factors such as wind changes,
ATC routing, and holding patterns will cause the ETA to shift. Treat the ETA as an estimate and
verify with ATC or crew communications for critical timing decisions.
### Step 4: Set up position alerts (optional)
Click the **Alerts** button in the map toolbar to configure
automatic notifications:
* **Arrival alert** -- Notify when the aircraft is within a
specified distance (e.g., 50 NM) of the destination.
* **Deviation alert** -- Notify if the aircraft deviates more than
a specified distance from the planned route.
* **Overdue alert** -- Notify if the aircraft has not arrived by a
specified time after the planned ETA.
Alerts are delivered via in-app notification and email to the
selected recipients (dispatcher, operations manager, owner).
Live tracking data is provided for situational awareness only. It does not replace ATC radar
services, required position reports, or regulatory flight following obligations under 14 CFR
135.79. Dispatchers must maintain communication with crews through approved channels.
## View position history and breadcrumbs
During an active flight, the map displays a breadcrumb trail behind
the aircraft icon showing the path flown. Each breadcrumb dot
represents a position report. Hover over any breadcrumb to see the
timestamp, altitude, and speed at that point.
After the flight is complete, the full track is preserved and
accessible from the trip detail page.
## Play back historical tracks
### Step 1: Open a completed trip
Navigate to a trip in **Completed** status and open the **Map** tab.
### Step 2: Start playback
Click the **Playback** button in the map toolbar. A playback
control bar appears at the bottom of the map with:
* **Play/Pause** button
* **Speed selector** (1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x)
* **Timeline scrubber** -- Drag to jump to any point in the flight.
* **Elapsed time** and **total time** labels.
### Step 3: Watch the replay
Click **Play** to animate the aircraft icon along the historical
track. The flight info card updates in real time with the altitude,
speed, and position at each point in the replay.
The playback renders altitude changes as color gradations along the
track line (green for low altitude, transitioning to blue for
cruise altitude), giving a visual profile of the flight.
### Step 4: Export the track (optional)
Click the **Export** button in the playback bar to download the
track data:
* **KML** -- For Google Earth or other mapping tools.
* **GPX** -- Standard GPS exchange format.
* **CSV** -- Tabular position data for analysis.
Historical track playback is valuable for post-flight debriefing, FOQA review, and investigating
deviations. Share the playback link with safety managers when a flight profile warrants review.
## Map on the Dispatch Dashboard
The Dispatch Dashboard includes a fleet map widget that displays
all active flights simultaneously. Each aircraft appears as a
labeled icon with:
* Tail number
* Current altitude and speed (on hover)
* Color-coded by trip status (green for on time, yellow for delayed,
red for overdue)
Click any aircraft on the fleet map to jump to that trip's detail
page and full-screen map view.
## Related
Full-screen live tracking view for all airborne aircraft.
Real-time KPIs, fleet map, and active flight monitoring.
Build the trip route that the map visualizes.
Analyze flight data quality from recorded tracks.