FlightXML3 API Departures Missing after arrival / FlightAware Tracking Status shows "Estimated Arrival" indefinitely

FlightAware AeroAPI
1

I am using the FlightXML3 API → AirportBoards. I have noticed on a few of the flights that have landed / completed, your flighaware.com flight tracker shows that the flights have landed, but remain at “Estimated Arrival”, and don’t ever get a ‘Gate Arrival’ time. Then, in the API response, the flight disappears completely for that day.

I’m using: {'airport_code': KHIB, 'include_ex_data': 'true', 'filter': 'airline', 'type': 'all'}

For example, flight SKW4259 KHIB->KMSP 7/15/2019:

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW4259/history/20190715/1215Z/KHIB/KMSP

We got responses for Scheduled, Left Gate, En Route, and then 08:16 was the last API Request / Response we got that the flight existed. It never showed up as landed/arrived.

2

For some flights we do not receive enough information from our data providers to declare a confident arrival indication, and so we instead label it as “estimated arrival” (we also previously called these “flight result unknown”).

See also our FAQ for the case of actualdeparturetime == actualarrivaltime :
https://flightaware.com/commercial/flightxml/faq.rvt#findstatus

3

OK, I can add to my code where actualdeparturetime == actualarrivaltime. However, this flight doesn’t exist anymore for a call to the API for today’s flights. This morning, until about 8:16am +/- 10 minutes, there was a SKY4259 flight for 7/15/19. Now, the flight is no longer in an API request/response for KHIB->KMSP. So I cannot use the actualdeparturetime == actualarrivaltime logic to display the estimated/assumed arrival time.

4

You can use FlightInfoStatus with the faFlightID of that particular flight (SKW4259-1562993185-airline-0261), which you obtained from AirportBoards while it was visible.

Because the “flight result unknown” condition is not the normal conclusion of a flight, it possibly causes the flight to be hidden from AirportBoards (though I haven’t had time to verify that as an intentional behavior yet).

5

Just wanted to hop in and say thanks for posting about this; I’ve been having some issues with AirportBoards and lingering statuses (especially for flights that have arrived but keep showing as in flight with my application’s logic).

Would be interested to know if the potential bug suggested in the last post by @bovineone is actually a bug, and when it might get fixed.

Thanks!

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