How Flightradar24 became the go-to platform for the world to watch global aviation crises unfold

"In a bid to draw more eyes to their Swedish flight price comparison portal, the entrepreneurs added a page charting air traffic. That page became Flightradar24, the portal that people around the world now turn to when there is chaos and drama in the skies. Very soon this flight tracker became more popular than the price comparison [tool] itself."

"In 2010, when the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano released a vast cloud of ash that grounded flights across Europe, millions turned to Flightradar24 to monitor flight movements (or lack thereof) in real time. It was the first time the platform attracted an influx of curious users, keen to watch a major event unfold in real time."

"You can pick any kind of major aviation event you want after that, said Fredrik Lindahl, chief executive of Flightradar24 from the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014 to the onset of the Covid pandemic, which crippled the travel industry in 2020."

Flightradar24 originated as a secondary feature on a Swedish flight price comparison website created by Mikael Robertsson and Olov Lindberg. The air traffic tracking page unexpectedly became more popular than the primary service. The platform gained significant attention during the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption when millions monitored flight disruptions in real time. Since then, Flightradar24 has attracted massive user surges during major aviation events including Malaysia Airlines Flight 370's disappearance, the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical incidents. The platform serves both large-scale crises affecting millions and individual high-profile events, such as tracking opposition activist Alexei Navalny's medical evacuation and return to Russia. Recent Middle East tensions further demonstrated the platform's role as a global monitor of aviation disruptions.

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