From royal farewells to Father Christmas: The most tracked flights of all time
December 31, 2025
Flight tracking has evolved from a niche activity into a mainstream sport used to follow global events, including the movements of world leaders and celebrities.
Platforms such as Flightradar24 handle millions of users each year, but occasionally a single aircraft captures the attention of a worldwide audience.
From royal deaths to geopolitical crises – and the occasional unexplained spike – here is a look back at some of the most tracked flights in recent years.
The world’s most tracked flight carried the Queen’s coffin
At the top of that list sits a moment of historic significance. The most tracked flight in history was the final flight of Queen Elizabeth II.
On 13 September 2022, a Royal Air Force-operated Boeing C-17 carrying the Queen’s coffin from Edinburgh to London RAF Northolt was followed in real time by millions of users around the world (pictured above).
According to Flightradar24, more than five million people simultaneously tracked the aircraft during the short domestic flight, setting a record later recognised by Guinness World Records.
“Within the first minute of the aircraft’s transponder activating, 6 million people attempted to click on the flight carrying the Queen,” noted Flightradar24 in a blog reflecting on the day.
“That put unprecedented strain on the Flightradar24 platform. We expected a large influx of users, but this immediate, massive spike was beyond what we had anticipated. Approximately 600,000 users were able to successfully follow the flight before performance degraded.”
Pelosi’s Pacific politics make the second most tracked flight
The second most tracked flight was driven by geopolitics rather than royalty.
In August 2022, a US Air Force C-40C carrying then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan attracted intense global scrutiny amid escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
As the aircraft crossed the Pacific, millions of users monitored its progress, with much of the interest apparently centred on whether the flight would proceed as planned or be diverted.
The journey became a proxy for broader political anxieties, with flight tracking serving as a real-time barometer of international relations.
Unlike the Queen’s final flight, this was a case where uncertainty – and the potential consequences of an aircraft’s trajectory – fuelled the interest.
Similar tracked flights include a rare visit by a US Air Force C-37B aircraft to Moscow, sparking widespread speculation about the purpose of the flight.
The aircraft, often used for government and military transport, was closely monitored on the flight tracking platform as it made its way to the Russian capital.
A random regional service becomes the most tracked flight
Not all highly tracked flights are tied to global events. One of the stranger moments in flight tracking history was a routine regional service operated by Aurigny from Guernsey to Manchester that, for reasons never fully explained, suddenly became one of the most-watched flights on Flightradar24.
The aircraft was not known to be carrying a celebrity passenger, operating a farewell service, or flying an unusual route.
Yet tens of thousands of users followed it simultaneously.
FlightRadar24 said it was the “most interested anyone has ever been in an ATR 72 – and no, we have no idea why”.
The episode is perhaps explained by the erratic and viral nature of the internet, where interest can snowball without an obvious trigger.
Tracking Qantas’ Project Sunrise test flights
Technical ambition has also drawn flight-trackers’ attention. Qantas’ Project Sunrise test flights, conducted to validate ultra-long-haul operations linking Australia with Europe and North America, have ranked among the most tracked flights.
Long-haul flights prove particularly popular. American Airlines’ inaugural flight from Dallas in the US to Brisbane in Australia was another to make the list of tracked aircraft movements.
Beyond individual flights, certain aircraft types and registrations regularly dominate tracking charts.
Military surveillance aircraft, test aircraft, business jets linked to high-profile individuals, and rare or retro-liveried airliners frequently appear among the most tracked aircraft globally.
FlightRadar24 says the Antonov AN-225 was regularly the most tracked aircraft on the platform prior to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Other popular aircraft to track include the Airbus A380, the Airbus Beluga (A300-600ST) and BelugaXL (A330-743L), and older aircraft such as Boeing 737-200s and Boeing 757s/767s.
Is Santa the most tracked flight in the world?
At the lighter end of the tracking spectrum, mass flight tracking occurs on 24 and 25 December each year, when users flock to the Flightradar24 app to “track” Father Christmas on his annual global journey.
“Santa’s sleigh (SANTA1) flew global ops Dec 23–25, cruising at FL600 and even making a surprise stop in Rovaniemi,” FlightRadar24 said in a post-Christmas roundup.
“Flightradar24 recorded more than 33 million clicks to track Santa’s global journey, with a peak of close to 200,000 simultaneous trackers watching his annual gift run live. We conclude that major breaking news events and geopolitical incidents have nothing on Santa.
“This year, we also live-streamed Santa’s journey on our YouTube channel,” said the tracking platform. “More than 320,000 people chose this alternative over the tried-and-true crackle and pop from a streamed fireplace.”
Featured image: FlightRadar24
