OpenSky Report 2025: Improving Crowdsourced Flight Trajectories with ADS-C Data

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how integrating ADS-C satellite data with traditional ADS-B data enhances the accuracy and coverage of global flight trajectory reconstructions, especially over remote oceanic and African regions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for combining ADS-B and ADS-C data to improve long-haul flight path accuracy over previously underrepresented areas.

Findings

Significant improvement in trajectory reconstruction accuracy.

Enhanced coverage over oceanic and African regions.

Facilitates better environmental and safety assessments.

Abstract

The OpenSky Network has been collecting and providing crowdsourced air traffic surveillance data since 2013. The network has primarily focused on Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Broadcast (ADS-B) data, which provides high-frequency position updates over terrestrial areas. However, the ADS-B signals are limited over oceans and remote regions, where ground-based receivers are scarce. To address these coverage gaps, the OpenSky Network has begun incorporating data from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Contract (ADS-C) system, which uses satellite communication to track aircraft positions over oceanic regions and remote areas. In this paper, we analyze a dataset of over 720,000 ADS-C messages collected in 2024 from around 2,600 unique aircraft via the Alphasat satellite, covering Europe, Africa, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. We present our approach to combining ADS-B and ADS-C data to construct detailed long-haul flight paths, particularly for transatlantic and African routes. Our findings demonstrate that this integration significantly improves trajectory reconstruction accuracy, allowing for better fuel consumption and emissions estimates. We illustrate how combined data captures flight patterns across previously underrepresented regions across Africa. Despite coverage limitations, this work marks an important advancement in providing open access to global flight trajectory data, enabling new research opportunities in air traffic management, environmental impact assessment, and aviation safety.