Are there known coverage gaps in the flight tracking data?

Flight utilisation & ADS-B data

Yes — as with all ADS-B-based tracking solutions, some coverage limitations exist. Understanding what causes them helps set the right expectations when working with flight utilisation data.

What causes coverage gaps?

There are two main reasons why an aircraft may not appear — or appear incompletely — in the data:

• ADS-B Out not installed. Older aircraft and those operating in regions where ADS-B Out is not yet mandated may not broadcast a signal at all. Without a broadcast, no tracking is possible.
• Ground and satellite reception gaps. Remote or sparsely monitored regions — such as parts of Papua New Guinea, certain areas of Africa, and remote parts of Russia — have limited terrestrial receiver coverage, and satellite pass frequency may be lower.
• GPS spoofing in conflict zones. Active GPS spoofing near conflict areas — including regions around Israel, Ukraine, and Iran — can distort or suppress ADS-B signals, leading to incomplete or unreliable positional data.

How does ch-aviation address this?

ch-aviation sources its ADS-B data from Spire, whose combination of satellite and terrestrial receivers has consistently ranked among the highest-performing in independent evaluations. Spire's coverage has expanded significantly over the past few years and continues to improve month by month as additional satellites and ground stations are added to its network.

How can I assess data quality for a specific aircraft?

ch-aviation displays a data quality index per aircraft, broken down by day and month. This index shows the percentage of fully tracked flights for that aircraft, giving you a transparent view of confidence levels before drawing conclusions from the data.

Is this an issue unique to ADS-B data?

No. All utilisation data — whether sourced from ADS-B or directly from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) systems — represents an approximation of reality. Even for well-covered markets such as domestic US operations, minor discrepancies can arise from factors like time zone definitions, how multi-leg flights are reported, and how airlines account for flights still airborne at month-end. This is an industry-wide characteristic, not a platform-specific limitation.

If this article does not answer your question or resolve your issue, you can always submit a ticket and our Customer Support team will get back to you as soon as possible.