Is celebrity jet tracking legal?
Yes. Planes send out their position over open radio. This signal is called ADS-B. It is not encrypted, and most aircraft must send it by law. In the U.S. and most other countries, sharing a public broadcast is protected speech. Journalists and public-interest groups use the same data.
How do you know which plane belongs to which celebrity?
We build the list by hand from public records. These include FAA records, other national registries, company filings and court filings. We also use news reports from outlets like Bloomberg, Forbes, the New York Post and Variety. Each entry links a plane's ICAO hex code to an owner. We add a plane only when the public record backs it up. We do not guess.
Where does the flight data come from?
Live positions come from adsb.lol, with ADSB.fi as a backup. Both are free networks of volunteer receivers. They pick up the public ADS-B signal that planes send out. Ownership comes from public aircraft registries. Our methodology page has the full details.
How accurate are the emissions numbers?
They are good estimates, not audited figures. We multiply the flight time by the plane's fuel burn per hour. Then we multiply by about 9.6 kg (21 lb) of CO₂ for each gallon of jet fuel. Real fuel use can be 10 to 15% higher or lower. It depends on load, weather and route.
What is FAA LADD?
LADD stands for Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed. It is an FAA program. Owners can ask the FAA to hide their plane from the flight data it shares with tracking services. LADD does not stop the plane's own ADS-B signal. Volunteer networks pick up that signal directly, and some of them do not honor LADD. So planes on the LADD list can still be tracked.
Why do posts on X and Instagram run 24 hours late?
Their rules. X and Meta limit sharing someone's live location. So our posts there go out a day after the flight. Bluesky and LinkedIn have no such rule, so we post there as soon as a flight lands. The live map on celebplanes.com is always real time.
How can I get my jet removed?
Email hello@celebplanes.com. We do not remove planes owned by public figures. We do fix factual errors quickly. We also hold back the live position of flights we know are medical, search-and-rescue or other safety-sensitive missions.
Who runs Celebplanes?
A small editorial team led by founder and editor Harrison Farrell. Our motto is simple: public flights, public planes. For press questions, email hello@celebplanes.com.