Flight Status Meanings: Scheduled, Departed, Landed, Diverted

Flight status words describe where a flight is in its journey: from “scheduled” before departure to “landed” or “arrived” at the end. The same word can mean slightly different things on different sites, so use the airline’s status as the final word.

The common statuses

• Scheduled: the flight is planned and no changes are recorded.
• On time: it is expected to leave or arrive at the scheduled time, within a small margin.
• Delayed: the estimated time is later than scheduled.
• Boarding / Gate open: passengers are being let onto the aircraft. Gate-closing times come later.
• Departed: the aircraft has left the gate, or taken off, depending on the source. See pushback.
• In air / En route: the aircraft is flying.
• Landed: the wheels have touched the runway. Passengers have not yet left the aircraft. See landed vs arrived.
• Arrived: the aircraft has reached the gate.
• Cancelled: the flight will not operate. See what to do if your flight is cancelled.
• Diverted: the flight is going to a different airport. See what is a flight diversion.

Statuses you may not expect

• Rescheduled / Retimed: the airline has changed the scheduled time itself.
• Unknown / No data: the tracker has no recent update; this does not mean the flight is lost.

Why trackers differ

Sites that use only ADS-B can tell whether an aircraft is flying, but they cannot know the airline’s decision to cancel a flight. Airline systems know that, but may update after a delay. FlightRadar.pk shows live position only and does not label flights “delayed” or “cancelled”.

General information only, not legal or safety advice. Details change; check with your airline and the relevant authority. See our editorial policy.