Overview
PreflightAPI is a REST API for aviation data and flight planning calculations. It provides real-time METARs, Terminal Area Forecasts (TAFs), airport information, geospatial airspace boundaries, NOTAMs, Chart Supplements, Terminal Procedures, and many other flight planning tools — sourced from NOAA, FAA NASR Subscriptions, the NOTAM Management System, and more. Here's how to get started.
Base URL
https://api.preflightapi.io/api/v1All API endpoints are relative to this base URL. Every request must include an Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key header. See the authentication guide for details.
Note
API Conventions
- REST + JSON — All endpoints accept and return JSON. Content type is always
application/json. - Versioned — The current API version is
v1, included in every URL path (/api/v1/...). - Cursor-based pagination — Endpoints that can return large result sets use a paginated wrapper with bidirectional navigation. Use the
cursorquery parameter with eithernextCursororpreviousCursorto page forward or backward. Thelimitparameter controls page size (1–500, default 100). - Structured errors — All errors — gateway and backend — return a unified response format with a machine-readable
code, human-readablemessage, and atraceIdfor support. Validation errors include field-level details. - Response caching — GET responses are cached at the API gateway. Cache duration varies by data type (2–15 minutes). See the rate limits page for the full cache duration table.
Paginated responses follow this shape:
{
"data": [ ... ],
"pagination": {
"nextCursor": "eyJpZCI6MTAwfQ==",
"hasMore": true,
"previousCursor": null,
"hasPrevious": false,
"limit": 100
}
}Endpoint Access by Plan
Not all endpoints are available on every plan. Requesting an endpoint your plan doesn't include returns a 403 Forbidden response. See pricing for full plan details.
| Endpoint Category | Student Pilot Free | Private Pilot $14.99/mo | Commercial Pilot $49.99/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| METARs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TAFs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Airports (search & details) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Runways | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Communication Frequencies | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PIREPs | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| Domestic SIGMETs | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| G-AIRMETs | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| Airspace & Special-Use Airspace | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| Obstacles | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| NOTAMs | — | — | ✅ |
| Route Briefing | — | — | ✅ |
| Terminal Procedures | — | — | ✅ |
| Chart Supplements | — | — | ✅ |
| E6B Flight Computer | — | — | ✅ |
| NAVAIDs | — | — | ✅ |
| Navigation Log | — | — | ✅ |