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/v1

All 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

Want to explore the API interactively? Import our OpenAPI spec into Postman, Insomnia, or any OpenAPI-compatible tool. Download it at /api/openapi.

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 cursor query parameter with either nextCursor or previousCursor to page forward or backward. The limit parameter 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-readable message, and a traceId for 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 CategoryStudent 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

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