Flightaware

mcp-flightaware

FlightAware MCP — wraps FlightAware AeroAPI v4 (aeroapi.flightaware.com)

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1879+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.

Tools

Tool	Description
flightaware_flight_status	Get real-time flight status for a flight number or tail number: origin/destination airports, scheduled/estimated/actual departure & arrival times, current status, and aircraft type. Returns a flights[] array (one flight ident can map to several dated flights). Example: flightaware_flight_status({ ident: "UAL123", _apiKey: "your-key" })
flightaware_flight_track	Get the historical position track (breadcrumb trail of lat/lon/altitude/groundspeed points) for a specific flight. The id must be an AeroAPI fa_flight_id (e.g. "UAL123-1234567890-airline-0123") — get one from flightaware_flight_status first (the fa_flight_id field). Example: flightaware_flight_track({ id: "UAL123-1234567890-airline-0123", _apiKey: "your-key" })
flightaware_airport_flights	List flights at an airport — arrivals and/or departures with scheduled & actual times. The id is an airport code (ICAO like "KSFO" or IATA like "SFO"). Use type to pick "arrivals", "departures", or "all" (default "all", which also includes scheduled flights). Example: flightaware_airport_flights({ id: "KSFO", type: "departures", _apiKey: "your-key" })
flightaware_flight_position	Get the current/last-known position of an in-air flight: latitude, longitude, altitude, groundspeed, heading and timestamp. The id must be an AeroAPI fa_flight_id (from flightaware_flight_status). Example: flightaware_flight_position({ id: "UAL123-1234567890-airline-0123", _apiKey: "your-key" })

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flightaware": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/flightaware/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/flightaware/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1879+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

This pack takes your own API key (_apiKey) — we don't front one for it, so there's no curl here that would run without it. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/flightaware_flight_status. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flightaware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-flightaware"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-flightaware

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Flightaware data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT