generated: '2026-09-10'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/firehose/documentation/revisionhistory,
  https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/aeroapi/, https://status.flightaware.com/,
  and openapi/_original/flightaware-openapi.yml (AeroAPI 4.30.0)
description: >-
  FlightAware runs three generations of API in parallel: AeroAPI v4 (current, REST), Firehose
  (current, streaming, on its own version train), and FlightXML 2/3 (legacy SOAP, superseded but
  still serving live WSDL contracts). Each has a different versioning and support posture, and only
  Firehose publishes an explicit support window.
versioning:
  - api: AeroAPI
    scheme: major-version-in-product-name plus semver in info.version
    current: 4.30.0
    major: v4
    docs: https://www.flightaware.com/aeroapi/portal/documentation
    note: >-
      The base path carries no version segment (https://aeroapi.flightaware.com/aeroapi); the
      generation is expressed in the product name and the contract's info.version. Observed moving
      from 4.17.1 to 4.30.0 between API Evangelist harvests, additively — 11 operations added, none
      removed. A migration guide exists for the v3 to v4 transition
      (https://go.flightaware.com/aeroapi-version-4-migration-guide).
  - api: Firehose
    scheme: integer major release, requested per connection with the `version` initiation command
    current: '37.0'
    current_released: '2026-02'
    docs: https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/firehose/documentation/revisionhistory
    note: >-
      A client pins the protocol version at connection time, so old and new clients coexist. Message
      types and fields are gated on the version requested AND on the replay date range.
  - api: FlightXML
    scheme: major version in the URL path
    current: '3'
    status: legacy
    note: FlightXML 2 and 3 are superseded by AeroAPI v4. Both WSDLs still resolve and both SOAP endpoints answer 401 (auth required), so the services are live but no longer the recommended surface.
deprecation:
  policy_url: https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/firehose/documentation/revisionhistory
  sunset_header: false
  support_window: >-
    Firehose, verbatim: "The non-latest versions of major releases are supported for up to 1 year
    after the date of release." This is the only explicit support window FlightAware publishes for
    any of its APIs.
  note: >-
    No RFC 8594 Sunset or Deprecation response header is declared in AeroAPI 4.30.0 or documented
    for Firehose. Deprecation is communicated in prose in the revision history and via
    `deprecated: true` markers inside the OpenAPI schema.
deprecated_surfaces:
  - surface: Firehose event code `flightplan`
    replacement: flifo
    evidence: >-
      Firehose commands page, verbatim: "'flightplan' and 'extendedFlightInfo' are being deprecated
      in favor of 'flifo'."
    source: https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/firehose/documentation/commands
  - surface: Firehose event code `extendedFlightInfo`
    replacement: flifo
    evidence: same statement as above
    source: https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/firehose/documentation/commands
  - surface: FlightXML 2 and FlightXML 3 (SOAP + JSON)
    replacement: AeroAPI v4
    evidence: >-
      https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/flightxml/ now redirects to the AeroAPI product page,
      and https://flightxml.flightaware.com/json/FlightXML3/ returns HTTP 410 Gone with the body
      "The requested resource is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding
      address." Individual FlightXML operations still answer 401, so the services remain reachable
      for existing customers.
    probed: '2026-09-10'
deprecated_fields:
  - field: alternate_ident
    surface: airport objects across AeroAPI
    replacement: code_iata (IATA) or code_lid (FAA LID)
    evidence: '`deprecated: true` in the contract, with remediation text naming both replacements.'
    source: openapi/_original/flightaware-openapi.yml
deprecated_operations: []
sla:
  url: https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/aeroapi/
  uptime_target: 99.5%
  applies_to: AeroAPI Premium tier only
  note: >-
    The 99.5% uptime guarantee is published as a Premium-tier ($1,000/month minimum) benefit on the
    AeroAPI pricing page, alongside email and phone support. No SLA is published for the Personal or
    Standard tiers.
status_page: https://status.flightaware.com/
status_page_details:
  platform: Atlassian Statuspage
  page_id: PP9NJN5
  created: '2025-06-03'
  subscribe: [email, slack, webhook]
  probed: '2026-09-10'
  http_status: 200