Real-Time Flight Tracking with Delay Alerts

This workflow automates the entire process of monitoring airline schedules and notifying stakeholders about flight delays, cancellations, or critical updates.

By fetching live airline data and comparing it with stored schedules, it ensures instant alerts to both internal teams and affected passengers - via Slack, Email and SMS - without any manual effort.

It’s ideal for airlines, travel agencies and corporate travel desks looking to deliver faster, more reliable updates and enhance customer satisfaction.

See how our n8n Real-Time Flight Tracking Automation monitors live airline schedules, detects flight delays or cancellations, and instantly sends notifications via Slack, Email and SMS all without manual tracking.

1. Continuous Flight Monitoring

Fetches real-time flight data from trusted aviation APIs and compares it with stored schedules automatically.

2. Instant Multi-Channel Alerts

Notifies both staff and travelers instantly via Slack messages, automated emails and SMS alerts.

3. Reduced Manual Tracking

Eliminates the need for manual checks or spreadsheet monitoring by automating the entire flight status tracking process.

4. Real-Time Data Synchronization

Keeps internal systems up to date with the latest flight information, gate changes and cancellations.

5. Proactive Passenger Communication

Ensures affected passengers receive timely updates for better travel experiences and reduced frustration.

This automation can be used by:

• Airlines to automatically alert passengers and staff of schedule disruptions
• Travel agencies to notify customers about flight changes
• Corporate travel departments to manage business traveler updates
• Airline operations teams for internal monitoring and coordination

By automating updates and alerts, teams save hours of manual work and significantly improve traveler communication.

Data Sources

• AviationStack API – for real-time airline data retrieval

Databases

• PostgreSQL – for storing and comparing flight schedules

Communication

• Slack: for instant internal notifications
• SendGrid: for sending automated email alerts
• Twilio: for critical SMS alerts

Automation Platform

• n8n – for workflow orchestration, logic handling and scheduling

Monitoring & Logging

• Internal logging via PostgreSQL for activity tracking and transparency 

1. Schedule Trigger

Initiates the workflow periodically to fetch and process live flight updates.

2. Fetch Airline Data

Retrieves real-time flight information (status, departure, arrival, gate, etc.) via AviationStack API.

3. Get Current Schedules

Queries stored flight data from the PostgreSQL database to compare against new updates.

4. Process Changes

Identifies variations such as flight delays, cancellations, or rescheduling.

5. Check for Changes

Determines whether a valid change has occurred before triggering alerts.

Internal Notification Flow

6. Update Database

Updates flight schedule records with the latest information.

7. Notify Slack Channel

Sends a formatted Slack message to alert internal staff in real time.

8. Update Internal Systems

Triggers connected applications (via Zapier) to synchronize updated data.

9. Log Sync Activity

Logs all updates for historical tracking and operational visibility.

Passenger Notification Flow

10. Check Urgent Notifications

Validates if changes are critical (like delays or cancellations) and triggers further alerts.

11. Get Affected Passengers

Fetches passenger details from the database for targeted communication.

12. Send Email Notifications

Emails passengers automatically with details about the delay, cancellation, or gate change.

13. Send SMS (Critical Only)

Delivers time-sensitive SMS alerts for high-priority notifications.

• Real-Time Comparison: Matches live API data with stored flight records instantly.
• Conditional Logic: Only triggers alerts for significant schedule changes.
• Multi-Channel Communication: Reaches both staff and travelers through email, SMS and Slack.
• Activity Logging: Every change is recorded for compliance and review.
• Zero Manual Work: Runs entirely on automation, reducing dependency on human intervention.

• Top 5 Global n8n Workflow Creators: Recognized for building advanced automation for travel and hospitality.

• Experts in AI + Workflow Integration: From LLM-based assistants to end-to-end email automation.

• Custom Solutions for Travel Industry: Tailored to your destinations, packages and tone of communication.

• Data Security & Compliance: All customer data handled securely under modern encryption standards.

• Scalable Design: Easily connectable with booking systems, CRMs, or WhatsApp agents.

Before automation, airline operations teams manually checked flight statuses and sent updates - a slow, error-prone process.

After implementing this n8n workflow:

• Flight status checks run every 15 minutes automatically

• Delays trigger instant alerts to staff and passengers

• Critical disruptions are communicated within seconds via SMS

• Internal systems and databases remain fully synchronized

The result - faster response times, fewer missed alerts and improved passenger trust.

This automation enables seamless, real-time communication between airlines, teams and travelers. It reduces manual intervention, speeds up operations and delivers a smooth travel experience.

If your organization manages flight schedules, this automation can transform your efficiency and reliability.

Partner with OneClick IT Consultancy to build your real-time flight tracking and alert workflow today. visit Official Workflow Page 

Ready to automate your travel marketing calls? Contact Oneclick's AI Automation Team to schedule a free consultation.