While you're grieving the thought of having a friend or family member travel by air, a flight tracker app can help calm your nerves by notifying you of the whereabouts of your loved one's plane. 

Many of these apps provide users with up-to-the-minute data on where a flight is currently located and how long it will take to reach the destination. Unlike the plane tickets, these apps cost next to nothing, which is a pleasant surprise given today's technological advancements. 

Best of all, you can access this data with only your smartphone or web browser, so no additional hardware is needed to see where your mate, relative, friend, or offspring is located.

FlightAware

FlightAware is available on Android and iOS as well as at www.flightaware.com. This app allows you to track down any flight if you either have the flight's number, route, airline, or airport code. The flight map is easy to decipher and the NEXRAD radar overlay gives users plenty of details about the flight path. 

The smartphone versions of the app are free, with a monthly fee of $0.99 to remove ads. Needless to say, FlightAware is one of the most generous apps for tracking flights.

Plane Finder

Plane Finder is great to use on your web browser at www.planefinder.net, but it's even got more features and is more user-friendly on smartphones. The "MyFlights" feature allows you to save specific flights and get notifications on departures, arrivals, delays, and other happenings. 

What's more, smartphone users can take advantage of their phone's augmented reality to record planes flying overhead and obtain their flight information. While the app is free to download, a premium subscription costs $3.99 per month and unlocks 3D displays and extra information on flights.

Flightradar24

Another robust tracker app, Flightradar24 provides appealing geographical map data that includes weather data that overlays the flights themselves. Weather is available to Gold and Business plan owners, but the app offers a 7-day free trial that you can cancel before it expires. 

Flightradar24 is even able to identify flights from private charters, helicopters, and smaller planes. Like FlightAware, you can search your flight by airline or route. 

You're free to track any flight, but those who pay $12.99 per year for a Silver membership orGold.99 per year for a gold membership will get access to additional features such as plane history and 3D mode.

FlightStats

FlightStats is one of the cleanest and most corporate-looking fight trackers, ideal for users that want a focused-looking interface rather than just a map full of planes on it. Not only can you search specific plan flights, but you can also search the airports themselves and scout scheduled flights and arrivals and weather conditions. 

FlightStats on iOS can also allow you to display flight information right from the iPhone's lock screen, which is convenient for those eager to look at flight updates. 

Standard accounts go at $2.99 a month, in which users can get access to air departure and arrival times and flight notifications on their smart devices. Professional accounts cost $24.99 per month and offer flight history for airplanes, airports, and routes.

The Flight Tracker

Another refined tracker app, The Flight Tracker can provide condensed information about specific flights, including arrival times and baggage claim locations, stylized like Google Maps. Adding even more usefulness is a 10-day weather forecast and a GPS for those who want the fastest route to the airport. 

You can also sync flights to your digital calendar and share info in an SMS message, email, or on social media. There are two versions of this app: One that's free and another that costs $4.49 but doesn't show ads. You can download the app either on Android or iOS, but unfortunately, there's no web version as of this writing.