Overview
Flight duration Service provides a simple API that allows users to determine the average flight duration in minutes. This average time is based on historical flight data collected by the SITA Flight Information system over the past number of years. Note that new routes we receive (routes that don’t have previous duration data available), will return a duration based on estimated distance and speed. These are an estimation and may not reflect true duration values
This API answers the below questions”
What was the total time of the flight?
See our 'Try it Now' page for more details.
Flight Duration API
1 Revision History
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2 Registration and API Sign Up
SITA Flight Duration API is a REST based service which provides information about flight durations around the world.
To access the APIs you will need an API key. These can be obtained by creating an account on https://www.developer.aero/ and registering your interest for access to the API.
2.1 Authentication
To access the APIs an OAuth access token must be supplied. To obtain an OAuth token a request must be sent to the https://sitaopen.api.aero/duration/oauth/token endpoint using the OAuth2 Client Credential flow, using your API key as the client_id, and your consumer secret as the client_secret.
Once an access token has been obtained, it can be placed in the Authorization HTTP header as a bearer token, for example:
Authorization: Bearer eyJ92dNw9dka...2.2 Security
- All incoming requests will be REST over HTTPS.
- Users are authenticated using their API key.
- Certain response payload elements will be filtered based on permissions associated with their token.
2.3 Flight Duration API Structure
The scheme, domain and high level path parameters portion of the URL is:
Where duration is the functional domain. The current version is v2.
| Function | Method | Description |
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2.4 Rate Limiting
All incoming requests are subject to a rate limiting restriction. The following headers are included in HTTP responses:
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
| The total number of requests allowed in the current time window |
| The number of requests left for the current time window |
| The policy describing how many request per time window are allowed |
| The UTC timestamp at which the current rate limit window resets |
3 SITA Flight Duration API
Flight Duration API provides duration statistics for flights between two airports based on data collected from the SITA Flight Information system.
The metrics available include average duration, min duration, max duration, and percentile breakdown. Each of these can be displayed as an aggregate figure (e.g. average duration for all airlines) or split out per airline.
3.1 Resources
This section describes Flight Duration API with regards to:
- Detailed API structure
- Example requests and responses
- JSON schema for request (where appropriate) and responses
- Error response codes and formats
3.1.1 GET Duration stats by Airports for all Airlines
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 132
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":"*",
"average":189,
"estimated":false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| Average duration |
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| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Origin Airport |
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| Airline |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
3.1.2 GET Duration stats by Airports with Min, Max and Percentiles
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
Query parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Boolean value - Use this to have the min and max durations in the response |
| Boolean value - Use this to have the duration percentiles returned |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA?showMinMax=true&showPercentiles=true' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 330
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":null,
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"percentiles":{
"25":185,
"95":203,
"1":174,
"99":204,
"5":174,
"75":192,
"50":190
},
"estimated":false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| 50th percentile |
|
| 95th percentile |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Airline |
|
| Min duration |
|
| Duration percentiles breakdown |
|
| 5th percentile |
|
| 25th percentile |
|
| 75th percentile |
|
| Origin Airport |
|
| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Average duration |
|
| Max duration |
|
| 1st percentile |
|
| 99th percentile |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
3.1.3 GET Duration stats by Airports and split by Airline
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
Query parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Used to specify how the duration stats should be split. Currently only 'airline' is supported |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA?split=airline' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 185
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":"AA",
"average":189,
"estimated":false
},
{
"airline":"DL",
"average":189,
"estimated":false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| Average duration |
|
| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Origin Airport |
|
| Airline |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
3.1.4 GET Duration stats by Airports and split by Airline and show Min, Max
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
Query parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Used to specify how the duration stats should be split. Currently only 'airline' is supported |
| Boolean value - Use this to have the min and max durations in the response |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA?split=airline&showMinMax=true' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 257
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":"AA",
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"estimated":false
},
{
"airline":"DL",
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"estimated": false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| Origin Airport |
|
| Airline |
|
| Min duration |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Average duration |
|
| Max duration |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
3.1.5 GET Duration stats by Airports and split by Airline and show Min, Max and Percentiles
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
Query parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Used to specify how the duration stats should be split. Currently only 'airline' is supported |
| Boolean value - Use this to have the min and max durations in the response |
| Boolean value - Use this to have the duration percentiles returned |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA?split=airline&showMinMax=true&showPercentiles=true' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 579
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":"AA",
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"percentiles":{
"25":185,
"95":203,
"1":174,
"99":204,
"5":174,
"75":192,
"50":190
},
"estimated":false
},
{
"airline":"DL",
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"percentiles":{
"25":181,
"95":200,
"1":177,
"99":200,
"5":177,
"75":198,
"50":189
},
"estimated":false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| 50th percentile |
|
| 95th percentile |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Airline |
|
| Min duration |
|
| Duration percentiles breakdown |
|
| 5th percentile |
|
| 25th percentile |
|
| 75th percentile |
|
| Origin Airport |
|
| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Average duration |
|
| Max duration |
|
| 1st percentile |
|
| 99th percentile |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
3.1.6 GET Duration stats by Airports for a specific Airline and show Min, Max and Percentiles
Path parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| The version of this API. |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO origin airport code |
| 3-character IATA or 4-character ICAO destination airport code |
| 2-character IATA or 3-character ICAO airline code |
Query parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Boolean value - Use this to have the min and max durations in the response |
| Boolean value - Use this to have the duration percentiles returned |
Request headers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Content type of this request. Required value is 'application/json' |
| Authorization header that contains the access token. |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/JFK/MIA/AA?showMinMax=true&showPercentiles=true' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 330
{
"originAirport":"JFK",
"destinationAirport":"MIA",
"stats":[
{
"airline":"AA",
"average":189,
"min":174,
"max":204,
"percentiles":{
"25":185,
"95":203,
"1":174,
"99":204,
"5":174,
"75":192,
"50":190
},
"estimated":false
}
]
}Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| 50th percentile |
|
| 95th percentile |
|
| Destination Airport |
|
| Airline |
|
| Min duration |
|
| Duration percentiles breakdown |
|
| 5th percentile |
|
| 25th percentile |
|
| 75th percentile |
|
| Origin Airport |
|
| Duration stats (average, min, max, percentile breakdown) |
|
| Average duration |
|
| Max duration |
|
| 1st percentile |
|
| 99th percentile |
|
| Distinguishes durations returned using actual data, or distance between airports |
4 Error Response
Response fields
| Path | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
| Indicates the invalid query parameter |
|
| Error Description |
|
| Object that holds the error information |
|
| Duration API Internal Error Code |
|
| Array of errors |
Curl request
$ curl 'https://sitaopen-qa.api.aero/duration/v2/AMS/INVALID_AIRPORT_CODE' -i -X GET \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer eyJkb2N1bWVudGF0aW9uIiwidG9rZW4ifQ...' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'HTTP response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 164
{
"errors":{
"error":[
{
"description":"Airport not found",
"code":2020,
"invalidParam":"destinationAirport"
}
]
}
}
5 Appendix A - SITA Flight Duration API Use Cases
Scenario: | As an API user I want to make a request to the Duration API to return flight duration statistics between 2 specified airports |
Request: | GET /duration/v2/LHR/DXB |
Response: | Returns flight duration statistics between LHR and DXB |
Scenario: | As an API user I want to make a request to the Duration API to return flight duration statistics between 2 specified airports with a given airline |
Request: | GET /duration/v2/LHR/DXB/AA |
Response: | Returns flight duration statistics between LHR and DXB for the airline AA |
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