Fans of flight tracking website Flightradar24 will be familiar with many of the icons that appear every day. The service uses different markers for widebodies, narrowbodies, helicopters, fighter jets… even weather balloons. But on December 24, there’s another icon in the skies.
Currently crossing the Cook Strait, Santa’s sleigh is tracked as flight number R3DN053 and registered as HOHOHO. According to the tracker, it’s currently flying at 60,000 feet – safely above any commercial traffic – at around 900 knots.
Despite it still being fairly early on Christmas Eve for many, more than 60,000 people are currently tracking the sleigh, a number that is sure to rise as the day evolves.
Where is Santa right now?
Flightradar24 is not the only game in town for tracking the fat man’s journey around the world. The official Santa Tracker from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, also follows St Nick as he traverses the globe. According to NORAD, Santa is a lot further North, heading into the Kuril Islands just east of Japan.
And then there’s a third contender for tracking down Father Christmas. Google’s Santa tracker has been going since 2004, using Google Maps and a presumed agreement with the North Pole to reveal where Santa is. Right now, it says he’s arrived at the Northern Mariana Islands and is currently flinging presents down to all the good girls and boys.
The discrepancies between different trackers could be down to the notion that Santa somehow functions within his own space-time continuum. NORAD says that “Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months.”
Which Santa tracker is best?
Between NORAD, Google and Flightradar24, there’s no excuse for being awake when the bearded man comes down your chimney. Although not all trackers agree on his precise location at any one time, tracking a magical being that doesn’t conform to the usual conventions of physics isn’t an easy task.
Any of the trackers will provide adequate warning about the imminent arrival of Santa Claus, but there are some differences.
- Best for fun: Google’s Santa tracker has numerous games, activities and interactive experiences that make it a great way to celebrate Christmas Eve.
- Best for historical significance: The longest running Santa tracker in the world is NORAD, which has been tracking the man in red since 1958.
- Best for avgeeks: Flightradar24 is already a well-loved website in the aviation community. The chance to see a unique aircraft type on the map makes this a top pick for aircraft lovers everywhere.
However you choose to track Santa, the team at AeroTime wishes you a very happy holiday season.