ATC Flight Planner (project name: ATCMatch) is a flight-planning web app for X-Plane pilots on VATSIM: it matches ATC coverage, scenery quality and airline liveries to help you pick routes where you will actually be controlled. It is a private, non-commercial hobby project, operated on the same infrastructure as xol.emvisio.de.
ATC Flight Planner uses no analytics or tracking tools in your browser and has
no user accounts. A single technically required session cookie
(atc_session, valid for 7 days) is set to protect the API against
bots and scanners; it contains no personal data and is not used for tracking.
Settings (such as dark mode, your aircraft selection or your search defaults)
are stored only in your browser's local storage and are never transmitted.
One exception, so you know exactly where your data goes: if you enter a personal FlightAware AeroAPI key in the Settings tab, it can be sent to this server as a request header when you use "Real airlines" in the Route tab. The server needs it to query FlightAware on your behalf — FlightAware's API cannot be called from a browser directly — and it caches every result for seven days in a cache shared by all visitors, so repeated lookups do not consume anyone's paid quota. Your key is only ever sent when that cache has no answer: opening a route asks the cache without any key at all, and "Real airlines" does the same before falling back to a paid lookup. The key is never written to disk, never logged, never put in a URL and never returned in a response; it exists only for the duration of that one request. Every other setting stays in your browser.
When you access this site, the hosting infrastructure automatically records technical access data in server log files (e.g. IP address, time of access, requested page). This data is used to ensure secure and reliable operation and, in addition, is evaluated into anonymized, aggregated access statistics (server-side log analysis with IP anonymization, country-level geolocation only, 90-day retention, accessible only to the operator — no browser tracking involved). It is not merged with other data sources. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in secure operation and basic reach measurement).
ATC Flight Planner processes the public VATSIM data feed (online controllers) to display ATC coverage, together with publicly available booking and event listings of VATSIM and its divisions (see «Data sources» below). All of these are fetched server-side. On the server, controller sessions from the public data feed are recorded (CID, callsign, position, session times — no names) and evaluated exclusively as aggregated, type-level statistics (e.g. median online time per position group). No per-member information or history is displayed anywhere in the app. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. VATSIM members may request deletion of their session records via the contact options below.
The interactive map loads tiles from CARTO (cartocdn.com), the OpenStreetMap Foundation (UK) and Esri/ArcGIS (USA); JavaScript libraries are loaded via unpkg/Cloudflare (USA). Your IP address and technical access data are transmitted to these providers. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in a functional map display). Transfers to the USA are covered by EU standard contractual clauses and/or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
The optional SimBrief integration contacts simbrief.com (USA) only when you actively use its features (profile search, flight-plan import or dispatch). Links to third-party sites such as planespotters.net or flightradar24.com are plain links — no data is exchanged until you follow them. Weather (METAR) and ATIS data are fetched server-side from VATSIM services; your browser never contacts them directly.
All information provided by ATC Flight Planner is intended for flight simulation purposes only and must not be used for real-world navigation or flight planning. Content is compiled with care, but no guarantee is given for correctness, completeness or timeliness. Use at your own risk.
This site links to external third-party websites. Linked content was checked for obvious legal violations at the time of linking; should any infringement become known, such links will be removed promptly.
X-Plane is a trademark of Laminar Research. ATC Flight Planner is an independent project and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Laminar Research, VATSIM, SimBrief/Navigraph or any other service mentioned.
Optional desktop programs that work with this site. Each archive carries its version in the file name, so you can tell what you are about to download and what you already have.
ATC Flight Planner is run by the author of xol.emvisio.de — all contact options can be found there in the footer.
Last updated: August 5, 2026