Flight Status Checking Bots are automated programs that repeatedly query airline systems to retrieve real-time information on flight statuses, such as delays, cancellations, or gate changes. These bots can overwhelm airline servers, causing performance issues and slowing down legitimate user requests. Additionally, they may exploit this data for competitive advantages or resell it to third-party services.
What are Flight Status Checking Bots?
Flight status checking bots are automated programs designed to monitor and report on the status of flights. They provide instant updates on departure times, delays, cancellations, gate changes, and even baggage claim information. These bots are invaluable for passengers seeking timely flight information, allowing them to plan, reduce stress, and save time.
Increasingly popular for their convenience and efficiency, these bots retrieve data without human intervention by interacting with airline web applications or APIs. They access up-to-date flight information and deliver it through websites, mobile apps, or messaging services, enhancing customer service by offering quick communication.
However, third-party status checking bots can query flight status so frequently that they create web applications and API load issues for airlines. As a result, many airlines have resorted to bot management solutions to mitigate some of the availability issues that they are encountering.
How do Flight Status Checking Bots work?
The magic behind flight status checking applications lies in their bots’ ability to interface with airline systems to gather real-time data. Status checking traditionally used “screen scraping” to request status, as a HTML page, off the airline’s website and parse it for relevant information. This is still done for some airlines. However, this process is extremely machine-intensive and prone to breaking whenever the airline changes its web page structure. As a result, flight status checking bots have transitioned to APIs where they are available.
Once a bot is built, it sends a series of requests to the airline’s servers, seeking specific information about a flight. This process involves interacting with APIs that allow the bot to access flight details like departure times, gate assignments, and delays. Depending on the configuration, bots can monitor multiple flights simultaneously for a wide breadth of coverage.
The information collected by these bots is then processed and formatted for delivery to the end-user, typically through an API. Passengers receive alerts and updates tailored to their travel agenda through a web or mobile application interfaces or via a messaging service like SMS.
The timeliness of these bots in checking the flight status ensures that passengers and their families are always knowledgeable about their flight details, reducing anxiety and enabling more informed decision-making.
Examples of flight status checking bots.
There are several notable examples of flight status checking bots that have gained popularity in recent years. One such example is the chatbot integrated into Facebook Messenger by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. This bot allows passengers to receive booking confirmations, check-in notifications, boarding passes, and real-time flight updates—all within the chat interface.
Another example is the FlightStats API, which provides developers with tools to build their own custom flight-tracking solutions. By offering access to a vast array of flight data, this API empowers businesses and developers to create applications that meet the specific needs of their audiences.
A third example is Google Assistant, which offers users the ability to check flight status through voice commands. By simply asking about their flight, travelers can receive immediate updates without having to manually search for information—highlighting the power of voice-activated technology in enhancing the travel experience.
How flight status checking bots impact airlines.
Flight status checking bots have a profound and mostly positive impact on airline operations, influencing both internal processes and customer interactions. For airlines, these bots offer significant benefits in the realm of customer service, providing passengers with timely information and reducing the volume of inquiries directed at customer support staff.
By automating the delivery of flight information, airlines can focus their resources on addressing more complex passenger needs. This reduces operational costs and improves overall efficiency, allowing airlines to allocate staff to high-priority areas. Additionally, the use of bots helps maintain a consistent level of service, as passengers experience fewer delays in receiving crucial updates.
The widespread use of flight status checking bots presents several challenges for airlines. When passengers utilize third-party services, the quality of service, the mobile application they use, and the bot employed by the service can be improperly coded or configured, leading to abusive behavior on the API. These third-party services directly interact with passengers, potentially replacing the relationship and support that airlines strive to maintain with them. Additionally, the constant influx of bot-generated requests strains airline servers, which can negatively impact system performance. This increased load may slow response times and disrupt information flow, affecting human users, the airline’s mobile applications, and the status checking bots.
Preventing flight status checking bots.
As we have discussed in this post, fight status checking bots are both a positive and a negative. On the one hand, they help passengers and reduce costs. On the other hand, poorly designed bots can cause API and application problems if they are coded improperly or if they suddenly decide to flood the API with requests without any limits on the number of requests that they send.
Managing abusive bots and mitigating impact.
Managing abusive flight status checking bots involves accepting that most bots are beneficial and that the goal is to mitigate the impacts of badly behaving bots without impacting the information flow to other bots. To mitigate these challenges, airlines have implemented various strategies to prevent system overload and maintain optimal performance. Some of the more popular ones include:
Rate limiting and monitoring requests.
Rate limiting is a basic bot control that involves restricting the number of requests a bot can make within a specific period. It ensures that bot activity remains within manageable levels, preventing excessive strain on servers and ensuring smooth operation for all users. By monitoring request patterns and implementing thresholds, airlines can strike a balance between accommodating bot traffic and maintaining server stability.
Using API-aware bot management solutions.
An effective approach to managing the impact of flight status checking bots is the implementation of an API-aware bot management solution. This sophisticated tool allows airlines to differentiate between legitimate and abusive bot traffic by analyzing the unique characteristics of API requests. By understanding the intent and behavior of bots accessing their systems, airlines can apply customized policies that allow beneficial bots to operate while restricting those that are abusive. This tailored control helps ensure that server resources are judiciously used, benefiting both customers and bots with genuine purposes. Furthermore, API-aware management solutions provide granular insights into bot activities, enabling airlines to refine their strategies continuously and maintain the overall security and performance of their systems.
Caching servers and CDNs to reduce load.
Caching servers and content delivery networks (CDNs) are also useful in mitigating the impact of flight status checking bots. By storing frequently accessed data, distributing it geographically, and using a set of Time-To-Live timers to determine the “freshness” of flight statuses, caching servers can reduce the load on primary servers and improve response times for legitimate users. CDNs also act as proxies between airlines’ servers and end-users, providing an additional buffer layer against bot traffic while improving overall performance.
Using the HTTP 429 response code for request management.
The HTTP 429 response code is an essential tool in managing bot traffic efficiently by indicating that a client is sending too many requests in each amount of time. This “Too Many Requests” response acts as a signal to both legitimate users and bots to reduce their connection rates. For airlines, implementing this response is a strategic way to ensure their servers are not overwhelmed by excessive requests, which can degrade system performance for all users. By setting a reasonable bot policy and returning an HTTP 429 response when an abusive bot is detected, airlines can control the flow of incoming traffic. This not only helps mitigate the risks associated with excessive request rates but also manages the behavior of well-intentioned bots by encouraging them to adhere to designated limits, thereby maintaining optimal and balanced system performance.
Flight status checking bots: Revolutionary but problematic capabilities.
Flight status checking bots have revolutionized the way passengers interact with airlines, offering timely updates and improving the overall travel experience. While these bots present significant benefits, they also introduce unique challenges that require careful management.
By adopting strategies such as rate limiting and monitoring, airlines can harness the potential of flight status checking bots while mitigating their impact on system performance. As technology evolves, these bots will remain a vital component of the airline industry’s digital transformation.
For businesses and travelers alike, understanding and leveraging these bots can lead to more efficient operations and enhanced travel experiences. Whether you are a tech-savvy developer or an avid traveler, the world of flight status checking bots is one worth exploring—offering new possibilities and opportunities in the skies of tomorrow.
How Vercara can help.
Vercara’s UltraAPI suite offers specialized solutions designed to safeguard APIs from status-checking bots and potential attacks. It includes:
- UltraAPI Bot Manager, an inline tool positioned in front of APIs to identify and mitigate attacks and unwanted automated bots targeting flight status checking APIs.
- UltraAPI Comply, which analyzes API servers to detect schema structures, data types, and security measures using machine learning, identifying security and compliance issues along with associated risks.
- UltraAPI Discover, which examines APIs from an attacker’s perspective to find API endpoints, schema definitions, and protective security controls across the Internet.
To talk to our API security experts or to ask us questions, please contact us.
