Linking Aviationstack as a source
This source is currently in alpha. The interface and available tables may change.
The aviationstack connector syncs real-time, scheduled, and historical flight data along with aviation reference tables into PostHog, so you can analyze flight and aviation data alongside your product data.
Prerequisites
You need an aviationstack account with an active access key. Some tables, such as historical flights and certain filters, require a paid plan.
Adding a data source
- In PostHog, go to the Sources tab of the data pipeline section.
- Click + New source and click Link next to this source.
- Enter your credentials (see Configuration below) and click Next.
- Select the tables you want to sync, choose a sync method and frequency, then click Import.
Once the syncs are complete, you can start querying this data in PostHog.
When linking Aviationstack, you'll need:
- Access key – find it in your aviationstack dashboard. Note that aviationstack pricing is a monthly request quota tied to your plan.
Sync modes
Each table can be synced in one of several modes, depending on what the source supports:
- Webhook (when available) – the source pushes changes to PostHog in real time. Fastest freshness, lowest ongoing cost, and the only mode that reliably captures updates and deletes.
- Incremental – only new or updated rows are synced on each run, using a cursor field (such as an
updated_attimestamp). Cheaper than a full refresh, but deletes aren't captured. - Append only – new rows are appended using a cursor field; existing rows are never updated. Ideal for immutable, append-only tables like event logs.
- Full refresh – the whole table is reloaded on every sync. Use it when a table has no reliable cursor or when you need deletions reflected.
See sync methods for a full explanation of how each mode works and how to choose between them.
This source is full refresh only. Every table is re-synced on each run because aviationstack has no server-side updated-at cursor.
Configuration
| Option | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
Access key | password | Yes |
Supported tables
| Table | Description | Sync method | Incremental field | Primary key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
flights | Real-time and recent flight status, including departure, arrival, airline, and live position. Full refresh snapshot. | Full refresh | — | — |
routes | Scheduled airline routes with departure, arrival, airline, and flight details. Full refresh snapshot. | Full refresh | — | — |
airports | Reference table of airports with IATA/ICAO codes, location, and timezone. | Full refresh | — | — |
airlines | Reference table of airlines with IATA/ICAO codes, fleet, and status. | Full refresh | — | — |
airplanes | Reference table of individual aircraft with registration, model, and operator details. | Full refresh | — | — |
aircraft_types | Reference table of aircraft types with IATA codes. | Full refresh | — | — |
cities | Reference table of cities with IATA codes, location, and timezone. | Full refresh | — | — |
countries | Reference table of countries with ISO codes, currency, and population. | Full refresh | — | — |
taxes | Reference table of aviation taxes with names and IATA codes. | Full refresh | — | — |
Troubleshooting
- If your access key is invalid or has been deactivated, generate a new key in your aviationstack dashboard, then reconnect.
- If your plan does not grant access to a table, upgrade your aviationstack plan or deselect the restricted tables, then reconnect.
- If you hit your monthly request quota, upgrade your plan or wait for the quota to reset, then resync.
If your sync is failing or data looks wrong, see the Data warehouse troubleshooting guide. If that doesn't help, contact support – we're happy to help.