- How many people tracked Messi’s flight from Barcelona to Paris
- Safety concerns regarding the tracking of celebrity private jet flights
Last week, after contract issues between Barcelona FC and soccer superstar Lionel Messi, Messi has signed a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain. Using website such as FlightAware to track the planes tail #, over 120,000 watched Messi’s jet depart Barcelona and travel to Paris to meet with his new club. The 34 year old Argentinian superstar is heading to Paris Saint-Germain to finish out his two-year contract with the French team. The Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft with tail number 9H-VIB was operated by private flight provider VistaJet. The FlightRadar24 data shows clear details about Messi’s departure from Barcelona and arrival at Paris Le Bourget Airport on August 10th.
Being able to track flights on websites helps reports and others with high levels of interest in celebrities’ private jet movement. In some cases, celebrities feel that this information should be disclosed for safety reasons. While the European Business Aviation Association has made clear its concerns over privacy, the industry group essentially acknowledges that there is little hope of securing the type of protection that allows aircraft tail numbers to be concealed in the U.S. There the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed program covers the use of data through the FAA’s network. In the future, we will look to see celebrity aircraft tail numbers be disclosed for the public to see so celebrities feel safer, and 120,000 cant watch your every move like Messi had experienced just last week.
