Transport data: what we can show, and why
CubaAtlas displays open and public transport data, caches permitted API data within its license, and redirects you to the exact official or commercial source whenever live fares, schedules, bookings or clearances cannot legally or reliably be reproduced. The rule is simple: “free to view” is not always “free to copy, republish, or use commercially.”
Display — open / public data
103,000+ trade/transport locations across 249 countries; downloadable CSV/text/DB/HTML/linked-data. Canonical global trade-location foundation.
U.S. government work (public domain): port characteristics, harbor type, depths, facilities. Base port-reference dataset.
DCSA gives STANDARDS + OpenAPI models, NOT carrier operational data. Use to normalize schedules; a carrier/authorized provider must supply actual schedules.
Public JSON/XML/CSV: throughput, vessel/cruise calls, terminal characteristics. Use for port comparison & U.S. freight context.
STATISTICAL AVERAGES, not bookable live prices. Never label a BTS average as a live fare. Use for fare trends & origin-market research only.
Aggregate commodity flows by HS/origin/destination/value/volume. Never infer an individual vessel's cargo from aggregate statistics.
CC BY 4.0 aggregate trade/logistics indicators for context.
ODbL — attribution + share-alike for derived databases. Use for supporting geography.
CC0 — identifiers and cross-references (Wikidata IDs) for entity resolution.
Where a port authority publishes an open schedule (Socrata/CSV/OData), display it with per-source license check; otherwise REDIRECT.
PRIMARY live feed for /tracker/flights since 2026-10-24 (adsb.lol caps at 500 requests/day, which a real-time poller exhausts in under 3 h). Same readsb JSON shape. Receiver observations, NOT an operational feed. License text to re-read on review.
Powers /tracker/flights and the live-traffic map layer via scripts/track/flights.mjs. Receiver observations, NOT an operational feed: coverage over south/east Cuba is partial. Routes resolved from adsb.lol standing data (vrs-standing-data.adsb.lol). License stated as ODbL on adsb.lol; re-read on review.
Observe — historical only
HISTORICAL U.S. coastal AIS only — NOT a live global feed. Label all output 'historical AIS observation / not a live vessel position'. Use for Florida Straits & Gulf corridor density.
Licensed API — cached within terms
First production flight-offer adapter. Some LCCs absent; not every negotiated fare. A fare must be revalidated before shown current; REDIRECT to airline/authorized seller for booking. Enable when API key configured.
Terms allow non-commercial research/personal use and require WRITTEN PERMISSION for commercial or operational use. Owner decision 2026-10-24: CubaAtlas carries no ads, fees or affiliation, so the airport arrival/departure endpoints feed the boards (scripts/track/opensky.mjs, key-gated; anonymous access is refused). Never redistributed as a feed, never used operationally; attribution shown.
Powers /tracker/ships and the live-traffic map layer via scripts/track/vessels.mjs (needs AISSTREAM_API_KEY in /etc/cubaatlas/tracking.env). Terrestrial coverage around Cuba is partial - an absent vessel is not evidence of absence. Terms to be re-read at the next review; data is shown with attribution, never resold.
SerpApi assumes the scraping liability for Google results under its terms; CubaAtlas stores scheduled times, flight numbers and aircraft only and discards fares. Re-read SerpApi legal terms on review; the owner supplied the key 2026-10-24.
Adapter built 2026-10-24, disabled until the owner adds AIRLABS_API_KEY; re-read the terms (commercial use of the free tier) at the next review before enabling.
Adapter built 2026-10-24, disabled until the owner adds AERODATABOX_API_KEY (RapidAPI); re-read the terms at the next review before enabling.
Redirect — official source only
Official pages show current itineraries and starting prices but are NOT freely republishable. Show observed itinerary context, REDIRECT to the line for pricing. Never scrape protected booking engines.
Per-operator license review required. Prefer official GTFS where licensed; otherwise REDIRECT. Do not publish a Cuba ferry route merely because it existed historically.
Held — awaiting permission
Free plan is personal/testing only; commercial schedules & broader commercial use require a paid license. HOLD until a paid plan is licensed.
We never scrape protected booking engines, and we never label a statistical average (e.g. BTS fares) or a historical AIS observation as a live price or position. Where rights are unresolved, the source is held and we send you to the official result instead.