Santa tracker live 2025: Where is Father Christmas now? When will he arrive in the UAE?

Dubai: Father Christmas is making his annual dash around the world, and Flightradar24’s live tracker has him locked in. 

According to a festive version of global flight monitoring, Santa 1 — aircraft type: Sleigh — departed the North Pole earlier today and has been zigzagging across the globe with great technical precision and reindeer-powered efficiency.

Watch his movements live here:

Early tracking data shows Santa briefly flying over Finland, following which he made a U-turn and returned to Greenland, for what is widely believed to be a scheduled technical stop to refuel his reindeer with carrots, milk and possibly minced pies.

"The flight begins each year at 08:00 UTC on December 23 when Santa begins to warm up his reindeer and test his sleigh," explained Flightradar24.

"We use a bit of special Christmas magic to track the flight alongside our usual mix of terrestrial and satellite-based ADS-B coverage. Santa is also helpfully able to extend the reach of his transponder by using the reindeer antlers as an additional antenna," the aviation tracking platform explained.

The sleigh then returned north before heading over Greenland, Canada, and onward across the Southern Hemisphere.

Santa’s flight path takes him to Australia, then loops back across Asia and the Middle East, with an expected arrival in the UAE between 9 pm and 12 am, just in time for Christmas morning. Yes, it’s a long route. But this is Santa.

Santa’s sleigh is a unique 9-engine Rangifer tarandus registered HOHOHO (MSN 0001). The sleigh is cruising at a reported 60,000 feet, well above commercial traffic, at a ground speed of 1,459 knots. That’s no commercial jet—this is Santa-grade aviation, folks.

Experts say this places Santa well ahead of schedule, even factoring in chimney descents, present deployment and cookie consumption.

At 1,753 years old, Santa's sleigh is the oldest active airframe in the world. "While the sleigh itself is ancient, a ninth power plant was added several years ago on an instrument flight rules conditions Christmas Eve due to fog. This bright nose has guided Santa’s way each Christmas Eve since 1939," FlightRadar explained.

More recently, the platform confirmed it has worked closely with Santa’s workshop to ensure the sleigh is outfitted with the latest tracking technology.

"An ADS-B transponder was installed a few years ago, allowing us to precisely track Santa’s position and help all good little children get to bed before he arrives. To enable Santa to check in with air traffic control, ICAO has issued the type designation SLEI," said Flightradar.

On to the more serious question - When is Santa expected to arrive in the UAE? Based on current tracking, distance covered and reindeer stamina levels, Santa could be in the UAE between 9 pm and midnight, just in time for Christmas morning.

Residents are advised to prepare accordingly.

Important ground-handling instructions

Households across the UAE are encouraged to:

While no airspace restrictions are expected, children are advised to be asleep to ensure a smooth, chimney-based operation. Now, Santa’s flight path defies physics, but the tracker doesn’t lie. UAE families are advised to stay ready – jingle bells are on the way.