diff --git a/tasks/flightradar24/ingest/preprocess/main.py b/tasks/flightradar24/ingest/preprocess/main.py
index 768ff11..992412a 100644
--- a/tasks/flightradar24/ingest/preprocess/main.py
+++ b/tasks/flightradar24/ingest/preprocess/main.py
@@ -164,20 +164,33 @@ def upsert_aircraft(conn, icao24: str, callsign: str | None, now: datetime) -> i
         return cur.fetchone()[0]
 
 
+FLIGHT_GAP_MINUTES = 30  # close flight if no points for this long
+
+
 def get_or_create_flight(conn, aircraft_id: int, callsign: str | None, observed_at) -> int:
     with conn.cursor() as cur:
-        # reuse active flight for this aircraft
+        # reuse active flight only if last point was recent enough
         cur.execute(
             """
-            SELECT flight_id FROM fr24.flights
-            WHERE aircraft_id = %s AND status = 'active'
-            ORDER BY started_at DESC LIMIT 1
+            SELECT f.flight_id, MAX(tp.observed_at) as last_seen
+            FROM fr24.flights f
+            LEFT JOIN fr24.track_points tp ON tp.flight_id = f.flight_id
+            WHERE f.aircraft_id = %s AND f.status = 'active'
+            GROUP BY f.flight_id
+            ORDER BY f.started_at DESC LIMIT 1
             """,
             (aircraft_id,),
         )
         row = cur.fetchone()
         if row:
-            return row[0]
+            flight_id, last_seen = row
+            if last_seen is None or (observed_at - last_seen).total_seconds() < FLIGHT_GAP_MINUTES * 60:
+                return flight_id
+            # gap too large — close old flight and open new one
+            cur.execute(
+                "UPDATE fr24.flights SET status = 'completed', ended_at = %s WHERE flight_id = %s",
+                (last_seen, flight_id),
+            )
         cur.execute(
             """
             INSERT INTO fr24.flights