How do I add AI traffic to Prepar3D (P3D)?

To add AI traffic in Prepar3D (P3D), install a purpose-built AI aircraft and a compiled traffic BGL, place or register them in folders the simulator reads, then raise the airline or general-aviation traffic density. Alternatively, run a compatible traffic injector. The aircraft title, schedule, airport and simulated time must all match.

If your P3D installation still has its supplied traffic files, raising the traffic-density sliders may be all that is required. Adding real airlines, different liveries or custom schedules requires extra aircraft and flight-plan data.

Which Prepar3D AI traffic method should I use?

Choose an offline traffic package for straightforward installation, separate aircraft and BGL files for precise control, or an injector for traffic generated while P3D is running.

Offline BGL traffic does not need an injector running and normally does not require an internet connection. Injector requirements vary by product and may include a matching simulator interface or connector.

Prepar3D is derived from the FSX platform, but that does not make every FSX aircraft, installer or injector compatible. Traffic BGLs are often portable; models and external applications are more version-sensitive. Check the stated simulator generation when choosing Prepar3D aircraft and add-ons from our library.

How do I install AI aircraft and traffic BGL files in P3D?

Install the aircraft model and its livery first, then place the compiled schedule in an active scenery location and enable the corresponding traffic setting.

1. Close Prepar3D and extract the download. Work from a temporary folder rather than opening files directly inside the archive. Look for an aircraft.cfg, model and texture folders, a file ending in .bgl, and any supplied add-on.xml.
2. Check whether the download is complete. A package containing only a texture folder and a configuration entry is a repaint, not a complete aircraft. It requires the exact base AI model named in its documentation.
3. Use the supplied add-on package when available. Keep its folder structure intact and register or enable it as instructed. This avoids changing the core simulator folders and makes the add-on easier to remove.
4. Otherwise, install the aircraft conventionally. Place the complete aircraft folder under <Prepar3D>\SimObjects\Airplanes\. The folder immediately below Airplanes should contain aircraft.cfg; an extra nested directory is a common reason P3D fails to find an aircraft. A custom external SimObjects folder must be registered with P3D rather than merely stored beside the simulator.
5. Install the traffic BGL. The traditional location is <Prepar3D>\Scenery\World\scenery\. It may instead go in the scenery subfolder of a registered add-on or custom scenery area. A traffic BGL placed inside SimObjects will not load.
6. Verify the aircraft title. The schedule references the exact title= value in a [fltsim.x] section of aircraft.cfg. That title must exist character for character and should be unique. The model= and texture= entries must also point to folders that are present.
7. Enable the correct traffic category. In P3D's traffic settings, move Airline traffic density or General aviation traffic density above zero. Compiled plans contain activity percentages, so a low slider can filter out an otherwise valid flight.
8. Restart P3D and test the actual schedule. Load an airport used by the flight plan on the correct simulated day and near its departure or arrival time. Temporarily use a high density setting for diagnosis, then reduce it once traffic appears.

If the package separates models, repaints and schedules, our broader explanation of how AI aircraft, liveries and compiled traffic files work together covers the role of each component.

For your own routes, define the aircraft title, airport codes, operating days and times, then compile them into a traffic BGL. We explain that process in our guide to building custom AI traffic flight plans.

Is the downloaded aircraft for AI only?

When a description says “it's for AI”, the aircraft is intended to be controlled by Prepar3D rather than flown from the cockpit.

Purpose-built AI models use simpler geometry, systems and textures so that P3D can display many aircraft at once. They may have no virtual cockpit, panel or usable flight dynamics. Some still appear in the aircraft-selection screen, but that does not make them suitable as flyable aircraft.

Installing an AI model alone will not make it appear at an airport. A traffic BGL or injector must call its exact title= entry and assign it a valid route.

How do I add a specific airline to P3D?

To add a particular airline, install the correct AI model and livery, then use a schedule that references that livery's exact aircraft title.

The paint scheme does not determine where the aircraft flies. Routes, times and operating days come from the traffic BGL or injector. An airline callsign can improve radio identification, but a missing callsign does not by itself stop the model from appearing.

Will a Vueling 737 work as AI traffic?

A Vueling 737 repaint can work technically if it has a complete compatible model and the schedule references its exact title, but it is not a normal real-world fleet match.

Vueling's scheduled fleet is based on Airbus A320-family aircraft. For realistic Vueling traffic, use a compatible Airbus AI model and Vueling livery. Treat a package labelled “Vueling 737” as fictional unless its documentation identifies a specific leased or operated aircraft. P3D itself does not enforce fleet accuracy; it only matches the schedule to the configured model.

Why is AI traffic not showing in Prepar3D?

Missing P3D traffic is usually caused by a filtered schedule, inactive BGL, unresolved aircraft title, wrong time or incompatible model.

1. Raise both relevant sliders for testing. A schedule compiled at a higher activity percentage will not appear below that threshold. Road vehicles, ships and airport vehicles use different settings and do not enable aircraft.
2. Confirm that P3D loads the BGL. It must be in Scenery\World\scenery or another enabled scenery area. Restart the simulator after adding or moving it.
3. Match the aircraft title. Open aircraft.cfg and compare its title= entry with the title expected by the flight plan. A renamed repaint or missing base model breaks that assignment.
4. Check the airport, day and time. The flight plan must use airport codes that exist in P3D. Test shortly before a listed departure rather than loading an unrelated hub at an arbitrary time.
5. Inspect the model and texture references. An invisible, black or untextured aircraft points to a missing texture, incorrect model= or texture= value, or a model format that your P3D generation cannot render correctly.
6. Isolate legacy traffic files. In P3D's FSX-derived traffic system, an old FS2004-format traffic BGL can suppress newer-format schedules. Move suspected legacy BGLs out of active scenery one at a time and restart between tests.
7. Check the injector connection. Confirm that the injector is configured for the installed P3D version and has established its simulator connection. An injector built for another generation may start normally yet inject nothing.

Change one item at a time and keep backups. Removing every aircraft and schedule together makes it much harder to identify the bad BGL, repaint or model.

Why are AI aircraft parked but not moving?

A parked aircraft may be static airport scenery, waiting for its scheduled departure, or unable to reach a runway through the airport's taxi network.

Static models supplied with scenery never taxi or depart. Genuine AI can also become stuck when there is no connected taxi route, no suitable parking space, a runway link is broken or the airport is saturated. Test the same schedule at a simple default airport to separate an aircraft or timetable fault from an airport-layout problem.

How do I prevent duplicate AI traffic and low frame rates?

Use one primary schedule source for each traffic type, keep only the required BGLs active and use models designed specifically for AI operation.

• Do not run stock schedules, multiple airline packages covering the same routes and an injector together unless duplicate suppression is explicitly supported.
• For a clean diagnostic baseline, temporarily disable the other AI traffic sources, then restore them one at a time.
• Disable duplicate schedule BGLs rather than deleting shared aircraft folders. Several schedules may reference the same model and livery.
• Follow an injector's instructions about the built-in traffic sliders. Some injectors require stock traffic to be disabled so that generated and offline flights do not occupy the same routes and gates.
• Avoid using detailed flyable aircraft as AI. Virtual cockpits, complex systems, effects and high-resolution textures consume far more resources than AI-optimised models.
• Reduce airline density at large hubs and general-aviation density around busy regional airports. The slider is an activity threshold, not a perfectly linear control, so a small increase can enable many additional flight plans at once.
• Remember that static aircraft included with airport scenery are separate from AI traffic. Lowering P3D's traffic sliders will not remove them.

A mistake we see constantly is installing several overlapping schedule collections to make airports busier, then raising the density again when congestion prevents aircraft moving. One clean schedule set, exact aircraft-title matching and efficient AI models produce a more convincing result with fewer conflicts.