Fix an Airbus route shown as a straight line on the navigation display by checking MCDU legs, procedures, discontinuities, range and NAV mode.
An Airbus navigation display usually shows a straight route when the active flight plan contains a direct leg, the SID, STAR or airway fixes were not loaded, a discontinuity or wrong active leg exists, or the display range hides detail. Check the MCDU flight-plan pages first; the ND only draws the route the avionics accepted.
This applies generally to Airbus simulations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, Prepar3D and FSX. Display colours and labels differ between aircraft, but the underlying diagnosis is the same: inspect the route stored in the flight-management system rather than relying on the simulator’s planning map.
Is a straight route line normal on an Airbus ND?
A straight segment from the aircraft to the active waypoint is normal; one uninterrupted line from departure to destination usually means the flight plan is incomplete or has been changed to a direct route.
The Airbus ND draws individual flight-plan legs. Airways themselves are sequences of fixes connected by mostly straight segments, while turns and procedure detail may disappear at a high range setting. Reduce the ND range before assuming anything is wrong.
| What the ND shows | Likely explanation | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| One line from departure to destination | Only the origin and destination were loaded | Intermediate fixes, airways, SID and STAR |
| A line from the aircraft to one distant fix | That fix is active, possibly after a DIR TO | The FROM/TO or active-leg information |
| Route detail appears when zooming in | The previous ND range hid short legs and turns | No repair is normally needed |
| A gap, jump or unexpected connection | Discontinuity, unsupported leg or wrong active waypoint | The MCDU F-PLN pages |
| A line changes with the heading selector | It may be a selected heading or track cue, not the route | ND symbols and the Flight Mode Annunciator |
How do I fix a straight-line Airbus flight plan?
Fix the route in the MCDU, then verify that the corrected flight plan has been inserted and made active.
- Reduce the ND range. Use ARC, NAV or PLAN presentation as supported by the aircraft. If the missing detail appears at a shorter range, the route was merely compressed by the display scale.
- Inspect every flight-plan leg. Scroll through the MCDU
F-PLNpages from departure to destination. If they contain little more than the two airports, the aircraft has a direct-only plan. Our guide to checking an Airbus route waypoint by waypoint in PLAN mode explains how to spot jumps and missing legs. - Add the missing procedures and en-route fixes. Select the departure runway, SID, transition, airway fixes, STAR and approach appropriate to the intended flight. A mismatched transition can create a long straight connection even when both procedures are present; use the runway, SID, STAR and transition checks when rebuilding that section.
- Examine discontinuities carefully. Remove an accidental discontinuity only when the fixes on either side should connect. Do not automatically close a discontinuity after a MANUAL or vectors leg: it may represent an intentional ATC-vector segment. Follow the practical MCDU discontinuity procedure rather than deleting every gap.
- Insert temporary changes. Many Airbus implementations keep edited legs in a temporary flight plan until
INSERTis selected. Cancelling or leaving that temporary plan means the ND continues to show the old route. - Check the import and navigation data. A simulator planner and an add-on aircraft may use separate flight-plan systems. Missing waypoints, rejected airways or unavailable procedures often indicate incompatible navigation-data cycles or an incomplete import. Re-enter the rejected section using the aircraft’s own database.
- Confirm the active leg. If the active waypoint is behind the aircraft or hundreds of miles ahead, select the correct next fix. Use
DIR TOonly when a direct routing is genuinely intended; selecting the destination will deliberately create the straight line being diagnosed.
If the route must be entered again, use the normal Airbus MCDU route-entry sequence so the departure, en-route section and arrival are all inserted before judging the ND.
Why does the line stay straight after loading a flight plan?
A loaded plan can remain straight because the simulator’s planner and the Airbus flight-management system do not necessarily share every leg or procedure.
Some imports contain only airport and en-route waypoints. Others omit runway-dependent procedures, or reference a SID, STAR or airway that the aircraft’s navigation database cannot resolve. Spawning with a route visible on the simulator map therefore does not prove that the same route is active in the MCDU.
Open F-PLN and verify the actual sequence. If the missing section is absent there, select it inside the aircraft rather than repeatedly reloading the same external plan. If it is present but not drawn correctly, insert pending changes, reduce the ND range and check for an unsupported or discontinuous leg.
Will managed NAV follow the straight line?
Managed NAV will follow the active flight-plan leg, even when that leg is an unintended straight shortcut.
The Flight Mode Annunciator is the authority. If it shows or arms NAV according to the aircraft’s logic, the autopilot can capture the route; if it shows HDG or TRK, selected guidance remains active and the aircraft will not follow the displayed flight plan. Under the standard Airbus convention, pushing the heading selector requests managed lateral guidance, while pulling it selects a heading or track, though hardware mappings and simplified add-ons can differ.
If the ND route looks correct but the aircraft continues straight ahead, that is a guidance-mode or capture problem rather than a route-drawing problem. Check the active waypoint, interception angle and FMA before editing a valid flight plan.