How do airline pilots create and use flight plans, and how are they simulated in MSFS 2024 and MSFS 2020?

A flight plan in aviation is a structured description of an intended flight. An operational flight plan predicts route, fuel and timing; an ATS plan is filed with air traffic services; ATC clearance is the authority issued; and the FMS route is the active cockpit navigation sequence.

In our Aviation & Real-World Flying coverage, we keep those four meanings separate because confusing them causes genuine operational and simulator errors. In real operations, approved company procedures, regulations and official aeronautical information always take precedence over general guidance.

What is an operational flight plan in aviation?

An operational flight plan, or OFP, is the operator’s detailed prediction of how a flight should be conducted and monitored. It normally records the planned route, cruise levels, waypoint times, forecast winds, aircraft masses, fuel figures, destination, alternates and expected fuel remaining at selected points.

The exact form varies by airline and regulator. It may be electronic or printed, and it may include navigation requirements, extended-diversion information, operational messages and performance penalties caused by aircraft defects.

The word route describes the intended sequence of procedures, airways and waypoints. The actual flight path may differ because of vectors, shortcuts, holding, weather avoidance or an in-flight diversion.

What is a flight planner, and who creates airline flight plans?

A flight planner can be a trained person or a software system that turns operational data into a route, fuel calculation, timing forecast and set of suitable alternates. “Pilot plan” is an informal expression rather than a precise airline document name; the intended meaning is usually an OFP, an ATS plan or an FMS route.

Airline planning is normally shared. Software performs calculations, a dispatcher, flight operations officer or operations department checks the proposal, and the pilots review it before departure. Smaller operators may place more of the planning work directly on the flight crew.

The legal allocation of operational control depends on the country and operator. A dispatcher may share responsibility with the captain in one system but have a different role in another. Our explanation of how dispatchers build, release, monitor and revise airline flights covers that division in more detail.

Pilot planning and dispatch system

A pilot planning and dispatch system combines aircraft performance data, payload, weather, NOTAMs, airspace restrictions, permitted routes, fuel rules, alternate requirements, flow restrictions and operational messages.

The software tests possible routes against those inputs and may optimise for time, fuel, cost, airspace charges or operational resilience. Its output can include an OFP, briefing package, fuel recommendation, route message, navigation log and, where applicable, a dispatch release.

That output is decision support, not automatic approval. The dispatcher and crew still have to detect an incorrect aircraft registration, stale payload, navigation-data mismatch, unsuitable alternate, overlooked defect or weather change. A mathematically valid plan can still be operationally unacceptable.

How is an airline flight plan prepared?

An airline flight plan is prepared by turning aircraft, payload, weather and regulatory constraints into a legal route, suitable airports and sufficient fuel.

1. Identify the flight and aircraft. Planning starts with the aircraft type or specific registration, departure time, payload and expected operating mass. Minimum Equipment List or Configuration Deviation List items can restrict altitude, navigation capability, icing exposure or fuel performance.
2. Assess weather and NOTAMs. The planner checks surface forecasts, winds and temperatures aloft, thunderstorms, turbulence, icing, runway conditions, navigation outages, airport operating hours and restricted airspace.
3. Select the route and cruise levels. The route must match the aircraft’s capabilities and usable airspace. Winds, congestion, charges and diversion options can make the shortest geographical route a poor choice.
4. Choose suitable alternates. An alternate needs acceptable weather, runway performance, navigation facilities and operating availability. The nearest airport is not necessarily suitable, especially when the same weather system affects both airports.
5. Calculate fuel. An OFP commonly separates taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, final-reserve and additional fuel. The terminology and minimum quantities depend on the governing rules and company procedures; one universal reserve percentage is not valid for every flight.
6. Check performance and limitations. Planners consider runway limits, terrain, aircraft mass and relevant defects. Final take-off and landing performance remains a separate, time-sensitive calculation using the actual runway, wind, temperature, surface condition and aircraft configuration.
7. Apply traffic-flow restrictions. Congested airspace may produce a preferred route, level restriction, delay or controlled take-off time. The planning system must use the latest operational message rather than an old briefing.
8. Generate and review the documents. The dispatcher and pilots check aircraft identity, route, weather, NOTAMs, fuel, masses and alternates. A material payload, runway or weather change requires recalculation, not an improvised adjustment.

How do pilots file a flight plan to fly?

To file an ATS flight plan means submitting the required flight details to the appropriate air traffic service before the flight. The everyday phrase “file to fly” refers to this submission, not to creating the OFP or typing a route into the FMS.

For an airline flight, filing is usually handled by dispatch, flight operations or an approved flight-planning provider on the operator’s behalf. Smaller commercial operations and private pilots may file directly where their procedures permit it.

Approved channels can include an integrated airline dispatch system connected to ATS, an authorised operations office, an approved service provider or the relevant authority’s filing interface. Crews should not substitute an unofficial route-planning tool for the operator’s authorised channel.

The ATS submission commonly includes:

• aircraft identification or callsign;
• flight rules and type of flight;
• number and type of aircraft, wake category and equipment capabilities;
• departure aerodrome and estimated off-block time;
• planned speed, level and route;
• destination, estimated elapsed time and alternates;
• endurance, persons on board and emergency information when required as supplementary data.

The detailed OFP fuel breakdown is not the same thing as the ATS endurance entry. The exact fields, lead times and amendment procedures depend on the region and type of operation.

Why is filing not an ATC clearance?

Filing tells air traffic services what the operator intends to do; clearance tells the crew what ATC authorises. ATC can clear a different departure, altitude, route or clearance limit from the one requested.

A successfully validated plan can therefore still require amendment in the FMS. Likewise, a controlled take-off time or other traffic-flow slot is not a departure clearance. Estimated off-block time and controlled take-off time describe different events, and a slot can change before departure.

How do pilots check and use the flight plan?

Pilots use the OFP as a continuously checked prediction rather than paperwork that becomes irrelevant after pushback.

What is checked before departure?

Before departure, the crew confirms that the aircraft, OFP, ATS information, ATC clearance and FMS describe the same intended operation.

• origin, destination, flight number and aircraft data;
• cleared runway, SID and transition;
• airway and waypoint sequence, including duplicate waypoint names;
• speed and altitude constraints;
• route discontinuities, vector legs and manual segments;
• STAR, arrival transition and approach when assigned or anticipated;
• total distance and predicted fuel compared with the OFP;
• navigation database validity and relevant procedure NOTAMs;
• payload, zero-fuel mass, take-off mass and fuel units.

SID and STAR names can look deceptively similar, particularly after a runway change. The crew must compare the complete procedure and transition with the clearance and applicable chart, not select the first matching abbreviation.

Another common error is deleting every DISCONTINUITY immediately. Some gaps are mistakes, but others represent an expected radar-vector or manual segment. The reason for the gap must be understood before connecting the legs.

What does an airline pilot monitor after departure?

After departure, pilots monitor the active leg, flight-guidance modes, aircraft position, actual times and fuel against the plan while following weather and ATC changes.

Crews compare actual and predicted values at waypoints or defined intervals. A continuing negative fuel trend can indicate stronger winds, an extended route, holding, incorrect planning data or an aircraft performance problem. Response thresholds come from the operator’s procedures rather than a universal number.

The FMS and autopilot reduce workload, but neither validates the clearance. Pilots still check the active waypoint, turn direction, lateral and vertical modes, altitude constraints and resulting path whenever a modification is executed.

What happens when ATC changes the route?

When ATC changes the route, the crew records and reads back the clearance, modifies the FMS, verifies the revised path and checks its effect on fuel, timing and the arrival.

1. Clarify the instruction. Ambiguous waypoint names, headings, levels or restrictions are resolved before changing the active route.
2. Maintain control. During a high-workload phase, the pilot flying concentrates on the aircraft while the pilot monitoring enters the change.
3. Inspect the connection. The crew checks the legs before and after the modification, turn direction, constraints and any resulting discontinuity.
4. Execute and monitor. The modification is activated only after cross-checking, and the first turn or intercept is watched closely.
5. Reassess the operation. A long reroute, hold or runway change can affect reserves, landing mass, alternates and the validity of the arrival briefing.

A radar vector can temporarily take the aircraft away from the FMS route without invalidating the whole flight plan. A substantial weather or fuel problem may instead require a new destination, revised fuel prediction and diversion plan.

Real-world airline planning versus flight simulation

Real-world airline planning uses approved performance data, official weather and NOTAMs, regulated fuel policies, operational-control procedures and genuine ATS filing channels. Simulator planning reproduces parts of that workflow but carries no operational authority.

For the simulator equivalent of the OFP and navigation-log step, our guide to turning route, weather, payload and fuel checks into a dispatch package explains what to compare. A practical step-by-step SimBrief planning workflow shows how those inputs become a usable simulator OFP.

The simplified parts are usually operational approval, live flow restrictions, legal fuel compliance, load control and the reliability of built-in ATC. A realistic-looking route is not automatically a valid real-world airline plan, and no simulator filing should be used for an actual flight.

How flight planning works in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 provides pre-flight planning and an integrated electronic flight bag for creating or editing routes, reviewing briefing information and transferring data to supported aircraft systems. It is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro.

The simulated functions include IFR and VFR route planning, runway and procedure selection, a navigation log, weather and fuel-planning information, GPS or FMS route transfer where supported, and interaction with built-in ATC. These functions model the workflow but do not reproduce every dispatch, performance or regulatory check.

1. Create the route. Use the pre-flight planning interface or EFB to set the departure, destination, flight rules, cruise information and intended route.
2. Add procedures cautiously. Select runways, SIDs, STARs, transitions and approaches only after checking that they make sense for the weather and aircraft.
3. Import when supported. Externally generated plans may be brought into the planning layer, EFB or an aircraft-specific system. Supported formats and transfer functions vary by aircraft.
4. Transfer and compare. Send the route to compatible avionics or enter it manually, then compare the waypoint sequence, procedures and constraints with the source plan.
5. Make it available to simulated ATC. Where the planning and ATC systems are synchronised, the simulator can issue a simulated clearance based on the plan.

Third-party airliners may use their own EFB, CDU or MCDU and may not accept every route element from the main planner. Our detailed MSFS 2024 route, SID/STAR, avionics and simulator-ATC workflow covers that hand-off.

Nothing filed in MSFS 2024 creates a real ATS flight plan or real ATC clearance. It remains inside the simulator or connected simulation services.

How flight planning works in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 uses the World Map as its main built-in flight-planning interface. It remains available on PC and Xbox and was never released on PlayStation.

The World Map can create VFR routes or IFR routes using low- or high-altitude airways, add runways and procedures, produce a navigation log and make the plan available to compatible avionics and built-in ATC. Saved .PLN files can also be loaded through the planning interface.

1. Select the aircraft first. Aircraft type, range and avionics affect which route and cruise profile make sense.
2. Choose the departure and destination. A gate or ramp position is appropriate for a cold-and-dark airline start; selecting a runway usually changes the starting state.
3. Select VFR or IFR routing. Low- or high-altitude airways should suit the aircraft and intended cruise operation.
4. Inspect the generated route. Automatically selected waypoints and airways may be flyable without being realistic or efficient.
5. Add and verify procedures. Weather or simulator ATC may later assign a different runway, SID, STAR or approach.
6. Set payload and fuel. The World Map estimate is not a substitute for aircraft-specific fuel and performance planning.
7. Check the aircraft avionics. Confirm the origin, destination, waypoint order, discontinuities and procedures after loading the flight.

Complex add-on aircraft may use a separate EFB or FMS import process and may not mirror the World Map route. A missing airway, rejected waypoint or different procedure often means that the planner and aircraft are using different navigation-data cycles.

Supplying a plan to MSFS 2020 built-in ATC is only simulated filing. It does not submit anything to a real air traffic service or provide a real-world clearance.

Which simulator planning method should you use?

Choose the planning method according to the skill being practised rather than assuming one tool does everything.

Which flight-planning mistakes cause the most trouble?

The most disruptive errors are mismatches between the OFP, clearance and FMS, followed by stale data and unverified automation.

The working rule is simple: the OFP predicts the flight, the ATS plan communicates the request, ATC clears the operation, and the FMS helps the crew fly it. Pilots keep all four aligned and investigate any difference before it becomes an operational problem.