Discover the best airports to fly from in MSFS 2024, with scenic, airliner, mountain and short-field picks plus routes and aircraft advice.
The best airports to fly from in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are Innsbruck (LOWI), Queenstown (NZQN), Honolulu (PHNL), Lukla (VNLK), London City (EGLC), Madeira (LPMA), Princess Juliana (TNCM) and Juneau (PAJN). Together they cover alpine, island, city, short-field and difficult-weather flying, so the right choice depends mainly on aircraft and challenge level.
Best airports to fly from in MSFS 2024
Honolulu is our best all-round departure airport because it accommodates almost every aircraft category and offers interesting routes in every direction.
| Airport | Best for | Suitable aircraft | Suggested first flight |
|---|---|---|---|
Honolulu, Hawaii PHNL | Island scenery, airline operations and varied flying | Anything from helicopters to wide-body airliners | Fly to Kahului PHOG, or follow the Oahu coast in a light aircraft. PC pilots wanting more local detail can examine this expanded Honolulu and surrounding-islands scenery package. |
Innsbruck, Austria LOWI | Alpine valleys and terrain-conscious departures | Turboprops, business jets and medium airliners | Follow the valley east before continuing towards Salzburg LOWS. Use a published departure or clear weather until familiar with the terrain. |
Queenstown, New Zealand NZQN | Lakes, mountains and demanding weather | GA aircraft, turboprops and short-haul airliners | Use Christchurch NZCH for an airline sector, or Milford Sound NZMF in a suitable light aircraft. |
Juneau, Alaska PAJN | Coastal mountains, glaciers and changeable conditions | Bush aircraft, turboprops and narrow-body jets | Head south-east through the Inside Passage towards Ketchikan PAKT. |
Madeira, Portugal LPMA | Crosswinds, terrain and dramatic Atlantic departures | Turboprops and airliners with adequate performance | Fly the short island sector to Porto Santo LPPS. |
Princess Juliana, Sint Maarten TNCM | Caribbean island hopping and visual flying | Light aircraft through to long-haul airliners | Use Antigua TAPA for an airline flight or St Barthélemy TFFJ in a light aircraft. |
London City, UK EGLC | Urban scenery and disciplined short-runway operations | Suitable turboprops, regional jets and business aircraft | Depart east over the Thames before continuing to Edinburgh EGPH. |
Santos Dumont, Brazil SBRJ | Rio landmarks and short urban runways | GA aircraft, turboprops and appropriately loaded short-haul jets | Fly the busy shuttle route to São Paulo Congonhas SBSP. |
Lukla, Nepal VNLK | High-altitude STOL operations | Light STOL aircraft and helicopters | Practise local departures before attempting the flight to Kathmandu VNKT. Lukla normally involves landing uphill and departing downhill because of the surrounding terrain. |
Courchevel, France LFLJ | Sloping-runway mountain flying | Light STOL aircraft and helicopters | Make a local circuit or continue to Chambéry LFLB; do not bring an airliner simply because the simulator allows it. |
Seattle-Tacoma, USA KSEA | A forgiving major-airport start with mountains and water nearby | GA aircraft, airliners and cargo aircraft | Fly south to Portland KPDX or north towards the San Juan Islands. |
These recommendations assume Free Flight. Career Mode controls available work through progression, certifications and generated missions, so an airport on this list may not be offered as an immediate career departure.
Which airport is best for each kind of flying?
Match the airport to the aircraft and experience you want rather than choosing solely by scenery.
- First airliner flight: Honolulu or Seattle provides long runways, straightforward terrain on at least one side of the airport and plenty of nearby diversions.
- Scenic turboprop flight: Queenstown and Juneau combine manageable sector lengths with mountains, water and rapidly changing weather.
- Advanced airline operations: Innsbruck, Madeira and London City demand closer attention to departure procedures, runway performance and wind.
- STOL practice: Lukla and Courchevel are specialist choices. Start light, use the correct aircraft and learn the one-way or terrain-limited operating pattern before adding poor weather.
- Helicopter sightseeing: Honolulu, Rio and Juneau offer recognisable visual references without requiring a long positioning flight.
How should you choose a safe departure airport?
Choose the aircraft first, then confirm that the runway, weather and departure path suit its actual weight and performance.
- Check runway requirements. Compare available runway with the aircraft's take-off performance at the planned weight, elevation and temperature. A full fuel load can turn an enjoyable short-field departure into an impossible one.
- Use the ICAO code. City-name searches can return a small local field instead of the international airport you intended. Codes such as
LOWIandNZQNremove that ambiguity. - Select the correct starting position. Choose a gate or parking stand for a cold-and-dark start. Selecting a runway loads the aircraft ready for immediate departure and may place it on a runway unsuitable for its size.
- Review terrain and weather. Check wind, cloud base and the route beyond the runway, not just runway length. Where the aircraft supports it, use the EFB's planning and performance functions before starting the engines.
- Plan an escape option. At mountain airports, know which direction leads towards lower terrain and identify a diversion before departure. Do not rely on the moving map to rescue an improvised route in cloud.
A mistake we see constantly is loading the largest possible aircraft at the most dramatic airport. MSFS 2024 may permit the spawn, but that does not make the operation plausible. London City, Lukla and Courchevel all require aircraft-specific judgement rather than a universal rule.
Are add-on airports better than the default airports?
Add-on scenery can improve buildings, markings and local landmarks, but it does not automatically make an airport a better place to fly.
Terrain, weather, route variety and aircraft suitability matter more than terminal detail. Our selection of worthwhile airport and regional scenery upgrades covers several locations that add something useful to the flying rather than merely replacing buildings. You can also browse additional MSFS airports, airfields and regional scenery.
External Community-folder packages are principally a PC option; console users need scenery distributed through supported in-simulator channels for their platform. Read the compatibility notes before installing older scenery in MSFS 2024, and never run two packages that replace the same airport. Duplicate scenery commonly causes overlapping terminals, broken taxiways or objects across the runway.