Get passengers in MSFS 2024 on PS5 through Career Mode, Free Flight payload settings or Marketplace add-ons, with fixes for empty cabins.
To get passengers in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5, use passenger-transport missions in Career Mode or set passenger payload for a Free Flight. Passengers are not automatically visible in every cabin; visible models and cabin service depend on the aircraft's built-in features or a compatible Marketplace add-on.
Which passenger option should you use?
Choose the method according to whether you want a structured job, realistic payload or visible people in the cabin.
| What you want | Method | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger jobs and rewards | Career Mode | Objectives, progression and assigned passenger loads |
| Passenger weight on any suitable flight | Free Flight payload settings | Extra mass and a changed centre of gravity |
| People visible in seats | Supported aircraft or Marketplace content | 3D passenger models where specifically implemented |
| Cabin announcements or service | Aircraft-specific feature or compatible add-on | Only the functions stated for that product |
The mistake we see most is treating passenger payload, visible passengers and cabin service as the same feature. They are separate systems and an aircraft may support one without supporting the others.
How do you carry passengers in Career Mode?
Career Mode provides the proper passenger missions, but the relevant jobs must first be unlocked through licences, specialisations and progression.
- Start Career Mode: complete its introductory flights and any required training or certification.
- Unlock passenger work: inspect the requirements shown for passenger, sightseeing, charter or airline-related specialisations. Passenger jobs are not all available from the outset.
- Select a suitable mission: use the mission map and filters to find unlocked passenger work. Jobs associated with your own company also require an appropriate aircraft.
- Follow the mission objectives: the mission defines the passenger load and handles it as part of the job. Changing a Free Flight payload setting does not create a Career mission.
Our explanation of how Career Mode structures missions, licences and rewards covers the wider progression system. If the required aircraft or job remains unavailable, check the displayed prerequisites and see how aircraft and specialisations become unlocked.
When passenger missions do not appear, check that the mission-map filter is not hiding them and that every prerequisite is complete. A missing passenger category is normally a progression, aircraft or mission-availability issue—not a PS5 controller setting.
Can you add passengers in Free Flight?
Yes, Free Flight can simulate passengers as payload whenever the selected aircraft provides passenger seats or payload stations.
- Select the aircraft: choose one designed to carry passengers rather than a single-seat or cargo-only type.
- Open weight and balance: use the pre-flight planner, simulator EFB or the aircraft's own cockpit tablet, depending on the aircraft.
- Enter the load correctly: add a passenger count if the interface requests people, or enter mass if it requests kilograms or pounds. Do not type a headcount into a weight field.
- Distribute the passengers: spread the load between available rows or stations and add baggage separately where supported.
- Check the limits: keep the centre of gravity inside its permitted range and remain below the aircraft's maximum take-off weight.
- Apply the load: use the aircraft's load or apply control where provided, then confirm the figures again in the cockpit. On complex aircraft, the aircraft-specific EFB may override the generic flight-planning load.
This changes the aeroplane's weight and handling, but it does not create dialogue, boarding objectives, fares or Career rewards.
Why is the passenger cabin still empty?
An empty cabin usually means the aircraft treats passengers only as payload or has no modelled passenger visuals.
- No visual passenger feature: many aircraft calculate passenger mass without placing 3D people in the seats.
- Separate cabin control: some supported aircraft require passengers to be enabled through their own EFB or cabin options.
- Wrong aircraft variant: support for one model, cabin layout or livery does not guarantee support for another.
- No accessible cabin: an aircraft may carry passenger weight even though its interior is not modelled for cabin viewing.
Check the aircraft's own load manager and feature description. Adding more payload will not force visible passengers into an aircraft that lacks the necessary cabin models.
Can you install passenger add-ons on PS5?
PS5 cannot use PC Community-folder mods or external passenger utilities; console add-ons must be built into Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or distributed as compatible Marketplace content.
The same restriction applies to PS5 Pro. Our guide to why PC-style mods cannot be installed on PS5 explains the console limitation.
Before buying anything, verify that the listing supports PS5 and the exact aircraft or variant you fly. A livery will not add passengers, while a cabin-equipped aircraft may add visible occupants without providing cabin service. See our PS5 Marketplace installation and compatibility guidance for the console-specific process.
Do passengers affect aircraft performance?
Passenger payload increases take-off distance, reduces climb performance and changes fuel requirements, landing weight and centre of gravity.
A common loading error is filling every passenger seat and then selecting maximum fuel, which can put the aircraft over its weight limit. Set the passenger and baggage load first, add the fuel needed for the flight and reserve, then recheck total mass and balance before departure.