What is GSX Pro in MSFS, and how do I install and use it?

GSX Pro is a paid, PC-only ground-services add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. It coordinates boarding, baggage, catering, refuelling, jetways, marshalling and pushback. Install and activate it with the FSDT Universal Installer, then operate services from its in-simulator toolbar at a recognised parking stand.

What does GSX Pro do, and how does it work?

GSX Pro, short for Ground Services X Pro, replaces much of Microsoft Flight Simulator's basic ground handling with a configurable turnaround system from FSDreamTeam.

It combines simulator packages with the external Couatl support engine, then reads the selected airport stand and aircraft profile to position equipment and check each service's prerequisites.

• Departure services: passenger boarding, baggage and cargo loading, catering, refuelling, stairs, buses and pushback.
• Arrival services: marshalling or visual docking where configured, Follow Me vehicles, deboarding and baggage unloading.
• Stand handling: walk-in gates, jetway operation, remote-stand buses and stand-specific vehicle positions.
• Aircraft handling: configurable doors, loaders, service points, nosewheel position and engine-clearance limits.
• Pushback: selectable directions, custom routes and engine-start coordination.

GSX supplies the equipment, animations and operating sequence, but it does not replace airport scenery, ATC or the aircraft's systems. Fuel, payload, passenger and door synchronisation depend on the aircraft integration. Complex airliners may require loads to be entered through their EFB, FMS or loading panel while GSX provides the visible service.

Legacy GSX products made for FSX or Prepar3D are not substitutes for GSX Pro and must not be copied into an MSFS installation.

Is GSX Pro free, and which platforms support it?

GSX Pro is payware and works only with the PC editions of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

A purchased licence must be activated through the installer. Free airport and aircraft profiles do not include the GSX programme itself. Console editions cannot run GSX because it depends on Windows companion software and local add-on package access.

MSFS 2020 and 2024 use separate installation targets, so confirm which simulator the installer is configuring. Our explanation of the setup differences between GSX on MSFS 2020 and 2024 covers package placement and the PC-only limitation.

How do I install and activate GSX Pro?

Install GSX Pro through the FSDT Universal Installer rather than copying its packages into the Community folder manually.

1. Close MSFS and Couatl. Installing or updating while either is active can leave files locked or the simulator's package index out of date until the next restart.
2. Run the FSDT Universal Installer. Select the intended MSFS 2020 or MSFS 2024 installation and confirm that it has detected the Community folder that simulator actually uses.
3. Install and activate GSX Pro. Use the activation option and enter the licence details associated with the purchase when requested.
4. Configure World of Jetways. This optional companion package can replace stock jetways. Keep it enabled where wanted at default airports, but exclude third-party airports that provide their own jetway models.
5. Run the update or repair function. Do this after moving the Community folder, changing the GSX installation or applying a major simulator update.
6. Test at a gate. Start MSFS at a defined parking stand. Couatl should run in the background and the GSX icon should appear on the simulator toolbar.

The installer manages GSX's packages and Community-folder links. Moving its files manually often breaks detection and later updates. For licence prompts, failed activation or missing toolbar components, follow our detailed installer, licence and activation checks.

After installing or updating third-party airport scenery, rerun the airport or jetway configuration scan. Otherwise, replacement jetways may load on top of the scenery's own models.

How do I use GSX Pro for a departure?

The most reliable departure order is aircraft positioning, load preparation, fuelling and catering, boarding, door closure and then GSX pushback.

1. Position or reposition the aircraft. Start at a gate, ramp or recognised parking stand rather than a runway or unmarked apron. If the aircraft is badly positioned, use GSX's reposition command before preparing the cockpit because repositioning can disturb an already initialised aircraft.
2. Secure the aircraft. Set the parking brake, shut down the engines when appropriate and apply chocks if the aircraft uses them. Remove any native simulator tug already attached.
3. Open the GSX toolbar menu. Let the aircraft and airport data finish loading, then select a ground handler or catering operator if prompted.
4. Set the planned load. With complex airliners, enter fuel, passengers and cargo through the aircraft's EFB, FMS or load manager. Treat that system as authoritative; GSX animations alone do not prove that the aircraft's weight and balance have changed.
5. Request the required services. For an inbound turnaround, request deboarding before catering, refuelling and boarding. Some compatible services can overlap, while others remain unavailable until the active operation finishes. Do not call the equivalent default MSFS vehicles.
6. Follow every status and door prompt. Automatic door control works only with supported aircraft. Otherwise, open the named door through the cockpit or EFB. A vehicle apparently stuck beside the fuselage is often waiting for the correct door, brake state or loading-system response.
7. Complete boarding and request pushback. Wait for both the GSX completion message and any confirmation required by the aircraft's load manager. Close the doors, ensure equipment is clear and choose a direction or profile-defined route. Left or right normally describes the aircraft's final nose direction, not the tug's first movement.
8. Follow the pushback crew. Release the parking brake and start engines only when instructed. Do not taxi until the tug has disconnected, the bypass pin has been removed where simulated and the ground crew has given the clear signal.

Default ATC and GSX are separate systems. You can obtain pushback clearance through ATC, but only GSX should physically control the tug during a GSX pushback. Running it alongside the default tug or another pushback utility creates competing commands.

A visible fuel tanker can also be separate from the quantity managed by the aircraft's EFB. Avoid changing fuel or payload through several systems at once.

How do I use GSX Pro after landing?

Select an arrival stand through GSX after clearing the runway and when it is safe to operate the toolbar.

You can request a Follow Me vehicle where available, then use the assigned marshaller or visual docking system to stop at the configured position. A stand without docking guidance is not necessarily faulty; the airport profile may not assign that facility there.

Once parked, set the brake, shut down as required and connect the offered jetway or stairs. Request deboarding, baggage unloading and any catering, refuelling or boarding needed for the next sector.

Do I need a GSX profile for every aircraft and airport?

No; use the supplied data first and add or customise a profile only when doors, vehicles, stopping positions or pushback routes are wrong.

An airport profile must match the exact scenery product and version, not merely the ICAO code. A profile for the default airport or another developer's rendition may send vehicles through buildings or direct the tug along the wrong taxiway. Aircraft variants matter too: coordinates prepared for one fuselage length may not fit another.

Airport profiles are commonly placed beneath %APPDATA%\Virtuali\GSX\MSFS, although the instructions supplied with a profile take precedence. Our profile installation and scenery-matching instructions explain where airport and aircraft files belong.

If one stand is wrong, adjust that position with the GSX parking editor. If the whole airport is displaced, check for duplicate scenery, an outdated airport version or an incompatible profile before editing every stand.

A mistake we see constantly is leaving an old custom profile active after replacing or updating an airport or aircraft. The stale data overrides corrected positions and can put stairs inside the fuselage, send vehicles underground or apply an unsuitable pushback route. Remove it, reset the affected position or install a matching replacement.

Some aircraft need their own integration workflow. FlyByWire users should follow the A32NX-specific door, fuel and flyPad configuration rather than applying generic airliner settings.

Why is GSX Pro not working correctly?

Most GSX failures come from an outdated package, stopped Couatl process, incorrect Community-folder link, unmet service condition, mismatched profile or competing ground-service tool.

The GSX reset command can clear a service sequence that has genuinely stalled, but it also removes active vehicles and cancels the operation. It will not repair an incompatible airport or aircraft profile.

Is GSX Pro worth using?

GSX Pro suits PC simmers who regularly fly airliners and want boarding, baggage, marshalling, configurable stands and planned pushback managed as one turnaround.

It offers less value if you mainly use runway starts, fly light general aviation, use a console or need only a basic tug command. It also needs occasional profile and jetway-exclusion maintenance when airports or aircraft change.