Why is Microsoft Flight Simulator live traffic not working?
Live traffic in Microsoft Flight Simulator usually stops because Online Functionality or Real-Time Online traffic is disabled, the simulator has lost its connection to Microsoft’s live services, or the traffic feed is temporarily unavailable. Re-enable both settings, verify the simulator is online, reload the flight, and test at a busy airport during local daytime.
How do I turn on live traffic in MSFS 2020 and 2024?
Enable the simulator’s online services first, then select live or real-time traffic rather than multiplayer or offline AI traffic.
- Confirm the platform is online. Check that the PC or console has internet access and that the account used by Microsoft Flight Simulator is signed in.
- Enable Online Functionality. Find the simulator’s data or online settings and make sure its main Online Functionality control is enabled. A reached data limit or offline mode can disable live-world services; our explanation of MSFS online data use and bandwidth controls covers the relevant restrictions.
- Select the live traffic source. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, open
General Options > Trafficand set Aircraft Traffic Type toReal-Time Online. In MSFS 2024, enable the corresponding Live Traffic or real-world traffic option in the online and traffic settings. - Apply the changes and reload. Return to the main menu and start a new flight. Aircraft do not always populate an existing session immediately after the traffic source changes.
- Test somewhere suitable. Use a major airport during its actual local daytime and wait several minutes. A small regional airport at night may genuinely have no eligible live movements.
- Restart the connection. Fully close the simulator rather than resuming a suspended console session, then restart the platform if necessary. On PC, disconnect a VPN for a test and ensure the simulator and its platform services are permitted through the firewall.
If every online feature has failed, the problem is probably the connection, account session or wider online service. If live weather, streamed scenery and multiplayer work but real-time aircraft remain absent, the traffic feed itself may be temporarily unavailable; there is no local setting that can repair a server-side outage.
Is live traffic the same as multiplayer or AI traffic?
Live traffic, multiplayer and offline AI are separate traffic sources, so enabling one does not automatically enable the others.
| Traffic source | What it displays | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Live or real-time traffic | Server-fed representations of real-world flights | When you want airline and general aviation movements based on live data |
| Multiplayer | Aircraft flown by other simmers | For shared-world flying; it does not replace the real-world traffic feed |
| AI or offline traffic | Computer-generated flights | When offline or when you want predictable activity without a live service |
The mistake we see most often is enabling multiplayer and expecting real-world airliners to appear. Multiplayer permissions affect player-controlled aircraft, while the live traffic option controls server-injected real flights. If the goal is human pilots and controllers rather than an automated feed, use our VATSIM connection and setup instructions.
Why is live traffic missing at only one airport?
Traffic missing at one airport usually points to real-world inactivity, incomplete feed coverage or an airport scenery problem rather than a global settings fault.
- No qualifying movements: the live feed follows actual activity, not the simulator’s selected historical time. Changing the clock to midday does not create historical live flights.
- Parking definitions: an add-on airport with missing, unsuitable or incorrectly connected parking positions can prevent injected aircraft from appearing at stands.
- Feed filtering: some aircraft, routes and regions are absent or delayed because the simulator does not receive or display every real-world movement.
- Traffic add-on conflict: an external injector may require built-in live traffic to be disabled. If the injector then stops, the airport will appear empty.
On PC, disable traffic-related packages and test with a clean Community folder. On consoles, deactivate relevant traffic or airport packages through the simulator’s content management interface. Do not run an external injector and built-in live traffic together unless that add-on explicitly supports it; doing so commonly produces duplicates, disappearing aircraft or broken ground movements.
Does MSFS live traffic exactly match real aircraft?
Microsoft Flight Simulator live traffic is an interpreted, capacity-limited representation of real-world traffic, not a frame-for-frame copy of every aircraft in the sky.
Flights can arrive late, disappear, use a generic model or show an imperfect callsign. The simulator must interpolate positions, match available aircraft models and manage how many objects it can display. Coverage gaps and service delays also explain why an aircraft may be present in reality but absent from the simulator.
Built-in ATC audio is not a live airport radio feed and need not match real-world communications. We explain that distinction in our guide to live traffic versus real airport ATC audio.
Can traffic or performance settings make aircraft disappear?
Performance tuning can remove traffic if a preset or previous troubleshooting step disabled the live traffic source.
Recheck Aircraft Traffic Type or Live Traffic after changing performance settings. Raising an offline AI density slider will not repair a failed real-time feed, and Ground Aircraft Density generally adds parked airport activity rather than restoring live airborne flights. Reinstalling the entire simulator or clearing scenery caches should not be the first response because neither repairs a disabled setting or unavailable traffic service.
If aircraft appear but cause low frame rates or stutters, reduce airport activity and other CPU-heavy traffic before abandoning live traffic altogether. Our MSFS 2024 traffic and performance adjustments explain which settings are useful for that separate problem.