Find Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 missions, from Bush Trips to Landing Challenges, and fix activities that are missing from the menu.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 does not have the story-led mission catalogue found in FSX. Its mission-like content appears mainly under Activities, including Landing Challenges, Bush Trips and installed Discovery Flights or special challenges; Flight Training has its own main-menu entry. Choose a category, select an event and start it.
What counts as a mission in MSFS 2020?
In MSFS 2020, a mission is effectively a pre-built activity with a route, lesson, objective or scoring system rather than an FSX-style scripted scenario.
| Activity | What it provides | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Flight Training | Instructor-led lessons covering basic flying, navigation and aircraft procedures. | Main menu > Flight Training |
| Landing Challenges | A single approach and landing scored for precision, smoothness and stopping accuracy. | Activities > Landing Challenges |
| Bush Trips | Multi-leg VFR routes with a Navlog, landmarks and saved completion progress. | Activities > Bush Trips |
| Discovery Flights | Curated flights over notable locations, usually without detailed objectives or scoring. | Activities > Discovery Flights |
| Special challenges | Additional events supplied by installed official packages or expansions. | Under the relevant Activities category |
Bush Trips are the closest match to traditional missions because they provide planned legs and completion tracking. Our guide to navigating and completing Bush Trip legs covers the details without duplicating them here. For a shorter scored objective, see how to select, fly and score a Landing Challenge.
How do I find missions in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?
Open the main-menu Activities screen for Bush Trips, Landing Challenges and Discovery Flights, or select the separate Flight Training entry for lessons.
- Return to the main menu. Activities are not selected from the World Map.
- Open Activities. Choose Bush Trips, Landing Challenges, Discovery Flights or another installed challenge category.
- Select an activity. Read its aircraft, airport and route details before starting.
- Start the event. The simulator loads the supplied aircraft, weather, position and objectives automatically.
A mistake we see constantly is searching the World Map for a Missions button. The World Map creates ordinary free flights; even a carefully planned route does not become a scored activity or receive a mission-completion tick.
Why are Bush Trips or Landing Challenges missing?
Missing activities usually mean their optional content package is not installed, updated or enabled.
- Finish the simulator update. Let MSFS complete both its platform update and the packages downloaded by its own installer.
- Check Content Manager. Open Profile > Content Manager, clear restrictive filters and install any available updates for the relevant activity or World Update.
- Install optional World Update content. Updating the core simulator does not necessarily install every free regional package. If a package is absent from Content Manager, obtain its official bundle through the in-sim Marketplace first.
- Restart after installation. Newly added activities may not populate their menu category until MSFS is closed and reopened.
- Check add-on status on PC. Safe Mode disables Community packages, so third-party Bush Trips will disappear while it is active.
Licensed or promotional challenges can also depend on a particular expansion and may not remain available indefinitely. Do not reinstall the whole simulator merely because an old video shows an activity that is absent from your installation.
Can I add more missions to MSFS 2020?
Yes—on PC, additional Bush Trips can be installed as MSFS packages and should then appear under Activities > Bush Trips. Our installation steps for third-party Bush Trips explain the Community-folder method and the checks to make when a trip does not appear.
Old FSX mission files cannot simply be copied into MSFS 2020 because the two simulators use different activity and package systems. Xbox users also cannot manually place packages in a Community folder; add-on activities must be distributed through the simulator's supported content system.
Are these the same as MSFS 2024 Career Mode missions?
No. MSFS 2020 has structured activities, but it does not contain Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's Career Mode and contract-style jobs.
If you want cargo work, specialised aviation jobs and career progression rather than fixed challenges, those belong to MSFS 2024. Our comparison of MSFS 2020 and 2024 features explains that distinction.