Fix an MSFS 2024 flight plan that won't send from the EFB to ATC or aircraft avionics, with checks for power, routes and add-on compatibility.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, an EFB route is not automatically shared with ATC and the aircraft avionics. You must transfer it to the avionics and file it with built-in ATC as two separate actions. Failures usually come from uninitialised avionics, unsupported route injection, an invalid route or an already-open ATC clearance.
How do I send an MSFS 2024 flight plan correctly?
Create one valid route in the EFB, transfer it to the powered avionics, then file the same route with ATC before asking for clearance. The order matters less than completing and verifying both operations.
- Open the intended EFB route. Confirm that it has a departure, destination and the correct flight rules. Merely seeing an imported route in the EFB does not make it the working aircraft plan.
- Check the route for obvious problems. Remove unresolved waypoints, duplicate airports and questionable procedure transitions. For testing, use a simple direct route between two airports.
- Let the avionics initialise. In a cold-and-dark aircraft, power the required electrical buses and wait until the navigation displays and FMS have finished starting.
- Send the route to the avionics. Use the EFB command normally labelled for avionics transfer, then inspect the cockpit FPL, LEGS or route page. Do not rely on the EFB map as proof.
- File the plan with ATC separately. Use the EFB filing command before requesting clearance. Filing creates the ATC plan; it does not itself tune the radio, issue a clearance or activate the route in the FMS.
Our explanation of the separate planning, avionics-transfer and ATC-filing stages in the MSFS 2024 EFB covers the normal workflow in more detail.
Why does the plan reach ATC but not the avionics?
If ATC recognises the flight but the cockpit route page remains empty, the EFB-to-aircraft transfer has failed. Aircraft power, avionics compatibility and custom FMS behaviour are the main checks.
- Avionics not ready: retry after the displays and FMS have fully initialised.
- Unsupported aircraft interface: some third-party aircraft use a custom FMC and do not accept the simulator's generic route injection. Import or enter the route through that aircraft's own system instead.
- Partial transfer: some avionics accept en-route waypoints but omit runways, SIDs, STARs or approaches. Select those procedures in the cockpit.
- Route awaiting confirmation: airline-style systems may place the route in a temporary state that must be inserted, activated or executed.
- Problem route element: if a direct airport-to-airport plan transfers but the full plan does not, add the airway and procedure sections back one at a time.
With SimBrief, importing the route into the EFB is only the first stage. Follow the steps for moving an imported SimBrief route from the EFB into the aircraft and ATC; otherwise it can remain visible only on the tablet.
Why does the plan reach the avionics but not ATC?
Built-in ATC cannot read a route merely because it appears in the aircraft's FMS. The simulator-level flight plan must be filed separately through the EFB, even when every waypoint is already displayed in the cockpit.
File before requesting IFR or VFR clearance. Changing the EFB or FMS after ATC has issued a clearance does not reliably rebuild that clearance. Where the ATC menu permits it, cancel the existing clearance and refile; if the session remains stuck, restarting the flight with the finished plan is the cleanest reset.
This distinction is especially important with custom FMC aircraft. Importing directly into their avionics bypasses the simulator flight-plan layer, so ATC may know only the departure and destination—or have no filed route at all.
If the route is filed but clearance options, frequencies or radio calls are still missing, check the wider radio, assistance and clearance causes that stop built-in ATC working.
What does each transfer failure mean?
| What you see | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Route in EFB only | Neither transfer has completed | Send to avionics and file with ATC as separate actions |
| ATC has the route; FMS is blank | Avionics transfer failed or is unsupported | Power the avionics, retry, then use the aircraft's own importer if required |
| FMS has the route; ATC does not | The plan was never filed at simulator level | File it through the EFB before requesting clearance |
| Only part of the route transfers | A procedure or transition is unsupported | Transfer the core route and add the missing procedure in the FMS |
| Neither command responds | EFB state, invalid route or aircraft compatibility problem | Test a direct route in a default aircraft to isolate the cause |
If even a basic direct route produces no response, use our EFB transfer troubleshooting for power, aircraft compatibility and stuck route states. Testing the same route in a default aircraft is useful: success there points to the original aircraft rather than the route or ATC.
Does sending the plan make the autopilot follow it?
Sending a flight plan does not automatically activate lateral navigation. Confirm that the route has been inserted or executed, remove any route discontinuity, activate an appropriate leg, select the FMS or GPS navigation source and engage the aircraft's navigation mode.
The transfer also may not populate performance data, take-off speeds, weights or every altitude constraint. Those remain aircraft-specific entries. If ATC later assigns vectors, a shortcut or a different runway, update the avionics manually because ATC amendments are not automatically synchronised back into the FMS.