Find why MSFS 2020 airport ground textures overlap, flicker or show double markings, then isolate duplicate scenery and fix the conflict safely.
Overlapping airport ground textures in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 are usually caused by two scenery packages modifying the same airport: an add-on, a Marketplace or World Update airport, or another scenery pack. Their aprons, runways and ground polygons render together, producing double markings, flicker, seams or mismatched aerial imagery.
What causes overlapping airport textures?
The usual cause is more than one airport rendition loading at the same location, although terrain and streamed imagery can produce similar symptoms.
| What you see | Likely cause | Best fix |
|---|---|---|
| Two sets of taxiway lines, stands or runway markings | Duplicate airport packages | Keep one airport rendition and disable or uninstall the other |
| Rapid flickering as the camera moves | Two ground polygons occupying nearly the same height, known as z-fighting | Remove the conflicting airport or scenery layer |
| Default and custom aprons mixed together | Missing or outdated exclusion polygons in the add-on | Update the add-on or use only the default airport |
| Raised aprons, trenches or floating buildings | Conflicting mesh or airport terraforming | Remove the competing mesh, orthophoto or airport package |
| Large photographic seams beyond the airport boundary | Custom orthophoto, streamed aerial imagery or stale cache data | Test without the custom imagery and rebuild the rolling cache if needed |
A mistake we see constantly is treating flickering ground as a graphics-card problem. When the effect is confined to one airport and includes duplicate paint or apron edges, it is almost always a scenery conflict. Our explanation of how airport packages and exclusion layers conflict covers the underlying package behaviour in more detail.
How do I find and remove the conflicting scenery?
The quickest method is to test the airport with an empty Community folder, then restore add-ons in groups until the overlap returns.
- Close MSFS 2020 completely. Package changes made while the simulator is running may not take effect correctly.
- Move Community packages temporarily. Place them in a holding folder outside the Community folder; do not delete them.
- Load the affected airport. If the ground is now correct, a Community add-on is responsible. If it still overlaps, inspect installed Marketplace, World Update and other optional content.
- Restore packages in halves. Test half of the removed packages, then keep narrowing the group that triggers the problem. This is much quicker than adding them back one at a time.
- Look for duplicate coverage. Check airport packs, city scenery, regional packs, mesh and orthophoto packages—not just folders bearing the airport's ICAO code.
- Keep one airport rendition. Update the preferred airport and remove or disable the competing version. Do not remove shared dependency libraries unless the package documentation says they are incompatible.
- Restart and retest. Use the same runway, parking position and weather so lighting changes do not disguise the result.
If isolating packages is unfamiliar, our clean Community-folder troubleshooting sequence explains the same safe elimination process. On Xbox Series X|S, where there is no Community folder, use Content Manager to uninstall or disable optional airport renditions and restart the simulator.
Can changing scenery priority fix it?
Changing package priority helps only when the packages are designed to coexist and one is meant to override the other. Priority cannot repair missing exclusion polygons, so removing one airport rendition is more dependable than editing package metadata or deleting individual scenery files.
Should I clear the rolling cache or change graphics settings?
Clear the rolling cache only when photographic ground imagery remains corrupted after conflicting packages have been removed.
- Duplicate lines or flickering polygons: cache and texture-quality settings are unlikely to help.
- Blurry tiles or rectangular aerial seams: delete and recreate the Rolling Cache through the simulator's Data settings.
- Uncertain whether streamed imagery is involved: temporarily disable
Bing Data World Graphics. If the overlap disappears with streamed imagery off, investigate the cache or an orthophoto add-on.
Switching between DirectX modes, reinstalling graphics drivers or lowering texture resolution does not remove two scenery packages occupying the same airport.
What if the runway is raised, sunken or missing?
Raised or sunken surfaces indicate a terrain or terraforming conflict rather than a simple texture overlap. Follow our airport elevation and terraforming checks before changing graphics settings.
If removing the conflicting package leaves the airport absent, generic or only partly rendered, use the missing-airport diagnostic steps to check optional content and installation state. Reinstalling only the affected airport or regional package is preferable to reinstalling the entire simulator.