Learn how to submit an airport to the X-Plane Scenery Gateway with WED, pass validation, avoid rejected assets and understand moderation.
To submit an airport to the X-Plane Scenery Gateway, edit it in the latest stable WorldEditor (WED), use only Gateway-compatible built-in assets, validate it for the Gateway target, then choose File > Export to Airport Scenery Gateway and sign in. The upload enters moderation rather than appearing in X-Plane immediately.
WED is X-Plane’s official airport editor and submission tool. Our background guide to how WED and the Gateway fit together explains the wider publishing system.
What can I submit to the X-Plane Scenery Gateway?
A Gateway airport must work from a standard X-Plane installation without custom models, third-party libraries or bundled orthophotos.
| Element | Gateway requirement |
|---|---|
| Objects and facades | Use public, non-deprecated assets from X-Plane’s built-in library that pass WED’s Gateway validation. |
| Aerial imagery | Use permitted imagery as an editing reference only. Do not include the image files in the submission. |
| Airport layout | Represent the real airport accurately, including runways, taxiways, markings, lighting and relevant metadata. |
| Custom plug-ins or scripts | Not accepted. A Gateway airport cannot depend on additional software. |
| Distribution | Every upload is reviewed before it can become the recommended Gateway version or enter a later X-Plane scenery release. |
If the airport depends on custom terminal models, photographic ground textures or third-party libraries, release it as a standalone package instead. Those features suit our X-Plane scenery downloads library, not the Gateway.
How do I upload an airport from WED?
The safest workflow is to import the Gateway’s active airport version, edit and test it locally, and let WED perform the upload.
- Prepare your account and editor. Create a Scenery Gateway account and install the latest stable WED release suitable for your X-Plane version. Older WED builds may lack assets or validation rules required by the Gateway.
- Open the correct airport. For an existing airport, use
File > Import from Airport Scenery Gatewayand start from the latest version offered as the active base. Do not begin with an old local copy or extract the bundled Global Airports version. If the real airport has no Gateway record, use the Gateway’s airport-code request process before creating it. - Keep the Airport ID intact. The Airport ID is the Gateway database key and may differ from the ICAO or local identifier. Do not change it merely because another code looks more familiar, and never create a second airport to work around an identifier problem.
- Edit with Gateway-compatible assets. Build the airport with X-Plane’s built-in objects, facades, lines, polygons and other approved resources. Keep taxiways joined cleanly, avoid overlapping pavement, place runway starts correctly and draw a sensible airport boundary rather than enclosing surrounding towns.
- Check metadata and operational details. Confirm airport codes, elevation, tower position, runway numbers and surface types. If you add ATC taxi routes or flows, make them complete and operationally plausible; a broken route network is worse than omitting optional routing you cannot verify.
- Validate for the Gateway. Set WED’s export target to
Airport Scenery Gateway, then runFile > Validate. Correct every error and investigate warnings rather than assuming they are harmless. Validation catches unsupported assets, disconnected taxi routes, malformed geometry and many runway or metadata conflicts. - Test inside X-Plane. Export a normal local scenery pack and inspect it by day and night. Disable any other custom package for the same airport so it cannot hide your work. Check runway starts, taxi signs, lighting, facade heights, jetway placement and AI ground movement, then review
Log.txtfor scenery errors. - Submit from WED. Choose
File > Export to Airport Scenery Gateway, sign in when prompted and provide a concise change summary. Mention significant runway, taxiway or metadata changes and the evidence behind them. WED packages and uploads the submission; do not add custom files afterwards. - Monitor the moderation result. Check the submission status and read any moderator comments. If changes are requested, fix the stated issues and submit a revised version based on the latest Gateway state rather than opening a duplicate airport entry.
Why was my Gateway airport rejected?
Most rejected Gateway submissions fail because they use unsupported resources, overwrite newer work or contain geometry that is visually plausible but operationally incorrect.
| Common problem | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Custom or third-party asset | Replace it with an approved built-in X-Plane object, facade, line or polygon and validate again. |
| Stale airport version | Import the latest Gateway base and reapply only the changes that are still needed. |
| Runway moved to match one image | Verify the image alignment and authoritative airport information. Aerial imagery can be offset, while runway coordinates also affect navigation data. |
| Disconnected or crossing geometry | Zoom in closely and repair doubled nodes, gaps, self-intersecting polygons and overlapping pavement edges. |
| Invalid ATC routing | Connect the network properly, assign suitable runway and taxiway segments, and check that aircraft can reach stands without impossible turns. |
| Oversized airport boundary | Tighten it around the developed airport area. An excessive boundary can suppress surrounding scenery during later scenery generation. |
| Unclear major changes | Explain runway renumbering, closures, new construction or large layout changes in the submission comments. |
When does an accepted airport appear in X-Plane?
An accepted submission does not immediately replace the airport installed for every X-Plane user.
Gateway moderation and simulator distribution are separate stages. Once approved, an airport can become the selected Gateway version, but inclusion in the stock Global Airports package waits for a later Gateway scenery cut and X-Plane update. There is no fixed publication time because moderation and release schedules vary.
If an airport should already be part of the stock installation but its files are missing or damaged, use our steps for restoring X-Plane’s global scenery. Reinstalling scenery will not force a newly accepted Gateway submission into an older scenery release.
Can I update the airport after submitting it?
Yes. A correction or later real-world change is handled as another submission for the same Airport ID.
Start from the latest Gateway version, preserve valid work from other contributors and describe exactly what changed. If your earlier upload is still awaiting review, avoid sending repeated unchanged copies; address any moderator feedback before resubmitting.