Turn off parked aircraft in MSFS 2024, identify scenery-built static planes, and keep live traffic while clearing gates and stands.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, open Settings, find the Traffic options and set Ground Aircraft Density to 0. This removes simulator-generated parked aircraft from gates and stands. If aircraft remain, they are probably live or AI traffic, multiplayer traffic, or static models built into airport scenery, which require separate controls.
Turn off simulator-generated parked aircraft
- Open Settings. You can do this from the main menu or pause menu.
- Open the Traffic options. Look for the Airport Life section containing the ground-aircraft controls.
- Set Ground Aircraft Density to 0. Depending on how the slider is displayed, this may appear as 0%.
- Apply the change. If aircraft already loaded at the airport remain visible, reload the flight or departure airport.
Do not confuse Ground Aircraft Density with airport vehicle density. The latter controls service vehicles such as baggage tugs and fuel trucks, not parked aeroplanes. Another common mistake is disabling live traffic while leaving Ground Aircraft Density above zero, which allows stock aircraft to keep occupying stands.
Why are parked aircraft still visible?
Aircraft can remain because the ground-density slider controls only the simulator's stock parked-aircraft population.
| Aircraft source | How to recognise it | How to remove it |
|---|---|---|
| Simulator-generated parked aircraft | Stock aircraft placed around gates and parking stands | Set Ground Aircraft Density to 0 |
| Live or offline AI traffic | Aircraft may taxi, use lights, arrive or depart | Disable the selected live or AI traffic source |
| Multiplayer traffic | Aircraft are controlled by other players, sometimes with nameplates | Turn off Multiplayer traffic |
| Traffic injector | Aircraft appear while an external traffic add-on is running | Stop the injector or change its own ground-traffic settings |
| Airport scenery models | The same aircraft remain in exactly the same positions after every reload | Select the scenery's no-static option, or disable that airport package |
To identify the source, load the airport with Ground Aircraft Density, live or AI traffic and multiplayer all disabled. Aircraft that remain fixed in the same positions are normally part of the scenery. Our explanation of how simulator, injected, multiplayer and scenery aircraft differ helps when several traffic sources are installed.
Third-party airports sometimes provide separate static and no-static configurations. Use the package's supplied configuration method rather than deleting individual files at random; manual deletion can break the scenery or be reversed by an update. If no optional configuration exists, those models cannot usually be removed with a simulator traffic slider.
Can I remove parked aircraft but keep live traffic?
Yes. Leave live or real-time traffic enabled and set Ground Aircraft Density to 0. This removes filler aircraft without deliberately suppressing flights from the live feed.
A live aircraft can still occupy a gate after landing or while waiting to depart. Completely empty stands require live or AI traffic, multiplayer and any traffic injector to be disabled as well. If the live flights disappear unexpectedly, check the online and data settings that supply live traffic rather than increasing Ground Aircraft Density.
Will turning off parked aircraft improve FPS?
It can improve performance at busy airports because fewer aircraft models, textures and related objects need to be rendered. The result depends on the airport, traffic source and whether the system is limited by the processor or graphics card.
Set Ground Aircraft Density to 0 first. If performance remains poor, reduce active live or AI traffic separately; moving and simulated aircraft usually create a different workload from scenery-built static models. Our breakdown of AI traffic and FPS settings explains which controls to reduce without unnecessarily removing airport vehicles or other activity.