How do I update navdata in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s stock navdata is updated through the simulator’s own software and content updates; there is no AIRAC file to import manually. On PC, pilots wanting a particular AIRAC cycle can install a supported navdata package with Navigraph Hub, update any aircraft-specific database separately, then restart and verify the cycle in the avionics.

Which navdata does Microsoft Flight Simulator use?

The database you must update depends on whether the aircraft reads Microsoft Flight Simulator’s central data or carries its own database. This distinction applies to both MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024.

A planner, the simulator and an aircraft FMC can therefore display different cycles. Updating one database does not automatically update the other two. AIRAC is the standard 28-day revision cycle, normally identified by a four-digit cycle code or validity dates.

How do I update the built-in MSFS navdata?

Install every offered Microsoft Flight Simulator core and official content update to receive Microsoft’s supplied database revisions.

1. Close the simulator. Do not alter packages while a flight or content download is running.
2. Start MSFS through its normal launcher. Allow the mandatory update check and any required installation to finish.
3. Check for official content updates. Use the simulator’s installed-content or library screen, whose name and layout differ between MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024.
4. Restart the simulator. Check the database cycle from an aircraft’s avionics rather than relying only on the application version.

There is no separate command that forces the stock installation to download a chosen AIRAC cycle. If Microsoft offers no update, the installed build already has the built-in data available to it. Never replace files inside the protected official-content folder by hand.

How do I install a specific AIRAC cycle on PC?

On PC, use the navdata provider’s supported installer rather than copying database files manually. Navigraph Hub is a commonly supported method and requires suitable navdata access.

1. Identify which database the aircraft uses. Check whether it reads central MSFS data or has a separate FMC database.
2. Exit MSFS completely. Also close any aircraft configuration or add-on management applications.
3. Open Navigraph Hub. Select the package for the correct simulator—MSFS 2020 or MSFS 2024—and install or update it.
4. Update aircraft-specific packages. Any aircraft listed separately must also be updated. The Fenix, for example, has its own Fenix A320 AIRAC update procedure.
5. Restart and verify. Open the aircraft’s database or IDENT page and confirm the active cycle.

The managed simulator package normally overrides the stock central database without deleting it. To return to Microsoft’s data, remove the package through the same installer instead of deleting assorted files.

Navigraph Hub installs navdata; Simlink does not. Simlink sends the aircraft’s position to chart software, so a disconnected moving map is a separate fault covered by our Simlink connection checks.

Can navdata be updated on Xbox?

Xbox users cannot sideload the PC navdata packages placed in the Community folder. Use Microsoft’s official updates and any console-compatible data integration explicitly provided by the aircraft; PC installation instructions and manual folder copying do not apply.

How do I check which AIRAC cycle is active?

Read the active database cycle from the aircraft’s FMC, MCDU or avionics database-status page. The exact page varies, but it should show a cycle identifier, validity dates or both.

• Confirm the expected cycle is marked active, not merely stored as a secondary database.
• Load a known departure or arrival and check that its runways, transitions and waypoints appear.
• Test both a default aircraft and the affected add-on. If the default aircraft sees the procedure but the add-on does not, the add-on probably uses a separate database.
• Compare the cycle in the route-planning source with the cycle displayed by the aircraft.

The installation date alone proves nothing: an old database can be reinstalled successfully and still show an outdated AIRAC.

Why are SIDs, STARs or approaches still missing?

Missing procedures usually mean the wrong database was updated, two packages conflict, or the route and aircraft use different AIRAC cycles.

• Wrong database: update the aircraft-specific package as well as the central MSFS package where required.
• Incorrect installation path: if MSFS was moved to another drive, correct the path in the installer and use its repair or reinstall function.
• Duplicate or stale package: remove the old copy through its installer. If manual inspection is necessary, use our instructions for finding the active MSFS Community folder; there may be more than one abandoned folder on the PC.
• Custom-airport conflict: airport scenery can contain navigation overrides. Temporarily remove that airport package, restart MSFS and test again.
• Cycle mismatch: a route created with a newer cycle can reference renamed or withdrawn fixes. Match the cycles or rebuild the procedure using what the cockpit database offers.
• Procedure context: select the departure or arrival runway before deciding a procedure is absent; some avionics filter incompatible transitions and approaches.

Navdata updates coded routes, fixes, frequencies and procedures; they do not create the visible runway, taxiways or airport buildings. If the whole airport is absent rather than just its procedures, use the separate checks for an airport missing from MSFS.

Built-in ATC also follows the flight plan loaded into Microsoft Flight Simulator. A procedure entered only in an add-on FMC may not be recognised by ATC, even when the aircraft’s navdata is correct.