How do I view and troubleshoot AI traffic in FS2004?

In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS9), the Views > View Mode > Air Traffic list shows AI aircraft active in the loaded area. If a flight is absent, check its schedule, UTC time, density threshold and active traffic BGL; if listed but invisible or removed at an airport, check its model, livery reference and parking.

How do I view and follow AI aircraft in FS2004?

The built-in Air Traffic view is the quickest way to select an AI aircraft that FS2004 has already loaded nearby.

1. Load near the relevant airport. Raise the appropriate aircraft traffic-density slider temporarily and set the simulator to a day and time when the flight should operate. Start before its scheduled departure rather than after it.
2. Open the Air Traffic list. Choose Views, View Mode and then Air Traffic. Select an aircraft to follow it with an external view.
3. Turn on aircraft labels. Callsign, altitude and distance labels help match the aircraft on screen with the intended flight.
4. Use Traffic Explorer for deeper checks. The Traffic Explorer and Traffic Map tools supplied in the FS2004 SDK Traffic Toolbox package provide a clearer view of nearby loaded traffic and its position.

This is not a worldwide timetable. The list changes as aircraft enter and leave FS2004's loaded area, so an empty list can simply mean that no qualifying flight is nearby at that simulator time.

Why is FS2004 AI traffic not showing?

Missing FS2004 AI traffic is usually caused by the schedule or traffic file before it is caused by the visual aircraft model.

1. Set traffic density to 100% for the test. Each compiled flight can have a minimum traffic percentage. FS2004 suppresses it when the relevant density slider is below that threshold.
2. Check the simulator's UTC time and day. Many schedules are written against UTC/GMT rather than local airport time. Weekly plans may also run only on selected days.
3. Confirm the compiled traffic BGL is active. The conventional folder is [FS2004]\Scenery\World\scenery, but a traffic BGL can work from another enabled scenery area. FS2004 does not run the source aircraft and flight-plan text files directly.
4. Check the aircraft assignment. The title stored in the schedule must match a unique title= entry in an installed aircraft.cfg.
5. Check airport capacity. Full or undersized parking can prevent a departure aircraft from appearing, send it to an unexpected stand or cause an arrival to be removed.

Restart FS2004 after changing traffic BGLs or aircraft configuration files. A BGL compiled for a later simulator does not become FS2004-compatible merely by being copied into an FS9 folder or renamed.

WOAI / World of AI in FS2004

A World of AI package normally installs aircraft files or repaints under the FS2004 aircraft structure and a compiled traffic BGL in an active scenery area.

1. Verify the installer destination. The selected root must be the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 installation. AI aircraft normally belong under [FS2004]\Aircraft, not in the SimObjects structure used by later simulators.
2. Find the package's traffic BGL. It is commonly placed in [FS2004]\Scenery\World\scenery, although the filename and destination can vary. Do not assume the BGL contains the airline name.
3. Confirm that its scenery area is enabled. If the BGL is in a custom scenery folder, verify that the parent area is active in FS2004's Scenery Library. A file sitting in an unregistered or disabled folder will not be read.
4. Inspect the installed aircraft. Confirm that the expected aircraft folder, model and repaint exist under [FS2004]\Aircraft. Our FS2004 AI aircraft and traffic-BGL installation checks cover the required folder structure and restart procedure.
5. Isolate the package before testing. Move other custom traffic BGLs to a backup folder outside every active scenery area. If necessary, temporarily isolate the stock traffic BGL as well. Leave the aircraft folders installed.
6. Restart and test at full density. Load at an airport and UTC time served by the package. Once it works, restore other BGLs one at a time.

Duplicate schedules do not always stop a flight from loading, but they can produce overlapping aircraft, consume all suitable gates and obscure which BGL supplied the traffic. Keeping only the target WOAI BGL active gives a meaningful test. Package contents also vary: installing WOAI does not establish that a particular airline, timetable or A220 model is present.

How do aircraft.cfg title references control AI traffic?

FS2004 assigns an AI aircraft through its exact title= value, not through the folder name, airline name or ui_variation= description.

The title must be unique across the installed aircraft library. Within the selected aircraft section, sim= must resolve to the corresponding .air file, model= must select an existing model folder, and texture= must select the intended texture folder. A missing file at any point can leave a listed flight invisible or crash FS2004 when the model loads.

If the title in a source aircraft list is wrong, correct it and recompile the schedule in FS2004 format. Our guide to building and compiling FS2004 AI flight plans explains aircraft-number assignments, UTC scheduling and traffic percentages.

Compatibility matters separately from the title. A repaint is not a complete aircraft, and an FSX, Prepar3D or newer-simulator model cannot be converted for FS2004 by editing aircraft.cfg. For a concrete folder and configuration example, see our worked FS2004 AI-aircraft setup using the XPFW A320.

Air Canada A220 AI traffic in FS2004

Air Canada A220 traffic appears only when a schedule references the exact title of a separately installed, FS2004-compatible A220 model and Air Canada repaint; it is not included with every WOAI installation.

1. Prove that the schedule assigns an A220. If source aircraft and flight-plan files were supplied, trace the Air Canada flight's aircraft number back to its title. An older file may describe the A220-300 as a CS300, CSeries or BCS3 rather than using “A220”. If only a BGL is available, inspect it with an FS9-compatible traffic tool or build a small controlled test schedule.
2. Locate the exact aircraft title. Open the A220's aircraft.cfg under [FS2004]\Aircraft and find the Air Canada repaint section. Copy its complete title= value exactly; similar titles for another airline or texture are not interchangeable.
3. Verify the complete model installation. Check the sim=, model= and texture= references. The model must genuinely support FS2004. Many A220 downloads made for later simulators cannot be used as FS9 AI aircraft.
4. Test one variable at a time. Compile a known working schedule with the exact A220 title, use an airport with ample parking and set traffic density to 100%. Then substitute a known working FS2004 AI aircraft into the same schedule. If the substitute appears but the A220 does not, the A220 model or configuration is faulty; if neither appears, investigate the BGL, timing or schedule.

Which symptom identifies the faulty part?

The stage at which the aircraft fails usually separates schedule faults from model, livery and airport problems.

What if AI traffic taxis or parks incorrectly?

AI aircraft that load correctly but behave badly usually expose an airport-facility problem rather than a timetable problem.

• Taxiing over grass or stopping: check for disconnected taxi links, incorrect node joins and misplaced hold-short nodes.
• Parking at the wrong terminal: compare the aircraft's atc_parking_codes and atc_parking_types with the airport's stands. Codes influence stand selection, while size and availability remain critical.
• Disappearing after landing: reduce traffic to free stands, check parking radius and confirm that the arrival can follow a connected taxi route to parking.
• Repeated go-arounds: lower traffic temporarily, then inspect runway occupancy, runway links and the runway selected for the wind.
• Different behaviour between airport sceneries: temporarily retain only one add-on AFCAD or airport-facility file for that airport. Duplicate versions can place runways, taxiways and stands at conflicting coordinates.