> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skyvexsoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bookings and starting a flight

> Find your booked flights in Stratos, change the aircraft or cancel a booking when your airline allows it, and start tracking by hand or automatically. Covers the pre-flight checks, Start Anyway and your airline's confirmation prompt.

Your bookings come from your airline. Book a flight on your airline's website, and it appears in **Flight Tracking** in Stratos, ready to start. Stratos starts tracking when you press **Start Tracking**, or on its own when you're parked at the departure airport and auto-start is on.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **At a glance**
>
> * Book on your airline's website, then press **Refresh** in Stratos to see it.
> * Load the aircraft at the departure airport, on the ground, then press **Start Tracking**.
> * Stratos checks a few things first. If one fails, fix it, or press **Start Anyway** if your airline allows it.
> * Turn on **Auto-Start Tracking** and Stratos starts the flight for you when you're parked at a booked departure.

## Find your bookings

Open **Flight Tracking** from the sidebar. **Flight Bookings** lists every flight you've booked, with its **Flight number**, **Departure**, **Arrival**, **Aircraft**, **Distance** and estimated time (**Est.**).

* Click a booking to open it. You see the route and any **Notes** from your airline, with the buttons to start or cancel it.
* Booked something on the website just now? Press **Refresh** to load it.

![Flight Bookings: three Harbour Virtual flights out of Auckland, the first opened to show its route, notes and the start button](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg/images/screenshots/stratos/bookings-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg\&q=85\&s=552c0e9d2ce9ff0e18c8ab9a30cf64d7)

**No bookings available.** means your airline has no bookings for you. Book a flight on your airline's website, then press **Refresh**. If the list can't load at all, Stratos shows the reason and a **Try Again** button.

## Start a flight

1. Start your simulator and load the aircraft on the ground at the departure airport.
2. Wait for the top bar to show **Connected to** your simulator. Until then, the button reads **No Simulator Connected**. See [Connecting your simulator](/stratos/simulator-connection.md).
3. Open the booking and press **Start Tracking**.

![Flight Bookings with Stratos connected to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: HBV107 opened and its Start Tracking button ready](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg/images/screenshots/stratos/start-tracking-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg\&q=85\&s=c71abc5072b7e48792d65430338dd44a)

Stratos starts the booking as it stands on your airline's website, so a change you made there (a different aircraft, say) counts. If the booking has gone from your airline's site, Stratos tells you and refreshes the list.

Once tracking starts, the tracking screen opens. See [The tracking screen](/stratos/tracking-screen.md).

## Pre-flight checks

Before a flight starts, Stratos checks that it can track it properly. If anything fails, **Pre-flight Check Failed** lists every check with a tick, a cross, or a grey question mark for one it couldn't check yet.

| Check | Passes when |
| - | - |
| **No active flight** | No other flight is being tracked. |
| **Simulator connected** | Stratos is connected to your simulator. |
| **Receiving aircraft data** | The simulator is sending data. It isn't while it's paused, in a menu or still loading. |
| **Aircraft on ground** | The simulator says the aircraft is on the ground. |
| **Near departure airport** | The aircraft is within 5 nm of the booking's departure airport. |

![Pre-flight Check Failed: every check ticked except Near departure airport, because the aircraft is parked at Sydney, with Dismiss and Start Anyway](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg/images/screenshots/stratos/preflight-failed-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg\&q=85\&s=0d928a860b9d1bf5260edbff6b7cfacd)

Plugins can add their own checks. Each shows under the plugin's name, with the plugin's reason.

Fix what failed and press **Start Tracking** again. Or, if you're sure everything is right, press **Start Anyway** to start without the checks. A common reason: some aircraft never tell the simulator they're on the ground, so **Aircraft on ground** fails when you're parked at the gate.

If **Start Anyway** is greyed out, your airline requires every check to pass. Hover over it to see **Your virtual airline requires all pre-flight checks to pass before a flight can start.**

## Your airline's confirmation

Your airline's system can also check what your simulator is reporting before it accepts the flight. For example, it might check that the aircraft or the fuel loaded in the simulator matches your booking. If something doesn't match, **Please check your simulator setup** shows your airline's message, with the **Simulator Variables** it was given: **Aircraft ICAO**, **Aircraft Type**, **Livery**, **Position**, **Altitude**, **On Ground**, **Fuel (lbs)** and **Simulator**.

![Please check your simulator setup: Harbour Virtual's message about the fuel load, the Simulator Variables it was sent, and Re-validate simulator or Start tracking anyway](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg/images/screenshots/stratos/airline-confirmation-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg\&q=85\&s=bc51cbedf9097b21bd6b83a84075dd67)

* Fix it in the simulator (load the right aircraft or livery, for example), then press **Re-validate simulator** to ask your airline again.
* Or press **Start tracking anyway** to start as things are.

If **Start tracking anyway** is greyed out, your airline needs the issue fixed first.

## Start automatically

With auto-start on, you don't press anything: load up at a booked departure airport and Stratos starts the flight.

To turn it on, open **Settings → Plugins**, choose **Flight Tracking**, and switch on **Auto-Start Tracking** under **Your settings**. It's off until you turn it on.

When your aircraft is within 5 nm of a booked departure airport, Stratos gives you a few seconds to settle in, then starts that booking. If several bookings leave from that airport, it picks the one whose aircraft type matches the aircraft in your simulator, or leaves you to choose.

The same pre-flight checks and airline confirmation apply. If your airline asks you to confirm, Stratos opens Flight Tracking and shows the prompt. If the start is turned down three times in a row, by your airline or by a pre-flight check, **Auto-start blocked** tells you which and why, and auto-start leaves that booking alone for 5 minutes.

### Why hasn't auto-start started my flight?

The bookings list tells you. Under the heading, **Auto-start is waiting:** gives the reason:

| Reason | What to do |
| - | - |
| waiting for the simulator | Start the simulator. See [Connecting your simulator](/stratos/simulator-connection.md). |
| waiting for simulator data | Load into the flight. |
| the aircraft is not on the ground | Auto-start only starts on the ground. For a flight already in the air, press **Start Tracking**, then **Start Anyway** if your airline allows it. |
| the simulator is paused / you are in the simulator menu | Unpause, or leave the menu. |
| you have no bookings | Book a flight on your airline's website. |
| the aircraft is 260 nm from YSSY, the nearest booked departure | You're at the wrong airport. Move the aircraft to the booked departure, or book a flight from where you are. |
| 2 bookings depart from YSSY; pick one manually | Open the one you want and press **Start Tracking**. |
| the booking has no aircraft attached yet; pick one on the booking or in SimBrief | Choose an aircraft for the booking first. |
| the last start at this airport was blocked; retrying shortly | Auto-start tries again in 5 minutes. The **Auto-start blocked** message says why: your airline's reason, or the pre-flight check that failed. |
| a previous flight is waiting to be recovered or dismissed | Resume or cancel the interrupted flight first. |
| your airline has asked you to sign in again | Sign in again, then auto-start carries on. |
| starting QFA1 in 10 s | It's about to start. |

## Change the aircraft

If your airline allows it, the **Aircraft** on each booking is a dropdown. Pick another aircraft and the booking updates straight away; you don't need to save. The list only offers aircraft your airline lets you fly on that flight, grouped by type and shown by registration, and you can type to search it.

* **No alternative aircraft** means there's nothing else eligible for this flight.
* **Set by your SimBrief flight plan. Re-plan in SimBrief to fly a different aircraft.** means the aircraft comes from your SimBrief plan. See [SimBrief](/stratos/simbrief.md#your-bookings-aircraft).
* If your airline refuses the change, Stratos shows its reason and puts the old aircraft back.

If your airline doesn't allow changes, the aircraft is plain text. Change it on your airline's website instead, then press **Refresh**.

## Cancel a booking

If your airline allows it, an open booking has a **Cancel Booking** button. Press it, then **Cancel Booking** again to confirm (or **Keep Booking** to back out). The booking is removed from your bookings on your airline's site too. If your airline refuses, Stratos shows its reason.

No **Cancel Booking** button? Your airline doesn't allow it from Stratos. Cancel the booking on your airline's website.

## For VA owners

Three of your Flight Tracking settings change what pilots see here: **Change aircraft** (the aircraft dropdown), **Cancel bookings** (the **Cancel Booking** button), and **Allow Start anyway** (whether **Start Anyway** and **Start tracking anyway** work). Your flight-start API can return `can_override` to decide **Start tracking anyway** for one start. See [Flight Tracking](/console/flight-tracking.md).

## Related pages

* [The tracking screen](/stratos/tracking-screen.md)
* [Connecting your simulator](/stratos/simulator-connection.md)
* [Flight phases](/guide/flight-phases.md)


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