Minecraft offers you a ton of different gameplay mechanics that make the game fun to play. From using a horse to explore the world to making an elaborate network of rail tracks, the ways to explore the blocky world are multiple. One such way is flying. It lets you travel faster, navigate with more ease, and is overall fun.
However, by default, this mechanic is disabled on most Minecraft servers. This article will explain how to enable flying on a Minecraft server and the different ways you can access this feature.
Why enable flying in Minecraft?

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Flying can be beneficial for both server administrators and players. It allows players to move quickly across large maps, making building easier, and helps in covering longer distances in a short time. Considering how big the blocky world is, this has a big impact on the overall travel experience.
Server admins can also use flying to monitor activities and ensure that everything is functioning smoothly. Additionally, in creative mode, flying is essential for building large structures efficiently.
However, in survival mode, flying is usually not available unless cheats or specific mods are used. Some servers disable flying to prevent unfair advantages, but others enable it to enhance gameplay, especially for trusted players.
Enabling flying through server settings
If you are running a Minecraft server and want to enable flying, follow these steps:
- Access the server files: Navigate to the main folder where your Minecraft server files are stored. Look for a file named server.properties.
- Edit the Server Properties file: Open server.properties using a text editor like Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac). Find the line that says allow-flight=false.
- Change the setting: Change false to true, so it reads allow-flight=true. Save and close the file.
- Restart the server: After saving the changes, restart your Minecraft server for the settings to take effect.
Now, players who have permission to fly will be able to do so. However, enabling flight alone does not give all players the ability to fly; it simply prevents the server from kicking players for using flight-related abilities.
Using commands to enable flying
If you want to allow flying for specific players or grant permissions temporarily, you can use Minecraft’s built-in commands:
For Creative Mode: Players in creative mode can fly by default using the following command:
/gamemode creative [playername]
This will switch the selected player to creative mode, allowing them to fly.
For Spectator Mode: Spectator mode also allows flying without interacting with the world using this command:
/gamemode spectator [playername]
Using the Elytra: The Elytra is an in-game item that allows players to glide. Players can activate it by jumping from a height and using fireworks for boosts.
If flying is not working despite enabling it, try the following:
- Check server restart: Ensure you restart the server after making changes.
- Verify permissions: Some servers require permission plugins to allow flight.
- Test in different modes: Flying works differently in creative and survival modes.
- Check for conflicting plugins: Some plugins may block flying even if it is enabled.
Flying can add a lot of fun mechanics to the gameplay and when done right, it can make things challenging as well. However, it is important to tune the settings properly.
You do not want to mess with the server settings if you do not know how to tweak them. It is better to ask the server administrator so that everything goes smoothly.
If you are on a server with just friends, you can switch to creative mode and start flying without any issues. However, for PvP modes in Minecraft, it is better to go with changing the server settings.
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