How to create a flight map in Mapcreator 

From breaking news stories to travel magazines, flight maps help audiences visualize movement, distance, and connection at a single glance. From complex routes through various locations or simply moving a curved line from A to B, Mapcreator makes it easy to create a flight map in minutes.

In this short guide, we’ll walk you through a simple story: plotting a flight from A to B—and adding the visual polish to make it publication-ready. You’ll also see how to animate it later if needed.

Plot your route

Let’s say you want to map out a flight route regarding a recent breaking news story or a new travel itinerary. Once you have your locations in mind, you start by drawing a line on the map to represent your route using the line tool. Click directly on the map to set your path. Want to show stopovers or multi-leg flights? Just keep adding points along the way.

Next, you can make it feel more like a real flight path. Click on the line to reveal anchor points, and drag them to curve the route. Then, style it with your preferred color and stroke width, and drop in an airplane icon to indicate the path.

Prefer to base your map on more accurate data? You can also search for specific start and end locations, or place pins manually to give more context to your visual. Or, if you have a KML or GPX file, just drag & drop it in—Mapcreator will automatically display your route(s). 

Customize your flight map

Once your flight path is down, it’s time to make it yours. Mapcreator offers plenty of styling tools to match your visual identity or editorial style.

• Highlight areas such as countries, regions, or cities to make them stand out
• Choose custom colors for lines, markers and areas
• Adjust stroke thickness and switch it to dashed or dotted styles
• Toggle on globe view to provide a 3D perspective of long-distance routes

Animate it? 

This guide is all about static flight maps, but if you want to create a map animation following the line, or even have an icon move along the line, continue reading this article here.

Share your flight map everywhere 

Once your map is ready, export it as a high-resolution SVG for digital publications or a PDF in CMYK for a print-ready graphic. Whether this is for a breaking news segment or a travel guide, your maps are ready in no time. 

Try it out now! 

With just a few clicks, you can create a sleek, curved flight map with custom styling, icons, and labels. Trust Mapcreator’s design and geolocation function while you focus on the story. Maps are the perfect way to add visuals and meaning to your story—even when it stays still. Did you know Mapcreator’s €99 a month personal plan offers unlimited SVGs & PDF as a temporary offer? Click here to learn more!