How to Enable Flying on a Minecraft Server (And Fix "Flying Is Not Enabled")

To enable flying on a Minecraft server, you need to pick the right tool, because "flying" means two different things. If you want players to fly, put them in Creative mode or install a plugin like EssentialsX and give them /fly. If players are getting kicked with "Flying is not enabled on this server," set allow-flight=true in server.properties and restart.

That second one is the trap. allow-flight doesn't give anyone the ability to fly. It only stops the server from kicking players who stay in the air with a fly mod. Flip it on and wonder why your survival players still fall? Yeah. Everybody does that once.

Set allow-flight in server.properties (Java)

1. Stop the server.
2. Open server.properties in the server folder.
3. Change allow-flight=false to allow-flight=true.
4. Save and start the server again.

The default is false, and the server has to restart before a change counts. As of Java 26.3, the Minecraft Wiki says that with it off, a player who stays in the air for a few seconds in Survival gets kicked. With it on, flight is allowed for anyone who has a fly mod installed. In Creative mode the setting does nothing at all, since Creative players can already fly.

One catch from the wiki: turning allow-flight on can mean more griefers, because it makes their work easier. Think before you turn it on for a public server. For the rest of the file, see every server.properties setting explained.

Aternos: the Fly toggle

On Aternos you don't touch the file. Open the Options page and switch on Fly. Aternos describes it as letting players fly even in Survival if they have a mod that provides that ability. Same deal as the property: it's a permission for mods, not a fly button. Every change on that page needs a server restart.

Aternos also warns that plugins can overwrite the behavior of some options, and says to check your plugins first if something isn't working. If you set Fly and still get kicked, that's where I'd look.

What allow-flight does and doesn't do

Give players /fly with EssentialsX

Vanilla Java has no /fly command. The usual fix is EssentialsX, a plugin for Bukkit-based servers like Spigot and Paper (it won't run on plain vanilla). It adds /fly [player] [on|off], also usable as /efly. Three permission nodes matter:

• essentials.fly lets someone use /fly.
• essentials.fly.others lets them toggle it on other players.
• essentials.fly.safelogin puts a player into fly mode if they log in while in the air, so they don't drop.

Ops get everything under essentials.* by default, which is fine for you but probably not for everyone else. Hand out essentials.fly through your permissions plugin. New to plugins? Here's how to install server plugins, and the best Minecraft server plugins covers what else is worth adding. Need to op yourself first? Here's how to OP yourself on a Minecraft server.

The no-plugin route: Creative mode

Want flying with zero extras? Run Creative. In server.properties, gamemode can be survival, creative, adventure or spectator. By default (force-gamemode=false) players rejoin in whatever mode they left in, so existing players may not switch. Set force-gamemode=true and everyone joins in the default mode.

Bedrock: there's no allow-flight

Bedrock Dedicated Server has no allow-flight key. Nothing in its server.properties turns on flying. The answer is Creative mode: gamemode in the file sets it for players who join for the first time (it won't change existing players), or you can use /gamemode creative. That command needs cheats on and operator status. On Aternos, that means turning on Allow Cheats in the Options page as well as being OP.

I wouldn't go hunting for a survival-flight trick on Bedrock. Skip the movement keys in the file too, since they're about correcting player positions, not enabling flight.

Still getting "Flying is not enabled on this server"?

• Did you restart? Editing the file or the Aternos toggle does nothing until you do.
• Is the line really allow-flight=true? Check for typos, and that you edited the file the running server actually uses.
• Check your plugins. Aternos says plugins can override options, so a plugin could be undoing the setting. Look at your plugin configs.
• Find the cause. Players report this kick from fly and jetpack mods, and from modded mounts like dragons. Anything modded that lifts you off the ground is a likely suspect.
• Want flight to just work? Switch to Creative or use /fly instead.

So, how do you enable flying on a Minecraft server?

Decide what you want. Players kicked for flying: allow-flight=true (or Fly on Aternos) and a restart. Players who should fly: Creative mode, or EssentialsX with essentials.fly. On Bedrock, go Creative.