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How to animate a flight path on a map

Make a video of a plane flying between cities: the route draws itself as a curved arc, the camera follows, and each city gets a label with its flag. You can type the trip for the AI, or build it by hand.

By the AYK Maps team at AYK Studios, Bengaluru · Updated

About 5 minutes · Free to try in AYK Maps

Real studio recording: one prompt builds a Delhi → Dubai → London flight with flag callouts.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Open the studio

    Go to AYK Maps. The fastest start is the AI agent tab: type something like “Flight from New York to Tokyo via Anchorage, with a small title” and send it. The AI builds an editable scene. To build by hand instead, stay on the Studio tab.

  2. 2

    Add the cities

    In Studio → The path → Stops, search “Search anywhere — a city, place, address…” and add each airport city in order. You can also turn on Edit on map and click the map to add stops.

  3. 3

    Make it a flight

    Open Path style. Set Route type to Flight (or Arc) for curved arcs, and keep Path shape on Straight — Follow roads and Sea lanes are for ground and ship journeys. For many flights from one city, use Hub.

  4. 4

    Add a plane

    Under the travel marker, pick Plane, or Plane (3D) from the 3D vehicles row for a model that turns with the route.

  5. 5

    Let the camera follow

    In the toolbar over the map, open Animation and set Motion to Follow. Fly in or Orbit work well for an opening shot.

  6. 6

    Label the cities with flags

    Right-click a stop and choose Add a callout on this stop. In the callout, set Country flag to the suggested country, or set Callout style to Flag.

  7. 7

    Export the video

    Click Export, stay on Video, and choose Make it on this device or Render in the cloud. Free exports are 720p with a small badge.

Tips

  • Change the aspect ratio before exporting: toolbar Format → Aspect ratio (16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels and Shorts).
  • A globe makes long-haul flights read better: switch the projection in Map style.
  • Drag bars on the timeline to change when the route starts drawing and when each callout appears.

What you can make

Night Flight — Mumbai, Dubai, London with a 3D plane and follow camera. Open it as a template →

More: Animated route maps · Export for Reels and Shorts · All tutorials