Our history
Founded in Hamburg in 2020, NordFly grew from an idea into a virtual airline. Explore the milestones, community and in-house systems that have shaped our story and our passion for flight simulation.
An idea became a virtual airline.
What is now a virtual airline group with four different airlines, its own technical infrastructure and an engaged community began with a simple idea, a great deal of passion and a small home flight simulator in Hamburg.
NordFly's history has been shaped by personal encounters, new challenges, countless hours of development and the desire to create virtual aviation in its own way.
But to understand how it all came together, we first have to go back a few years.
The beginnings – A passion returns.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
- Mid-2019
- Prepar3D
- Home simulator
NordFly founder Bastjan discovered flight simulation as a teenager with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002, followed later by Flight Simulator 2004 and FSX. School, new hobbies and personal development then pushed it into the background for many years.
In mid-2019, his colleague Julian, who was training for his private pilot licence, rekindled that passion. They agreed that Bastjan would build a home simulator for shared virtual flights, while Julian would take him along on real ones. By December 2019, the first small simulator with Prepar3D, joysticks, throttle controls and an autopilot panel was ready.
Nobody knew it at the time: this was the foundation on which NordFly would later be built.
Shared flights turn into an idea.
- IVAO
- Discord community
- 12 October 2020
Inspired by YouTube videos, Bastjan moved into online flight simulation: on IVAO he flew with realistic radio and real air traffic controllers and joined a Discord community. There his friendship with Nico began – along with a question: why not create a virtual airline of their own?
NordFly was meant to be different: no rigid type permissions or mandatory type ratings, but as much freedom as possible. Realism should have its place, but never push the enjoyment of flight simulation aside. Without any background in web development or programming, the first working system was built step by step.
On 12 October 2020, NordFly officially began operations.
An idea between friends had become a virtual airline.
Challenges become progress.
- Professional presence
- Modern systems
- Realism & freedom
After the founding, the real work began: operating NordFly permanently and developing it further. Bastjan taught himself server administration, web applications and programming. When Nico left the project after almost two years, Bastjan took full responsibility for its technology and direction.
Three goals have been at the centre ever since: a professional presence, modern systems and flight operations that combine realism with personal freedom. Building missing functions in-house became a firm part of the NordFly philosophy.
A new face and an unexpected expansion.
- New logo
- More modern livery
- FlyHoliday Airlines
In 2022, NordFly received a new look with a new logo, a more modern aircraft livery and a clearer visual identity.
Then, quite unexpectedly, a second airline joined: when the operator of FlyHoliday Airlines suddenly shut down, NordFly brought the leisure airline in-house in an overnight effort – integrated technically, rebuilt and thoroughly reworked.
For the first time, NordFly operated more than one virtual airline. The idea of a shared airline group was beginning to take shape.
The founding of NordFly Cargo.
- NordFly Cargo
- Air freight
- NordFly Group Airlines
- First airline meetup
After the successful integration of FlyHoliday, NordFly wanted to cover further areas of virtual aviation and offer its members new opportunities. In 2023, NordFly Cargo therefore added a dedicated virtual cargo airline – alongside NordFly’s passenger operations and FlyHoliday’s leisure flying.
At the same time, NordFly Group Airlines was created as a shared umbrella. The key idea: despite their different profiles, the airlines are not separate worlds. A common technical platform connects them, and once approved, pilots can switch between them. This way, NordFly kept growing together with every new airline instead of splitting into separate projects.
In August 2023, a rather spontaneous idea brought us together for the first airline meetup in Hagenow. Virtual acquaintances became personal encounters – the start of every meetup that followed.
The original NordFly had now definitively become a virtual airline group.
A new foundation for the future.
- OperationCenter (OPC)
- August 2024
- Community requests
As the group grew, so did the demands on the OperationCenter (OPC). In August 2024, a fundamentally revised version was released with a modernised interface and a new technical foundation – shaped by many community requests.
Since then, the OPC has been the central hub of flight operations: from flight planning and PIREPs to tours, awards and each pilot’s personal career.
The original idea remained unchanged: modern technology should enrich flight simulation, not make it unnecessarily complicated.
Four airlines, one shared concept.
- EuroFly
- Four airlines
- NordFly Group Installer™
- 31 December 2025
- Second airline meetup
In mid-2025, EuroFly joined as the fourth airline and completed the strategic direction of the group. NordFly, NordFly Cargo, FlyHoliday and EuroFly now form its four pillars – each with its own identity, all on a shared technical foundation.
In August 2025, NordFly invited everyone to the second airline meetup in Hamburg – with a model exhibition, an airport tour and, for the first time, considerably more participants. The spontaneous idea of 2023 had become a firm tradition that brings members from across the group together in person.
Installing NordFly’s own liveries also became much easier. Until then, it had meant a certain amount of effort, especially for less tech-savvy members – even though NordFly invests significant resources in professionally designed liveries that should reach pilots as easily as possible. That led to an in-house application built to simplify installation from the ground up. The NordFly Group Installer™ was released on 31 December 2025, installing liveries for supported simulators and aircraft in just a few clicks.
Modern systems, a new online presence and a vibrant community.
- Stratos ACARS
- Biggest airline meetup
- Group Installer™ 2.0
- New website
Six years after its founding, NordFly is an airline group with four airlines, a large route network, professional liveries and its own steadily growing infrastructure. Stratos ACARS records and evaluates flights in a modern way, while in-house plugins monitor key flight parameters, evaluate landings and take IVAO and VATSIM into account – realistic without losing flexibility.
In August 2026, the biggest airline meetup in NordFly’s history so far took place in Hamburg – with a model exhibition and apron tour. Three years after the first meetup in Hagenow, it showed how much the community has grown.
In November, the NordFly Group Installer™ 2.0 was released first, followed by the new website – completely reconceived, redesigned and rebuilt. The concept, requirements and first steps are now clearer, and the site shows how far NordFly has come since its early years.
The community is – and remains – the heart of the entire airline group.
Our story is far from over.
What began in December 2019 with a small home simulator is now an airline group with four airlines, its own systems and a technical infrastructure built with countless hours of work. Not every step was planned – some things worked immediately, others took many attempts.
At its core, the idea is still the same as on day one: bring together people who share our passion for flight simulation and offer them an airline experience that is realistic, yet flexible and accessible.
NordFly lives through the people who fly with us, contribute their ideas and accompany the development of this airline group.
Those are the people with whom we want to write the next chapters of our story.
We’ll write the next chapters together.
Since 2020, many people have helped shape NordFly’s story through their passion for flight simulation. Shared flights became friendships, a small idea grew into a thriving virtual airline and a strong community. But our story is far from over. Perhaps you too will soon be one of the people helping to shape our future.
