diff --git a/src/GUI/QtLauncher.cxx b/src/GUI/QtLauncher.cxx
index 77abd10e2..7d9404e7a 100644
--- a/src/GUI/QtLauncher.cxx
+++ b/src/GUI/QtLauncher.cxx
@@ -1221,6 +1221,11 @@ void QtLauncher::onRun()
         if (a.arg.startsWith("prop:")) {
             QString v = a.arg.mid(5) + "=" + a.value;
             opt->addOption("prop", v.toStdString());
+        } else if (a.arg == "--console") {
+            // this option is handled very early, in normal startup. If the user
+            // requests it via the launcher, parseOptions never sees it, so
+            // achieve the same result manually.
+            simgear::requestConsole();
         } else {
             opt->addOption(a.arg.toStdString(), a.value.toStdString());
         }