Airports
The fields private traffic actually uses
A business jet can use roughly ten times more airfields than the airlines serve, and the useful ones are closer to where people are going. These are the fields we fly from most, with the things that decide a trip: the curfew, the slot rule, the drive into town and what the ground costs.
Why the airport matters as much as the aircraft
The flight is rarely the slow part of the journey. Farnborough to central London and Luton to central London differ by fifteen minutes in the air and by forty on the ground, in opposite directions depending on where you are going. Choosing the field is choosing most of the door-to-door time.
Curfews decide more trips than anything else on these pages. A firm 22:00 limit does not bend for a delayed meeting, and an aircraft leaving the Gulf after early evening cannot land at a curfewed field however much anyone wants it to. That is the first thing to settle when the departure time is uncertain.
Handling is the fixed cost of the whole trip. Roughly $1,500 to $6,000 per airport for a heavy jet, unaffected by how far you fly, which is why a ninety-minute hop never costs a quarter of a six-hour sector.
What an FBO is
A fixed-base operator is the private terminal: a separate building, usually on the far side of the airfield from the airline one, with its own road entrance. It handles the aircraft, the passengers and the paperwork. Where an airport has several, they compete, and the difference shows in both price and speed.
Practically, it means no check-in desk, no bag drop and no security queue. Passport control, where it applies, happens at a desk inside the building and usually takes under five minutes. At most of these fields a car can drive onto the ramp and stop at the airstairs.
It also means the address you need is the FBO, not the airport. A driver told only the airport name will take you to departures, which can cost twenty minutes going back around the perimeter.
Choosing between two fields
Most cities worth flying to have more than one option, and the right answer depends on three things in this order: whether the runway takes your aircraft, whether the curfew allows your departure time, and how long the drive is to where you are actually going.
London is the clearest example. Farnborough is the faster arrival and better for anywhere south or west, but its 22:00 curfew rules out late traffic from the Gulf entirely. Luton has no curfew and more parking, at the cost of forty minutes on the M1. Neither is better; they suit different flights.
Say the destination address rather than the city when you ask for a quote. It changes the recommendation more often than the aircraft does.
The fields not listed here
We fly from far more airports than appear on this page. The ones written up here are those with enough operational detail to be worth reading — handlers, real transfer times, the constraint that actually bites. A page listing a runway length and a name is a directory entry, and directories already exist.
Smaller fields are frequently the better answer, particularly for turboprops and light jets: an airstrip twenty minutes from a house beats a major airport an hour away, and the handling bill is a fraction of it. If you are going somewhere without an obvious airport, that is worth asking about rather than assuming.
Slot-controlled major airports — Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle, Dubai International — accept private traffic too, but at a cost in time and money that is rarely worth paying unless you are connecting to a scheduled flight.
Every airport, side by side
| Airport | Runway | Customs | Slots | Curfew | Handling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Maktoum InternationalOMDW · DWC | 14,764 ft | 24 h | None | None | $2,500–$5,000 |
| GenevaLSGG · GVA | 12,795 ft | 24 h | Required | None | $2,500–$5,000 |
| IbizaLEIB · IBZ | 9,186 ft | Limited | Required | None | $1,800–$4,000 |
| London FarnboroughEGLF · FAB | 8,005 ft | 24 h | Required | 22:00–07:00 | $2,800–$6,000 |
| London LutonEGGW · LTN | 7,087 ft | 24 h | Required | None | $2,500–$5,500 |
| New York TeterboroKTEB · TEB | 7,000 ft | 24 h | None | 23:00–06:00 | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Nice Côte d’AzurLFMN · NCE | 9,678 ft | 24 h | Required | None | $2,200–$4,500 |
| Paris Le BourgetLFPB · LBG | 9,843 ft | 24 h | None | 22:15–06:00 | $2,500–$5,000 |
Handling figures are indicative for a heavy jet and cover landing, parking, navigation and the FBO. Curfews are local time and are enforced rather than advisory.
Questions about airports
- How early do I need to arrive at the airport?
- Fifteen minutes before departure at a private terminal, and often less. There is no check-in desk and no security queue. On international departures passport control happens at the FBO, usually in under five minutes. At many airports your car can drive to the aircraft steps.
- How far in advance do I need to book?
- Four to six hours is usually enough for a domestic or intra-European leg if an aircraft is already positioned nearby. Intercontinental flights need longer for crew duty time, overflight and landing permits. The genuine constraints are seasonal: Nice and Ibiza in July, Geneva in ski season, and Riyadh at any time because of permit lead times.
- How much luggage can I take?
- Baggage is limited by volume, not by piece count — around 50 cubic feet on a light jet and 115 on a heavy jet. Skis, golf bags and oversized cases are fine but must be declared when you request the quote, because they can change which aircraft works. Weight matters on long legs: a full cabin plus heavy baggage can shorten range enough to add a fuel stop.
- How do you check that an operator is safe?
- Every flight is operated by a company holding a valid air operator certificate in its own jurisdiction. We check that certificate, the operator’s insurance cover, and its third-party safety rating — ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO — before offering the aircraft, and we show you the operator name and rating before you pay so you can verify it yourself.