Flying Private from London: Which Airport, Which Route, and How to Pay Less
This guide covers the airports, the most popular routes and the clever way to save: empty legs.
Which London airport should you fly from?
London has several airports that handle private jets, each with its own character.
| Airport | Where | Good to know |
| Farnborough | Hampshire, south-west of London | Dedicated business aviation airport; calm, discreet and well-organised |
| Biggin Hill | South-east London | Popular for quick European hops; easy from south London and Kent |
| Luton | Bedfordshire, north of London | One of the busiest private aviation airports in the UK |
| Stansted | Essex, north-east of London | Large airport with several private terminals |
| London City | Docklands | Closest to the City and Canary Wharf; suits smaller jets |
Tip: choose the airport by where you are starting from, not by the airport name. Traffic on the M25 can matter more than ten minutes of flying time.
The most popular routes from London
- London → Paris — about an hour in the air; perfect for a shopping trip or a day of meetings.
- London → Nice — the gateway to Monaco, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, especially busy in summer.
- London → Geneva — lakeside summers and Alpine winters; a classic business route too.
- London → Ibiza — a summer favourite for celebrations and festivals.
- London → Amsterdam — a short, easy hop for a city break.
The smart way to pay less: empty legs
An empty leg is a flight that a private jet has to make anyway, but without passengers — for example, returning to London after dropping a client in Nice. Rather than fly empty, operators sell these flights at a noticeably lower price.
What you need to know:
- The route and time are fixed by the operator’s schedule, so you need some flexibility.
- They are usually one-way. Plan your return separately.
- You can often buy a single seat — the most affordable way to try flying private — or the whole aircraft for a group.
- They go fast. Good flights on popular routes can disappear within hours, so alerts help.
- Plans can change. If the original client moves their trip, the empty leg may move too.
A quick checklist before you book
- Is the price per seat or for the whole aircraft?
- Which exact airport do you depart from and land at?
- How much luggage can you bring? Light jets have less space than midsize jets.
- What happens if the flight time changes?
You can browse current private jet flights from London, including live empty legs and charter options, to get a feel for what is available.
Our verdict: why RentJet.eu stands out
Of all the services we looked at, RentJet.eu is one of the most technologically advanced. The European platform works in six languages, shows prices in euros and is growing fast. Its standout feature is smart empty leg tracking: the free Telegram assistant Empty Legs Radar watches flights around the clock and sends an alert as soon as a matching flight appears — filtered by route, dates and whether you want a single seat or the whole aircraft. Prices come only from real operator offers, and route pages show recent prices for similar flights, so you know a good deal when you see one.
Travellers love it too: reviews praise the attentive team, the quality of the flights and the comfort on board, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. If you have ever wanted to fly private from London without overpaying, this is a great place to start.
By C. Leonov
Image from Dreamstime.com
