Farnborough Airport Private Jet Guide: Quotas, Hours, FBO

Farnborough by private jet: a weekend quota 97% used in 2025

A private jet to Farnborough (FAB / EGLF) lands at a Hampshire airport whose planning permission rules out scheduled airlines, package-holiday charters and bulk freight. It opens 07:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and 08:00 to 20:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, local time, on prior permission only; the weekend is the tighter limit, since 8,605 of the 8,900 Saturday, Sunday and bank-holiday movements allowed each year were used in 2025. Aircraft heavier than 50 tonnes share a separate allowance, and nothing above 80 tonnes may land. IBC Aviation's Geneva and Paris teams arrange private jet charter to or from Farnborough, which the airport puts under an hour by road from central London.

Open until 22:00 on weekdays, with a hard stop at closing time

The UK AIP publishes Farnborough's hours in UTC: 0700 to 2200 on weekdays in winter, 0600 to 2100 in summer. Converted, that is 07:00 to 22:00 local time all year, since Britain runs on UTC in winter and on UTC+1 from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays run from 08:00 to 20:00. The airfield shuts on 25 and 26 December.

Closing time is applied to the minute. Five minutes before the airport shuts, an inbound jet must already be at or below 4,000 ft and within 12 track miles of touchdown, or the approach is refused. Departures must be airborne by closing time, and air traffic control declines any start-up requested with less than five minutes to go.

On a Friday evening from Geneva, we therefore plan the landing with a margin, never at 21:55.

One more calendar point: the Farnborough International Airshow is held every two years, next in 2028 according to its organiser, and flight procedures are then amended by AIP Supplement or NOTAM.

8,605 weekend movements out of 8,900: weekends fill first

Rushmoor Borough Council caps Farnborough at 50,000 movements a year, of which no more than 8,900 at weekends and on bank holidays. The airport's monitoring report for 2025, filed with the council, counts 30,427 movements in all. That is about 61% of the annual ceiling, but the 8,605 weekend movements come close to 97% of their own allowance.

A Tuesday departure is rarely a capacity question. A Sunday evening can be. For weekend movements, we request prior permission as soon as the date is firm, knowing that the AIP also announces weekend and bank-holiday surcharges on top of landing fees, plus an emissions levy on every aircraft.

The airport has applied to raise the weekend figure to 13,500. When the council had still not decided, it chose a non-determination appeal, formally started on 19 August 2026, and a planning inspector will rule after a public inquiry, as the council's page on the application explains. Until then, 8,900 stands.

Over 50 tonnes, a quota of 1,500; over 80 tonnes, no landing

Condition 6 of the planning permission bars aircraft above 50,000 kg maximum take-off weight, with one exception: up to 1,500 movements a year by aircraft of up to 80,000 kg, no more than 270 of them at weekends and on bank holidays. Helicopters are limited to 10,000 kg.

A Gulfstream G700, listed by its manufacturer at 48,807 kg, stays under the first threshold. An A319 in corporate configuration does not, since Airbus rates the A319neo at 75.5 tonnes, so it uses the 1,500-movement allowance. The 2025 report records 1,040 movements in that 50 to 80 tonne band, and none above.

The pending application would also move the lower edge of the band from 50 to 55 tonnes and raise its weekend share from 270 to 405 movements.

A 2,440 m runway, of which 1,800 m for landing

Runway 06/24 is 2,440 m long and 45 m wide, but both thresholds are displaced, by 540 m and 640 m. The AIP therefore declares 1,800 m of landing distance in either direction, against a take-off run of 2,000 m on 06 and 2,063 m on 24. The operator's larger figure, 2,608 m, counts all the concrete including the starter extension.

Every approach, visual ones included, follows a mandatory 3.5-degree glidepath, partly for noise abatement, and only aircraft meeting ICAO Chapter 4 noise standards are accepted. A midsize jet or a Falcon 7X, which our fleet page describes as able to use shorter runways, lands here routinely. With a heavy jet on a wet runway, we check landing performance at the planned weight before confirming.

One handling agent, and prior permission before the flight plan

Farnborough Airport Ops, the airport's own team, handles every visiting civil aircraft on the North Apron, and the AIP makes its use normally mandatory. There is no choice of FBO here, unlike at Luton, with Signature and Harrods Aviation.

The order of the paperwork matters. A flight plan naming Farnborough as destination may be filed only once prior permission has been granted, and naming it as an alternate guarantees neither a diversion nor permission.

On the ground, passengers go through customs, immigration and security on site, and cars may drive up to the aircraft. Parking outside the terminal is free for the length of the trip, with EV charging. Our article on what a private terminal handles sets out the rest of the service.

Central London in under an hour by road, 12 minutes by helicopter

Farnborough lies about 50 km south-west of Charing Cross as the crow flies, a distance we calculate from the AIP reference point. The airport quotes under 60 minutes by car to central London and a 12-minute helicopter transfer boarded beside the jet. Farnborough Main and North Camp railway stations are each about a nautical mile away.

For a late arrival, the Aviator hotel, 169 rooms on the airport perimeter, is the airport's partner. To weigh Farnborough against the other eight fields, see London's business airports compared; for Kent and south London, our Biggin Hill guide covers the six-minute helicopter shuttle.

Jersey, Dublin or Belfast: police approval comes first

International private flights into the UK are declared to Border Force through a General Aviation Report, submitted between 48 and 2 hours before departure. In Border Force's list of designated aerodromes, Farnborough is designated for customs, not for police.

That detail bites within the Common Travel Area and on flights to Northern Ireland. A charter carrying passengers for reward between Farnborough and Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Belfast needs prior approval from a Police Examining Officer.

Passengers follow the usual rules: the ETA concerns visa-exempt nationalities, nationals on the visa list apply for a visa, and British or Irish passports need neither. Dogs, cats and ferrets can arrive without quarantine under the Pet Travel Scheme, which the airport handles in-house. Our guide to customs formalities by private jet covers baggage and declarations.

Private jet charter to or from London: example prices by aircraft

These example prices apply to London with no airport specified, so they describe London, not Farnborough in particular. London to or from Geneva costs, for example, €12,000 one way in a Citation XLS, eight seats, for 1h30; for 9 or 10 passengers, a heavy jet such as the Falcon 2000 is charged from €6,500 per hour. Dubai to London costs €84,000 in a Falcon 2000, ten seats, for 7h20.

Other routes carry the category's hourly rate only: from €4,800 an hour in a midsize jet, €6,500 in a heavy jet, as set out in our private jet rental rates. For an overnight from West Africa, our London Lagos route shows how Farnborough's opening hour sets the departure time from Lagos.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private jet land at Farnborough after 22:00?

No. The AIP prohibits arrivals and departures outside 07:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and 08:00 to 20:00 at weekends, local time. An inbound jet must also be within 12 track miles and at or below 4,000 ft five minutes before closing, or the approach is refused.

Why is a Sunday harder to secure than a Tuesday at Farnborough?

Weekends have their own cap of 8,900 movements a year, bank holidays included. In 2025, 8,605 were used, close to 97%, while the year as a whole reached about 61% of its 50,000 limit, according to the airport's monitoring report.

Can an Airbus or Boeing corporate jet fly into Farnborough?

Yes, up to 80 tonnes maximum take-off weight, within 1,500 movements a year for aircraft above 50 tonnes, 270 of them at weekends. Airbus rates the A319neo at 75.5 tonnes. Above 80 tonnes, the planning permission rules out any landing.

Does a charter from Farnborough to Jersey need police approval?

Yes. Farnborough is not police-designated in Border Force's list, so a flight carrying passengers for reward to or from the Channel Islands, Ireland, the Isle of Man or Northern Ireland needs prior approval from a Police Examining Officer.

 

Private jet charter with IBC Aviation:

Our teams advise you on the private jet best suited to your itinerary and requirements, and organise your trip to or from your destination. Available 24/7:

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• Email: contact@ibc-aviation.com