Indian Wedding in Europe: Mumbai to Nice or Milan in 8h50

Mumbai to Nice or Milan in about 8h50, the guests on one airliner

An ultra long range jet flies the family from Mumbai to Nice or Milan-Malpensa in about 8h50, on a route that keeps clear of Iran and Iraq, while the guests follow on a wide-body chartered to the same airport. The visas, not the aircraft, decide the date: every Indian guest needs a Schengen visa, which a consulate may take up to 45 days to issue. Our Nice office, for the Riviera, and our Geneva headquarters, for Lake Como, fix the flight dates with your planner from the guest list. Request a quote for the wedding flights, answered within the hour.

Up to 300 Schengen visas: the calendar the consulates set

The EU Visa Code, summarised by the European Commission, opens the application window six months before the trip and, as a rule, closes it 15 days before. The consulate then has 15 days to decide, extendable to 45, and collects fingerprints when the file is lodged.

The competent consulate is that of the main destination, counted in days or by purpose. That means France for a wedding in Cannes, Italy for one in Cernobbio when most nights are spent there. Files typically include a hotel confirmation or the host's invitation, plus compulsory travel medical insurance of at least EUR 30,000.

Since 18 April 2024, an Indian national living in India who has obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas within three years can receive a two-year multiple-entry visa, normally followed by a five-year one, as the EU Delegation to India explains. Valid on the wedding dates, it avoids a new application.

We do not lodge visa files. The consulate alone decides. Your planner receives our schedule and seat list early, so each file shows the flights that will operate.

The guests' airliner: Nice for the Riviera, Malpensa for Lake Como

A chartered A320, A321 or Boeing 737 seats 150 to 220; an A330, 777 or 787, from 250 to more than 400, as our page on chartering a commercial aircraft sets out. For 100 to 300 guests, one departure replaces a dozen bookings; it is priced on request.

Nice takes wide-bodies: its AIP sets taxiing rules for code E and F aircraft, the Boeing 777-300 and the A380 among them, and every movement needs a COHOR slot. A carrier from a State outside the 1956 European agreement on non-scheduled flights, India or the Emirates for instance, also needs prior authorisation from the DGAC, the French civil aviation authority, eight days before a flight from beyond Europe and the Mediterranean. The airline files it the day we fix the dates.

In Milan, Assoclearance, the Italian slot coordinator, restricts Linate to point-to-point scheduled narrow-bodies and allows no long parking there, so the airliner lands at Malpensa, open 24 hours (see our Linate and Malpensa guide). ENAC, the Italian authority, wants the request six working days ahead for 20 seats or more, and first accredits a carrier new to Italy on the strength of its EASA third-country operator authorisation.

Assoclearance also marks Fridays and Sundays as critical at Malpensa for an aircraft staying long on the ground. For a weekend wedding, we settle early whether the airliner waits or flies home and returns.

Organise the family and guest flights with IBC Aviation

IBC Aviation has no office in India. Our Dubai office, 1h30 behind Mumbai, works inside the Indian day. Our Nice team books the Riviera slot and parking; our Geneva headquarters, about 45 minutes from Milan by very light jet, handles Malpensa, and our Paris office, Le Bourget.

Before quoting flights to or from Nice or Milan, we check the operator's EASA authorisation, the time left to file each request, and the slot and parking on your dates. Send us the dates, the cities and the guest count, or write on WhatsApp from this page: we will propose the family jet, the airliner and the timetable.

The family jet: non-stop in about 8h50, or a stop in Dubai

The straight line from Mumbai to Nice, 6,615 km (4,110 miles), crosses Iran and Iraq. EASA bulletins in force in September 2026, until the 30th unless extended, advise European operators, and foreign operators flying into the EU under its authorisation, to keep out of both (CZIB 2026-04). We plan over the Arabian Sea, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, about 7,000 km (4,350 miles):

• From Mumbai: about 8h50 to Nice or Milan-Malpensa, 9h20 to 9h30 to Paris-Le Bourget depending on the aircraft's registration.
• From Delhi: about 8h00 to 9h30 to Nice or Milan, depending on the route open to the aircraft.

A Falcon 7X, rated at 12h30 for 12 to 14 passengers, or a Global 7500, 15h30 for 14 to 19, flies it without landing. A Falcon 2000, 10 seats and 9h00, stops at Dubai-Al Maktoum, about 2h45 from Mumbai, then flies about 6h45 on. EASA also asks those operators to avoid the airspace over the Gulf's waters except to use its airports (CZIB 2026-07): before proposing the stop, we confirm that the operator's risk assessment covers it.

A jet from an Indian operator needs an EASA third-country operator authorisation, then eight days' notice for Nice or three working days for Italy under 20 seats. A foreign jet leaving India waits for its DGCA permit, three working days at least (see our guide to private jets in India).

From runway to venue: Nice, Cannes-Mandelieu, Malpensa

The Château de La Napoule receives weddings on the edge of the sea, 7 km from Cannes. The Cannes-Mandelieu runway, 3 km away, caps jets at 35 tonnes: a Global 7500, up to 52 tonnes, lands at Nice, 27 km (17 miles) from the château. Nice's AIP names the events that saturate its business apron, the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix among them. We check your date against them before you book the venue.

Lake Como has no runway. Como lies 35 km (22 miles) in a straight line from Malpensa, and Villa Erba in Cernobbio, which hosts weddings on the lakeshore, 36 km. Coaches go through our group travel team. A helicopter lands on a site recorded with ENAC and with its manager's consent, which we obtain before promising the transfer.

Jain menus, and the sweets that cannot fly in from India

Meals are ordered from an aviation caterer with each flight, the Jain specification written out in full: no onion, garlic or root vegetables. For the flight home, the order goes to a caterer at Nice or Milan, as our page on private jet catering explains.

EU rules, as French customs set them out in April 2026, prohibit milk products from outside the EU, which rules out sweets made with milk, khoa or ghee. Mangoes need a phytosanitary certificate whatever the quantity. A private flight clears the same customs, so we have the sweets made by a caterer in Europe.

What the flights cost: EUR 6,500 to 12,000 per hour

The non-stop flight is billed at the ultra long range rate, EUR 9,000 to 12,000 per hour, for about 8h50 from Mumbai; with the Dubai stop, a 10-seat Falcon 2000 starts from EUR 6,500 per hour. A jet sent empty appears on its own line of the quote; our private jet charter rates detail each category.

Inside Europe, Paris to Nice costs for example EUR 9,000 in a 4-seat Citation Mustang, for 1h30, and Paris to Milan EUR 8,500 in the same aircraft, for 1h25. An operator from outside the EU cannot sell either leg (European cabotage rules): we book them with a European one.

From the first guest list to the last take-off from Nice or Malpensa, each date depends on another: send us your wedding programme.

Our offices · France +33 1 41 69 88 88 · Switzerland +41 22 880 28 88 · Luxembourg +352 26 20 25 53 88 · Dubai +971 55 303 5161 · Bangkok +66 92 372 4680 · contact@ibc-aviation.com

Frequently asked questions

How much does a private jet from Mumbai to Nice or Milan cost?

There is no fixed fare: EUR 9,000 to 12,000 per flight hour in an ultra long range jet, for about 8h50 non-stop, or from EUR 6,500 per hour in a 10-seat Falcon 2000 stopping in Dubai. The guests' airliner is priced on request.

How long is the flight from Mumbai or Delhi to Nice or Milan?

About 8h50 from Mumbai, on a route around Iran and Iraq, and about 8h00 to 9h30 from Delhi, depending on the route. With a stop in Dubai, count about 2h45, then 6h45.

When should Indian guests apply for their Schengen visas?

Applications open six months before the trip and close, as a rule, 15 days before it; the consulate has 15 days to decide, up to 45. The consulate is that of the country where most nights are spent: France for the Riviera, Italy for Lake Como.