Empty leg flights to and from Brussels

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the working capital of the European Union, home to the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament, and to the headquarters of NATO. Around the Grand Place, one of the finest squares in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city adds chocolate shops, Art Nouveau houses and some of the best restaurants in the Low Countries. Private flights use Brussels Airport, code BRU, at Zaventem about 12 kilometres north east of the centre, where business jets are handled in the general aviation area by ExecuJet and AviaVIP. A jet from London is on the ground in Brussels in about an hour.

Brussels is open to business jets around the clock in principle, but its night slots are limited, and at weekends no departures are allowed in the small hours. We check every flight against these rules and book the slot, the handler and the car with it.

Brussels sectors available today

Below you will find every sector we hold into or out of Brussels Airport, together with released flights at Antwerp, Charleroi and Liège, all within about an hour of the capital. The second list prices the same aircraft as a normal charter on your own dates, which shows the discount each empty leg carries.

Also moving across Antwerp, Charleroi and Liège

Sectors on this list do not touch Brussels itself. They are shown because the fields are close enough that the drive rarely costs you more than waiting for the right sector does. Tell us which one interests you and we will confirm it is still open.

Where the empty legs to Brussels come from

Most private flights to Brussels are short business trips. The aircraft brings its passengers in the morning and leaves again rather than waiting all day, and a return from Britain often goes back without anyone on board.

Released sectors are steady from Monday to Thursday all year on the business routes, and busiest around summits and events. July brings a festival and motor racing peak, while August and the Christmas holidays are the quietest weeks.

Brussels Airport in detail

The present airport was inaugurated on 5 July 1958, in time for the World's Fair held in Brussels that year, and it shares its runways with the Melsbroek air base of the Belgian Air Force. In 2025 it handled 24.4 million passengers and 204,147 aircraft movements. Brussels Airport Company runs the airport, and slots are allocated by Belgium Slot Coordination. Business aviation is handled away from the passenger terminal in the general aviation area, where ExecuJet and AviaVIP receive private flights.

For operators Brussels is a big, well equipped airport with long runways, instrument approaches and few weather problems beyond winter fog. The limits are the slots and the night rules. Most modern business jets have a low noise quota count, so a late weekday arrival can often be planned, but a departure in the early hours of Saturday, Sunday or Monday is not possible. Antwerp, Charleroi and Liège are the usual alternates.

Private terminals at Brussels Airport: handlers, lounges and formalities

Private passengers do not use the public terminal. Two handlers approved by Brussels Airport Company work in the general aviation area, each with its own lounge, parking and direct access to the apron.

How we plan a Brussels flight

• The slot. We request arrival and departure slots with the coordinator as soon as the aircraft is fixed.
• Noise quota. For any flight near the night period we check the aircraft's quota count and the weekend rules.
• The handler. We choose ExecuJet or AviaVIP according to the day, the hours and the services needed.
• Belgian tax. The embarkation tax on the flight home is shown as a separate line.
• The drive. Cars to the European Quarter, NATO or a hotel are booked with the flight.

Four points to check before booking Brussels

These questions come up on most Brussels trips, and we answer them when we quote.

From the airport to the European Quarter, the city and the rest of Belgium

Brussels Airport sits just outside the ring road, so the institutions and the centre are close. The times below are for a car in light traffic; the ring road and the E40 are slow at rush hour, when the train from the airport station can be faster.

For the Grand Prix, a helicopter from the airport avoids the traffic around Spa, and landing at Liège instead of Brussels cuts the drive to about 45 minutes.

Taxes and charges on a Brussels trip

Besides the aircraft, you pay passenger taxes in Britain and Belgium, the handler's fee and the airport's charges, which rise for noisier aircraft and for movements at night.

UK Air Passenger Duty is charged on the flight out. For Brussels, which is in Band A, a jet from 5.7 to 20 tonnes pays 32 GBP a passenger and a heavier jet 142 GBP until 31 March 2027, after which every private jet of 5.7 tonnes or more pays 146.63 GBP a passenger. A Citation M2 or another jet below 5.7 tonnes is outside the duty altogether, as are Jersey and Guernsey departures, while Scottish airports get a tax of their own from April 2027. For the flight home, Belgium's embarkation tax applies to private flights as well as airlines: 10 euros a passenger for a destination under 500 kilometres and 5 euros beyond that; from 1 January 2027 the longer routes, which include Scotland and Ireland, rise to 7 euros, and the short routes go to 10.50 euros in 2028 and 11 euros in 2029. Repositioning flights without passengers are exempt.

Antwerp, Charleroi, Liège and the other airports near Brussels

Brussels Airport handles most private flights to the capital, but these airports are useful for Antwerp and the port, for Wallonia and for Spa.

Popular routes from the UK and Ireland to Brussels, and which way they run empty

We sell these flights by the aircraft, never by the seat, and each one is a positioning trip the operator has already scheduled. The times are airborne only. Because Brussels is barely an hour from southern England, light jets such as the Citation M2, CJ2 and Phenom 300 dominate, with a Citation XLS+, Latitude or Challenger 350 for larger groups. Travellers tied to particular dates can read the normal fare off the second list near the top.

Sectors bunch on Monday and Tuesday mornings and on Thursday and Friday evenings, following the rhythm of the institutions. Summit weeks and July add extra flights, and an empty leg with a confirmed slot should be booked without delay.

Online calculator

If you want to see what your route would cost as a standard charter, so you have something to measure an empty leg against, use the calculator below. Fill in the airports, the dates and the number of passengers, add any preference on aircraft type, and we will send a written calculation by email or messenger. Please check your contact details carefully so that we can reply quickly.

The figure the calculator returns is an estimate for planning. The firm quote comes back from our consultants with the cost broken out line by line, and the price agreed there is the price written into the contract.

If you would rather skip the arithmetic, send us the route and the dates instead and a consultant will come back with both numbers, the charter price and any empty leg that fits.

Entering Belgium from Britain: border and customs rules

Belgium belongs to the EU and Schengen, so a private flight from Britain is checked by the Belgian federal police and customs at the handler. The points below cover what travellers ask about most.

• Passport validity. Belgian officers accept a British passport issued in the last decade, provided it will still be valid for three months after your departure from Schengen.
• Length of stay. Short visits need no visa, within the Schengen rule of 90 days in any 180, and days spent in France or the Netherlands on the same trip count too.
• EES. First time travellers into Schengen give four fingerprints and a photograph; under 12s give the photograph only.
• Duty free into Belgium. Arriving by air, an adult can bring in, free of Belgian duty, a carton of cigarettes, one litre of spirits or double that of fizz or port, four litres of table wine, sixteen litres of beer and up to 430 euros of other purchases.
• Food. Meat and dairy products from the UK cannot be brought into the EU.
• Cash. Anyone carrying 10,000 euros or more must declare it to customs.
• Chocolate and beer. For the flight home, Belgian beer counts towards the British beer allowance of 42 litres, and chocolates are simply part of the 270 GBP of other goods.
• Back in Britain. After a private flight each adult may also bring 18 litres of wine, 4 litres of spirits and 200 cigarettes duty free, and from 1 October 2026 sparkling wine and cider are counted with wine and beer.

Empty leg calendar for Brussels, month by month

The Brussels calendar follows the institutions: busy from Monday to Thursday, quieter at weekends and during the summer recess, with events in January and July.

Empty legs are most plentiful midweek and after summits and big events, when aircraft head back to Britain. If your dates are fixed, August and the weeks between Christmas and New Year offer the easiest slots and the widest choice.

Three situations, three answers

Taking a dog or cat to Brussels

The animal must be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies at least 21 days before travel and covered by an animal health certificate that an official vet has issued in the ten days before you arrive in the EU. The handler presents it to Belgian customs on arrival, and a traveller may bring no more than five pets.

Before flying back to Britain, a dog needs a tapeworm treatment from a vet between one and five days before arrival, because Belgium is not exempt, and the aircraft must be operated by a company approved to carry pets into Britain. We confirm the operator's rules for the cabin and go through the paperwork with you.

Flying privately to Brussels: common questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Share the dates, the number in your party, what they are carrying and the address you need to reach. Back comes a short list of sectors with their charter comparisons, the slots already requested, the handler chosen and a driver at the steps.