Empty leg flights to and from Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth largest city and, with Bonn next door, one of the country's busiest business regions: the Koelnmesse trade fairs, the broadcasters WDR and RTL, Ford's German headquarters and, in Bonn, Deutsche Telekom, DHL Group and the United Nations campus. Private flights from Britain bring exhibitors and buyers to the fairs, board members to meetings in both cities and visitors to the carnival, the cathedral and the Christmas markets. The flight takes no longer than a train from London to Birmingham: about 530 kilometres, or seventy minutes in a light or midsize jet, and on landing the watch goes forward an hour.

Private aircraft use Cologne Bonn Airport, code CGN, on the Wahner Heide about 15 kilometres from the centres of both cities. Its General Aviation Terminal, run by Business Aviation Centre Cologne, has its own lounges, conference rooms, customs and Federal Police, and unlike Düsseldorf the airport holds a permit for flights around the clock, which makes it the usual answer for a late arrival or departure in the Rhineland.

Cologne sectors available today

The list below shows every sector we hold into or out of Cologne Bonn. When Cologne is quiet, it adds flights at Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and Dortmund, three airports within about an hour of Cologne by road. A second table then prices the same aircraft types as a normal charter between Britain and Cologne on dates of your choice, so the saving on any released sector is plain to see.

Also moving across Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and Dortmund

Sectors on this list do not touch Cologne 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.

Why jets fly empty between Britain and Cologne

Cologne sits an hour's flight from London, close enough for a day trip, so operators usually fly their aircraft home rather than park it for a stay of several days. Five features of the Rhineland keep those empty sectors coming.

Sectors are released all year, most of all in the weeks of the big fairs, at carnival and in the run up to Christmas. Because the flight is short, many of them appear only a day or two before departure, once the operator knows where the aircraft has to be next.

Cologne Bonn Airport in detail

The airfield on the Wahner Heide was built in 1939 and officially inaugurated as the airport of Cologne and Bonn on 18 July 1957; it carries the name of Konrad Adenauer, the first federal chancellor, who was born in Cologne. It is run by Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH, owned mainly by the City of Cologne, the federal government and the state of North Rhine Westphalia, and in 2025 it handled 10.1 million passengers and 840,000 tonnes of freight. Airline passengers use Terminals 1 and 2, the military side of the airfield is home to the German Air Force's Executive Transport Wing, and business aviation has its own General Aviation Terminal.

For a crew, Cologne Bonn is an easy airport: a runway of almost four kilometres, instrument approaches, fuel and handling on the spot and a general aviation apron beside the terminal. What needs planning is the slot, which is required at every hour, and the night: a quiet modern business jet can use the airport after 22:00, but the approach direction and the noise category are checked when the flight is filed, and night take offs and landings carry a noise surcharge that has risen sharply since January 2026.

Night flights, slots and noise at Cologne Bonn

Three rules shape a private flight to Cologne. We confirm all three when the aircraft is booked, and again the day before departure.

Night flights cost more than day flights. The airport's noise surcharges for take offs and landings between 22:00 and 06:00 went up in January 2026 and are due to rise again in 2028; for a business jet the sums are modest next to the price of the aircraft, but an operator includes them in a quote for a late return.

The General Aviation Terminal, VIP packages, lounges and restaurants

At Cologne Bonn a private traveller does not need to enter Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. The General Aviation Terminal stands on its own outside the security area, with parking by the door, the business aviation apron next to it and customs and Federal Police officers inside, so passports, customs and screening are all done in one building.

Five places to spend the time before a flight, compared by access, opening hours and price:

The operator books the handling with the aircraft, but a VIP package, the passenger lounge or a meeting room is best requested when the flight is booked, at least 24 hours ahead.

From the aircraft to your car at Cologne Bonn, step by step

Everything happens in one small building, so an arrival from the aircraft to the car usually takes about a quarter of an hour, and a departure the same.

The slot, the arrival time, any VIP package and the car are arranged before the flight, together with the aircraft, in one booking.

Five points to settle before a Cologne trip

Fairs, carnival and the night regime make Cologne more seasonal than it looks, and these five questions are answered in our first quote.

From the airport to Cologne, Bonn and the region

The A59 motorway runs from the airport to both cities, and most destinations in the Cologne and Bonn area are within half an hour. Times are estimates for a chauffeured car in light traffic; at rush hour, on fair days and at carnival they can double.

From the station under the terminals, S Bahn trains run to Cologne main station in about 15 minutes, every 20 minutes for most of the day, the SB60 express bus reaches central Bonn in about 27 minutes, and regional trains go on to Düsseldorf in under an hour. With luggage or on fair days a car from the terminal door is still the simplest choice.

What a Cologne trip adds to the bill

Beyond the aircraft itself, a Cologne trip meets three public charges: Air Passenger Duty when you leave Britain, Germany's Luftverkehrsteuer when you leave Germany, and Cologne's levy on hotel rooms.

Air Passenger Duty is due only on the flight that leaves the UK, and Germany falls in Band A. The 2026 to 2027 rates are 32 GBP per passenger for private jets of 5.7 to 20 tonnes and 142 GBP above 20 tonnes; a flat private jet rate of 146.63 GBP replaces both on 1 April 2027. Aircraft lighter than 5.7 tonnes, such as the Citation M2 and the Pilatus PC-12, pay none, departures from Jersey and Guernsey are outside it, and from April 2027 flights from Scotland pay the Scottish Air Departure Tax, with a separate Scottish tax on private jets planned from April 2028.

Germany's Luftverkehrsteuer is charged on commercial passenger flights leaving the country, so a charter or an empty leg home from Cologne carries it and the flight in does not. For destinations up to 2,500 kilometres away, Britain among them, it fell from 15.53 to 13.03 euros per passenger on 1 July 2026, and the operator adds it to the invoice. Cologne's hotels add the city's accommodation tax of 5 per cent of the room price, which since 1 July 2024 has applied to business stays as well.

Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and the other airfields around Cologne

Cologne Bonn is the right airport for nearly every private trip to Cologne and Bonn, but the Rhineland has several alternatives when the trip continues elsewhere or when a smaller airfield suits a light aircraft.

Popular routes between the UK and Cologne, and which way they run empty

Prices are for the complete aircraft on a repositioning flight, whether you fill two seats or all of them, and the times cover only the flight itself. At roughly 530 kilometres from London, Cologne is within easy reach of every type listed, whether a Citation M2 for Southampton or Liverpool, a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop for Cardiff, which cruises a little slower, or a Challenger 350 for a bigger delegation. With fixed dates, compare them with the charter price list for Cologne.

Fairs and the working week shape the pattern: business sectors towards Britain cluster on the opening days of each fair and on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and those towards Cologne on the closing days and on Thursday and Friday, while leisure weekends follow the Friday to Sunday rhythm. Late in the evening, flights from Düsseldorf to Cologne Bonn add short repositionings that can be combined with a flight home.

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 Germany at Cologne: passports, customs and tax free

Germany is in the EU and in Schengen and Britain is in neither, so a private flight from the UK to Cologne Bonn crosses the external Schengen border, and the Federal Police and customs check it in the General Aviation Terminal.

• Passport. It has to be less than ten years old on the day you arrive and remain valid for three months after you leave the Schengen area; a passport that fails either test can be refused at the border.
• Schengen days. British visitors may stay without a visa for 90 days in any 180 day period across the Schengen countries, and time in Germany counts towards the same total as time in France or the Netherlands.
• Entry/Exit System. Border officers record each crossing digitally instead of stamping passports, a system in full use since April 2026; the first time, they take a photograph and, for travellers aged twelve or over, four fingerprints.
• ETIAS. The authorisation is still not required: in July 2026 its launch slipped into 2027 with no date set, and once it applies every visitor without a visa will need one, valid for three years, for a fee of 20 euros paid by those between 18 and 70.
• Customs. From Britain each adult may bring into Germany, free of duty, 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of drinks up to 22 per cent, 4 litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer and other goods up to 430 euros; cash of 10,000 euros or more has to be declared.
• Food. EU rules stop travellers from Britain carrying in meat or milk products, so leave the ham roll or the cheddar on board.
• Tax free. Visitors living outside the EU can reclaim German VAT on goods they take home, provided customs stamp the export papers before they leave.
• Coming home. After a private flight into the UK each adult can bring in 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine, 200 cigarettes and goods worth up to 270 GBP without duty, plus 4 litres of spirits or 9 litres of fortified wine; from 1 October 2026 sparkling wine is counted with the wine and cider with the beer, which still leaves room for a few cases of Mosel Riesling or Kölsch.

Empty leg calendar for Cologne, month by month

Cologne's year is set by the Koelnmesse calendar and by carnival more than by the seasons, with the Christmas markets closing it.

The richest months for empty legs are February, August and October, when carnival, gamescom and Anuga move the most aircraft. For fixed dates with easy slots and hotel rooms, July is the calmest month in Cologne.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Cologne with a dog or a cat

For entry into Germany from Britain, dogs, cats and ferrets need three things: a microchip, a rabies jab at least 21 days old and an animal health certificate from an official vet dated no more than ten days before landing. British pet passports are not valid for the EU, and from 22 April 2026 EU pet passports held for animals resident in Great Britain stopped being accepted as well, which means a fresh certificate for every journey. Germany requires no tapeworm treatment or blood test for pets from Britain, up to five animals may travel with their owner, and customs check the documents in the General Aviation Terminal.

The trip home has stricter rules: only an operator approved by the British authorities may carry the pet into the UK, and a dog must receive a tapeworm treatment from a vet 24 to 120 hours before landing, recorded in its papers. Cologne and Bonn have plenty of vets who issue this for travellers, and if you mention the animal in your first message we will quote only operators that can fly it.

Cologne by private jet: what British clients ask us

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Let us know the dates, the size of the party, any sample cases or golf bags and whether you are heading for Cologne, Bonn or the fair. You receive the fitting empty legs with the charter price for comparison, and once you choose, we book the aircraft, the slot, the General Aviation Terminal and the chauffeur in one go.