Empty leg flights to and from Dubai

Dubai is the longest flight on our international list and one of the most important. Dubai International handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025, a world record for international traffic; the United Kingdom was its third largest country market with 6.3 million, and London its busiest city route with 3.9 million. Private flights follow the same line, but most of them land somewhere else: at Al Maktoum International, also called Dubai World Central, south west of the city, where the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub recorded 20,289 business aviation movements in 2025, 17 per cent more than the year before.

The distance is what makes Dubai special for empty legs. A nonstop flight from London takes close to seven hours in a large jet, so every aircraft that has to go out empty to collect a client, or come home empty after dropping one, is a very expensive flight for its operator, and one it is keen to sell. The events of 2026 have shaped the market as well. The conflict involving Iran closed Gulf airspace for weeks in the spring, from the end of February until the last restrictions in the Emirates were lifted in May, and strikes across the region resumed in July. The airports of Dubai are open and flying, but routings to the Gulf are still longer than normal and several European airlines have yet to resume their Dubai services. Routes, permits and costs for Dubai are described as they stood in September 2026.

Empty legs to and from Dubai right now

The board lists every sector our operator network has released into or out of Dubai, whichever of its airports the aircraft uses. When Dubai itself has nothing, the board shows the other airports of the Emirates instead: Zayed International and Al Bateen in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, since a sector into any of them is only a drive away. Under it is the list of regular routes with the price of chartering the whole aircraft, so any released sector can be set against the full fare.

Where Dubai sectors come from

Three currents move private aircraft between Britain and the Gulf, and they run in opposite directions at different times of year.

The routes table below is priced on the Global 6000, an ultra long range jet with thirteen seats that flies from any British airport to Dubai without stopping. It is one choice among several. Large cabin jets such as the Legacy 600, the Challenger 605 and the Global 5000 were the business aircraft seen most often at Dubai International in 2025, a super midsize jet makes the trip nonstop with fewer passengers, and a midsize jet can do it with a fuel stop on the way at a noticeably lower price. Tell us the size of the party and how much luggage it has, and we will price the aircraft that fits.

Al Maktoum and Dubai International in detail

Dubai has two airports, and for a private flight the difference between them matters more than the distance to the city. Dubai International is close to the centre but one of the busiest airports in the world, with rules that keep private aircraft out at its peak hours. Al Maktoum is further out but has room, handlers built for business aviation and, for now, a fraction of the airline traffic.

For most trips the choice is simple: Al Maktoum, unless there is a reason to be in the city centre within a quarter of an hour of landing and the flight can keep clear of the barred hours at Dubai International. Two rows matter more than the rest in 2026. The landing permit needs a few days of notice, and the routing, and therefore the flight time, is confirmed by the operator only close to departure.

The private terminals at Al Maktoum and Dubai International

Dubai has some of the most elaborate private terminals in the world, and the difference between them is real. The operator chooses the handler, but at Dubai, more than anywhere else on our list, it is worth asking which one it will be.

For a short visit the lounge hardly matters, since the whole arrival takes minutes. It matters when a party is waiting for a delayed departure, arriving tired after an overnight flight or holding a meeting at the airport, and then the gap between a lounge with a sofa and a terminal with bedrooms and a spa is wide. Tell us which of those applies when you book.

The terminal from a passenger's side

Seven hours after leaving Britain, this is what happens between the aircraft door and your car, and on the way home the same steps run in reverse.

Two things catch British travellers out in Dubai: the medicines rule and the distance from Al Maktoum to the city. Check the first a week before you fly and allow for the second when you book dinner on the day you land.

Four rules that shape a Dubai trip

None of these makes Dubai a difficult destination. Handlers there deal with private aircraft all day, and the paperwork is routine for anyone who starts it in time. They simply explain why Dubai trips are booked a few days ahead rather than a few hours.

What the ground costs in Dubai

The Emirates levy no income tax and no special tax on private flights, but a Dubai trip still carries costs on three bills.

Air Passenger Duty is the figure people do not expect. Dubai falls in band B, and a large private jet such as the Global 6000 pays the higher rate, 1,097 GBP for each passenger leaving Britain from April 2026. From April 2027 the higher rate rises with inflation, to about 1,133 GBP in band B, and extends to every private jet of 5.7 tonnes or more, so smaller aircraft will pay it too. On the way back the only passenger charges are Dubai's own airport charges, about 115 dirhams a head.

In Dubai itself, hotel bills carry the Tourism Dirham, from 7 to 20 dirhams per room per night depending on the category of hotel, for up to 30 nights, plus a service charge, a municipality fee and 5 per cent VAT. Visitors can reclaim VAT on shopping through the tourist refund scheme, which validates purchases at refund points at the airports; ask the handler well before departure whether this can be done for a private flight.

Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other airports of the Emirates

Dubai's two airports cover the city, but the Emirates are small and fast to cross, and another airport can suit a trip better.

From the airport to Downtown, the Palm and the Marina

Dubai is a long, narrow city along the coast, and the right airport depends on which end of it you are going to. The times below are for a car outside the rush hour, which in Dubai runs roughly from 07:00 to 09:30 and from 17:00 to 20:00.

For the Palm and the Marina, Al Maktoum is as close as Dubai International, or closer, which surprises people who assume the city airport is always nearer. Only for Downtown and the financial district is Dubai International clearly quicker, and then only if the flight fits its permitted hours.

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

Two passengers or thirteen, you pay one amount for the jet, and that amount is what each row shows for a released sector. A normal charter of the same jet runs to about two and a half times the figure, which you can check in the route list under the board. The flight times are for a normal routing; while the 2026 detours last, allow an hour or more on top.

On this route London matters more than on any other on our site, because the Gulf families who spend the summer in London, and the Londoners who spend the winter in Dubai, account for most of the traffic. From elsewhere in Britain, the realistic plan is often an empty leg from London with a short connection at the British end.

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.

Arriving in Dubai from the UK

The Emirates are among the easiest countries in the world for a British visitor to enter, and among the strictest about what that visitor brings in. The points below apply to every arrival, private or not.

• Visa. None to apply for. British citizens are given a free visa on arrival that allows up to 90 days in any 180, whether in one stay or several.
• Passport. It must be valid for at least six months from the day you arrive. A passport with less time on it can mean being refused entry, private terminal or not.
• Medicines. Narcotic, psychotropic and other controlled medicines need approval from the Emirates before you travel, applied for online through the Ministry of Health and Prevention and usually granted in about five working days. Carry the prescription, keep the medicine in its original packaging and bring no more than you need.
• Customs allowances. Each adult may bring in 200 cigarettes, four litres of alcohol or two cases of 24 cans of beer, and gifts worth up to 3,000 dirhams without duty. Travellers under 18 may bring in no alcohol or tobacco at all.
• Cash. Cash, cheques, precious metals and stones worth more than 60,000 dirhams in total must be declared on arrival.
• What not to bring. Drugs of any kind, even traces, pork products and indecent material. Drones, some electronic devices and food products need permits.
• Flying home. Coming back to Great Britain by private aircraft, the duty free limits per adult are 200 cigarettes, 4 litres of spirits, 18 of still wine, 42 of beer and 270 GBP of other goods. Meat and dairy from outside the EU may not be brought in.
• Taxes. Air Passenger Duty at the higher rate on the flight out of Britain, and on the flight home only Dubai's airport passenger charges, about 115 dirhams a head.

Empty leg calendar for Dubai, month by month

Dubai's season is the opposite of the European one: busy in the British winter, quiet in the Gulf summer. The cards below show what that means for demand and for the sectors released to us, month by month.

For a sector to Dubai, look at June, July and August, when the aircraft of the Gulf families in London go home empty, and at the first days of January, when British aircraft fly out to bring the New Year crowd home. For a sector back to Britain, look at the days just before Christmas and Easter, when aircraft that have dropped families head home without them.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Dubai with a dog or a cat

Taking an animal to Dubai means more paperwork than anywhere else on our list, though almost all of it is at the Dubai end. To enter the Emirates you need an import permit from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before travel and an export health certificate from the British authorities, issued no more than ten days before arrival. Britain is on the Emirates' list of low risk countries, so no rabies blood test is needed to enter. The Emirates require an arriving animal to be declared as manifested cargo, and how that is done on a private flight, where the animal travels in the cabin, is something the operator and the handler confirm with the authorities before departure. Several breeds cannot be imported at all, among them pit bulls, mastiffs, the Tosa, the Rottweiler, the Dobermann, the Presa Canario and the Boxer, and each person may import no more than two pets a year.

The return to Britain is simpler. The Emirates are a listed country for pet travel into Great Britain, so no rabies blood test and no waiting period are needed: the animal comes home with its microchip, its rabies vaccination and a Great Britain pet health certificate from an official vet in the Emirates. Dogs also need a tapeworm treatment between 24 and 120 hours before landing, and the flight must be with an operator approved to carry animals into Great Britain. Start the import permit for the Emirates at least a month before the trip, and in summer think hard about the heat.

Questions about flying private to Dubai

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Let us know the passengers, the British airport you would use, your dates and how firm they are, and we will reply with the Dubai sectors that match and what a full charter would cost.