Empty leg flights to and from Florence

Florence packs more of the Renaissance into a walk than most cities hold in total: Brunelleschi's dome, the Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio and Michelangelo's David, all within a few streets of the Arno. Beyond the city lie the vineyards of Chianti, the towers of San Gimignano, Siena and the villas of the Tuscan hills, and the calendar brings the Pitti Uomo fashion fairs in January and June, the historic football of San Giovanni in June and the grape harvest in the autumn. Tuscan clocks run one hour ahead of London's, and the hop from the Thames to the Arno lasts just over two hours in a light jet.

For private flights, Florence means Amerigo Vespucci Airport at Peretola, code FLR, a few kilometres north west of the historic centre, one of the closest airports to any great European city. It is also one of the most demanding: a short runway, landings from one direction only and strict rules on parking and night flights.

Florence sectors available today

Our first list shows the sectors currently held into or out of Florence, and it also includes those released at Pisa, Bologna and Siena, the airports that take over when Peretola is full or a jet is too large for its runway. The second list prices each aircraft as a charter on dates you choose yourself.

Why Florence produces so many empty legs

Florence combines a world famous destination with an airport that has little space for visiting aircraft, and the gap between the two is filled by positioning flights with nobody on board.

Florence releases sectors in every season, though spring, summer, early autumn and the two Pitti weeks bring the largest number. Because a visiting jet can stay a day at most, operators often release the flight home within hours of the drop.

Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport in detail

The airport at Peretola opened on 4 June 1931 and took the name of the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci in 1990. Since 2015 it has been run by Toscana Aeroporti, the company formed by merging the operators of Florence and Pisa. Its runway was resurfaced in full in 2006. A new runway of 2,200 metres, running almost parallel to the motorway, received its Italian environmental approval in November 2025 as part of a masterplan to 2035, and a further decree in 2026 reduced the European Commission's role to a notification, but the project still faces appeals from neighbouring towns before the administrative court. Tram line T2 links the terminal with Santa Maria Novella station in about 20 minutes.

For crews, Florence is a precise airport. Monte Morello rises to the north east of the field, so every landing by a visiting aircraft is made on runway 05 and a strong tailwind on final forces a go around or a diversion to Pisa or Bologna. The runway length and the weather decide how much an aircraft can carry, which is why operators send light and midsize jets such as the Phenom 300, the Citation XLS or the Legacy 500 to Florence and keep larger aircraft for Pisa. Add the 24 hour limit on the ground, the PPR window and the 23:00 cut off, and a Florence trip nearly always involves careful timing and at least one empty positioning flight.

The private terminal, the handlers and their lounges

Business aircraft at Peretola are handled on Via del Termine, on the opposite side of the site from the airline terminal. Italy FBO and AviaVIP work from the general aviation terminal at number 11, Signature from its own private terminal on the same road, and each has a lounge where your driver can collect you.

It is normally the operator who chooses the handler, though we can ask for a particular lounge if you prefer one.

From the aircraft to your hotel or villa, step by step

Peretola is small, so the distance from the steps to your car is a short drive across the apron; here is the sequence for an arrival, which simply runs backwards when you leave.

The real constraint at Florence is the aircraft, not the passengers. The PPR, the 24 hour limit and, for a larger jet, the choice between Florence and Pisa are settled at the time of booking.

Five things to know before booking Florence

A Florence quote is only reliable once the following five questions are settled, so we answer them in writing before you confirm.

From Peretola to the city and the Tuscan hills

Peretola is so close to the centre that the drive is shorter than many transfers within London. Estimates are for a chauffeured car leaving Via del Termine at a quiet hour.

Tram line T2 runs from the airport to Santa Maria Novella in about twenty minutes, but after a private flight a car booked by the handler is simpler, and high speed trains from Santa Maria Novella reach Rome in about an hour and a half and Milan in about two hours.

Taxes and charges on a Florence trip

Beyond the aircraft, a Florence trip carries British duty on the way out, the Italian passenger tax in both directions and the city tax on hotel nights.

The Italian tax falls on private charters in aircraft of up to nineteen seats and is collected by the operator. To the shortest distance between the two airports the law adds 95 kilometres; if the result is 1,500 kilometres or less the tax is 100 euros a passenger, and above that 200 euros. From London, Farnborough, Biggin Hill, Oxford, Southampton, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff and Jersey the lower rate applies, and from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Scotland, Belfast and Dublin the higher one. A leg flown empty pays nothing, but an empty leg you buy is a passenger flight and pays in full.

For the UK leg, APD is levied on departure only and Italy sits in the lowest band, A. Up to 31 March 2027 a private jet between 5.7 and 20 tonnes pays 32 GBP a passenger and a heavier one 142 GBP, and from 1 April 2027 all private jets from 5.7 tonnes pay 146.63 GBP. Jets under the 5.7 tonne line and anything departing Jersey or Guernsey are outside the duty, while departures from Scotland move to the Scottish government's own tax in April 2027.

Pisa, Bologna and the other airports for Tuscany

Florence is the obvious airport for the city, but its runway and apron make the other airports of central Italy part of many plans, especially for larger jets and longer stays.

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

One price buys the whole cabin on a repositioning flight, so the cost does not change with the number of passengers, and each duration is wheels up to wheels down. Florence is about 1,200 kilometres from London, and because of the short runway every jet in our list is a light or midsize type, from a Citation M2 on the Oxford and Jersey routes to a Citation Latitude or a Legacy 500 for larger parties. The Italian tax is added for each passenger. Anyone tied to fixed dates can compare with the ordinary charter figures in the second list higher up.

Sectors between Britain and Florence cluster around Thursday, Friday and Sunday, when long weekends begin and end, and on Saturdays in summer, when villas change guests. With parking limited to a day, flights from Florence back to Britain are released most often, frequently at a few hours' notice.

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 Italy at Florence: passports and customs

Britain is outside the EU and Schengen, so every private flight into Florence crosses an external border, and Italian police and customs clear it at the handler's terminal.

• Passport. Italy checks that the passport is less than ten years old at entry and that three months of validity remain after your last day in Schengen.
• Length of stay. No visa is needed for up to 90 days within any 180, and time spent in France, Spain or any other Schengen country on the same trip counts too.
• Entry/Exit System. The electronic register replaced passport stamps for British travellers in April 2026; at the first entry the police take a photograph and, from the age of twelve, fingerprints.
• ETIAS. The online permit announced by the EU is still on hold, with no launch date fixed; once live it should cost 20 euros for three years.
• Customs. Italy's duty free limits for an adult arriving from Britain are 200 cigarettes, a litre of spirits or two of fortified or sparkling wine, 4 litres of still wine and 16 of beer, plus 430 euros of other goods. Cash from 10,000 euros upwards must go on a declaration.
• Food. Meat and dairy products cannot be carried from Britain into the EU, so leave the picnic behind; Tuscany will provide.
• Back to Britain. A private flight home lets each adult carry in, duty free, up to 18 litres of still wine, a welcome figure after Chianti, together with 42 litres of beer, 4 litres of spirits or 9 of fortified wine, 200 cigarettes and 270 GBP of other goods; from 1 October 2026 sparkling wine is counted inside the wine limit and cider inside the beer limit.

Empty leg calendar for Florence, month by month

Florence has visitors in every month, with peaks in spring and early autumn, the fashion fairs in January and June and a hot, crowded summer.

Empty leg supply peaks between May and October and during the Pitti fairs, because no visiting jet can remain at Peretola for more than a day. Travellers with fixed dates find stands most easily in February and November.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Florence with a dog or a cat

Pets travelling from Britain to Italy need a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before departure and an animal health certificate signed by an official vet no more than ten days before arrival; an EU pet passport issued to a British resident has not been accepted since April 2026. Italy does not require tapeworm treatment on arrival. AviaVIP at Florence welcomes animals, and the handler should be told in advance so that the check at the terminal is ready.

The flight home needs more planning. For the return, the operator needs British approval to carry animals, and a dog's tapeworm dose must be given by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before touchdown in Britain. Any vet in Florence can do it; set the date together with the flight, and mention the animal in your first message so that we only quote operators with pet approval.

Private flights to Florence: your questions answered

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Include when you want to fly, how many are travelling, the bags and the address in Florence or the hills. The answer lists the matching sectors beside the charter price, and a single quote takes care of the PPR, the handling at Peretola, the Italian passenger tax and the drive to your door.