Empty leg flights to and from Munich

Munich is one of the wealthiest cities in Germany and the gateway to the Bavarian and Austrian Alps, and its airport handles more business jets than almost any other in the country. Munich Airport, code MUC, lies on open moorland near Freising, about 28 kilometres north east of the city centre, and private passengers use a General Aviation Terminal of their own on the eastern side of the airfield, well away from the airline halls.

The traffic through the GAT comes from two directions. On weekdays it is Bavarian industry, insurance and the trade fairs at Messe München, and in winter it is skiers heading for Kitzbühel and the Tyrol. Both produce aircraft that fly one way empty.

Munich sectors on the board now

Every sector we hold into or out of Munich Airport appears below. When Munich itself is quiet, the list adds sectors at Oberpfaffenhofen, Augsburg and Salzburg, which can suit a trip to the lakes, the west of the city or the mountains. The charter list under the board prices the same cabins on dates of your own choosing between Britain and Munich, and an empty leg only counts as a saving when it comes in below that figure.

Also moving across Oberpfaffenhofen, Augsburg and Salzburg

Sectors on this list do not touch Munich 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 aircraft shuttle between Munich and Britain

Munich produces empty sectors for more reasons than most cities. Some are about business, some about the mountains, and a few about beer and football.

There is hardly a quiet season, only a change of pattern. Business flights dominate from Monday to Thursday all year, the ski traffic takes over at winter weekends, and the autumn brings the Oktoberfest and the busiest weeks at the Messe.

Munich Airport in detail

Munich Airport opened on 17 May 1992, when the whole operation moved overnight from the cramped old airfield at Riem to the Erdinger Moos. It carries the name of Franz Josef Strauss, the Bavarian premier who pushed it through, and it is the second hub of Lufthansa and the Star Alliance.

The GAT is a world apart from the two big terminals. It has its own access road, a short stay car park beside the door and hangars behind it for aircraft that stay. No train or bus serves it, which keeps it quiet. The walk from the car to the aircraft steps can be a matter of a minute or two.

How the night works at Munich

Munich has a night regime rather than a total ban, set by the government of Upper Bavaria and designed around noise. For a private flight it narrows the window more than the runway or the slot does.

Inside the General Aviation Terminal at Munich

Most private passengers at Munich see only the GAT. Passports, customs and bags are all dealt with in the one building, and a car can be waiting at the door when the aircraft stops.

What we take care of on a Munich trip

• Slots requested on day one. We request the landing and departure slots at the moment the aircraft is reserved, because at the Messe and in the ski season the popular times go first.
• A check on the night list. For any flight near 22:00 or 06:00 we confirm that the aircraft type is allowed in the shoulder hours and book the handler to open early or stay late.
• The right car for the luggage. A saloon suits two with briefcases, and a van a family with ski bags. The driver follows the flight and waits at the GAT door.
• A plan for winter mornings. Snow and freezing fog are part of the Munich winter. Clearing ice and snow from the aircraft can add half an hour to an early departure, and we build it into the timing.
• Somewhere for the aircraft to wait. On a stay of several days we compare parking at Munich with sending the aircraft home or to a cheaper airfield, and choose the option that costs least.
• The Oktoberfest and the fairs. In those weeks hotel rooms, cars and slots all run short, so we book them at the same time as the aircraft.

Rules to settle before booking Munich

Four sets of rules apply to every private flight between Britain and Munich. Each is simple once it is known, and each is best settled before the aircraft is confirmed.

The costs Munich adds

Munich is one of the least expensive destinations on our list once the flight is paid for. The extras are few and modest.

For a group of eight flying home from Munich, the German tax comes to 104.24 euros in total, collected by the operator and shown on the invoice. Germany charges nothing on the way in.

The UK duty falls on the flight out of Britain. Up to 31 March 2027 each passenger pays 32 GBP on a jet between 5.7 and 20 tonnes, or 142 GBP on a jet of 20 tonnes or more. From 1 April 2027 the lower rate disappears for private jets, and anyone flying to Munich on an aircraft of 5.7 tonnes or more pays 146.63 GBP. The lightest jets, among them the Citation M2 and the Phenom 100, stay below 5.7 tonnes and pay nothing, and departures from Jersey and Guernsey are outside the duty altogether.

Unlike Berlin, Paris or Amsterdam, Munich adds nothing to a hotel bill. The city tried to introduce a charge, but a state law forbids it, and the court ruling of November 2025 rejected the challenge brought by Munich, Bamberg and Günzburg.

Oberpfaffenhofen, Augsburg and the other airfields

Munich Airport suits almost every trip, but Bavaria has several other airfields that business jets use, and on a busy day one of them can be the better choice.

From the airport to the city, the lakes and the Alps

From the GAT the car joins the A92 and then the A9, which runs south into the city. The times below assume ordinary traffic, and the weekday rush on the A9 and the Mittlerer Ring, or the Oktoberfest weeks, can add half an hour or more.

For anyone who would rather take the train, the S Bahn lines S1 and S8 run from the airport to Marienplatz in about 40 to 45 minutes, but they leave from the main terminals, and no public transport reaches the GAT. A taxi from the airport to the centre costs about 65 to 85 euros, and a chauffeur saloon booked through the handler somewhat more.

During the Oktoberfest, from 19 September to 4 October in 2026, the roads around the Theresienwiese and the hotels in the centre are at their busiest. We plan pick ups for the early afternoon or late evening, when the traffic eases.

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

Prices in this table cover the whole cabin, not a seat, and reflect what the operator will take for a flight it is making anyway. Flight times are from take off to landing and leave out the drive into Munich. The list runs from a Citation M2 to a Challenger 350, so a short route can cost more than a long one. When the dates cannot move, the charter list higher up gives the full price for the same cabins.

Munich sectors appear in both directions and in clusters: midweek around the fairs, on winter Saturdays when the ski parties change over, and on the last days of the Oktoberfest, when aircraft that brought visitors in head 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.

Passports and customs for a trip to Munich

The formalities for a private arrival from Britain all happen in the GAT, and on a normal day they take minutes rather than an hour.

• Two dates in the passport. A German officer will reject a passport that is ten years old or more on arrival day, or one that runs out within three months of your planned exit from Schengen.
• Ninety days in 180. British visitors need no visa for short stays, but every day in Germany counts towards the same Schengen total as days in Austria, Italy or anywhere else in the area, which matters over a long ski season.
• The Entry/Exit System. Since 10 April 2026 every Schengen border records British travellers electronically, with fingerprints and a photograph taken on the first crossing, though children under 12 give only a photograph. The record is kept for three years.
• ETIAS. The planned EU travel authorisation has not started and has no start date. A fee of 20 euros, covering three years, is the figure the EU has announced.
• What you may bring in. Each adult arriving from Britain may carry 200 cigarettes, one litre of spirits or two litres of sparkling or fortified wine, four litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer and 430 euros of other goods without paying duty. Leave British ham, sausages and cheese at home, since the EU turns them away, and declare any cash from 10,000 euros upwards.
• Tax free shopping. German VAT is 19 per cent, and visitors living outside the EU can reclaim it on goods bought in Munich. Keep the receipts and forms, and ask the handler to arrange the customs stamp at the GAT before you leave.
• Arriving back in Britain. The British allowance per adult is generous: a carton of 200 cigarettes, four litres of spirits, 18 of wine and 42 of beer, and 270 GBP of anything else when you land by private aircraft. The new categories that apply from 1 October 2026 put sparkling wine inside the wine limit and cider inside the beer limit.
• Paying. Germany uses the euro, and cards are widely accepted, though some beer gardens, bakeries and Oktoberfest tents still prefer cash.

Empty leg calendar for Munich, month by month

Munich's year has three peaks: the ski season, the autumn of the Oktoberfest and the big fairs, and a busy spring for business. Only August is really quiet.

For value, look at the days just after a fair or after the Oktoberfest, when many aircraft fly home at once, and at winter Saturdays and Sundays, when ski charters reposition. The weeks either side of Easter are good for both skiing and prices.

Three situations, three answers

Taking a dog or cat to Munich

Pets coming from Britain enter under the standard EU scheme. First comes the chip, then a rabies jab at least 21 days before travel, and finally a health certificate from an official vet dated within ten days of landing in Germany. EU pet passports issued to people living in Britain have not been accepted since 22 April 2026. Most private jets take a dog in the cabin, and the handler arranges the check at the GAT.

Plan the return first. Only operators approved by Britain for the purpose may fly a pet into the UK, and a dog must be treated for tapeworm by a vet between one and five days before it arrives, which in practice means a visit to a Munich or Tyrolean vet near the end of the trip. Cats are exempt from the tapeworm rule. Tell us about the pet in your first message, and we will quote only aircraft that can carry it.

Munich private flights: your questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Let us know where you are heading in Munich or the Alps, the days you have in mind, how many are flying, how much luggage and how many ski bags you have, and whether a pet is coming. We will send the sectors that match, with the full charter price next to each, and set out the slots, the GAT hours and the car that will meet you.