Empty leg flights to and from Naples

Naples is the gateway to one of the most glamorous coastlines in Italy. From its airport a helicopter reaches Capri in about twenty minutes, and a car follows the road round the bay to Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. The city itself rewards a stay of its own: the historic centre listed by UNESCO, the Archaeological Museum, the pizzerias of Spaccanapoli and Vesuvius above the bay, with Pompeii and Herculaneum within half an hour. Naples keeps Central European Time, one hour ahead of London, and the flight from the capital takes roughly 2h 40m in a light or midsize jet.

For private flights, Naples means Naples International Airport at Capodichino, code NAP, on the north eastern edge of the city, and increasingly Salerno Costa d'Amalfi, run by the same company and closer to the Amalfi Coast, which opened a new terminal for private flights in July 2026.

Naples sectors available today

The first list shows every sector we hold into or out of Naples, and when Naples is quiet it adds flights released at Salerno, the second airport of Campania and the nearest one to the Amalfi Coast. The list after it prices each of those aircraft as a charter on dates of your own choosing.

Why so many jets leave Naples empty

Few airports in Europe produce empty legs as reliably as Naples in summer. The reason is simple: the aircraft is not allowed to stay, while its passengers stay for a week.

Sectors appear from Easter to the end of October above all, with the busiest weeks in July and August. With no place to park, the aircraft's return to Britain is frequently put on sale only on the day of the drop or the evening before.

Naples International Airport in detail

Aircraft have flown from Capodichino since the early years of aviation, and the airfield opened to civil traffic in 1950 while remaining home to units of the Italian Air Force and to the United States Navy support base. In 1997 it became the first Italian airport to be privatised, when BAA bought the majority of its operator, GESAC, today controlled by 2i Aeroporti. The airport handled 12,650,478 passengers and 86,498 movements in 2024, and 13,271,522 passengers in 2025. A metro station on Line 1, which will link the terminal with the city centre, is due to open at the end of 2026 or early in 2027.

For crews, Naples is short on everything except scenery. The runway of 2,628 metres suits every business jet, but the airport sits among the buildings of the city, closes at 23:00 and gives airlines priority for its stands. The PPR has to be requested exactly when the online window opens, 15 days ahead, and the operator needs a plan for where the aircraft goes after the drop: home, to Salerno if a stand is free there, or to Rome, Bari or Lamezia Terme. That plan is the reason a Naples trip so often turns into two empty positioning flights.

The handlers, their lounges and the new terminal at Salerno

At Naples, private passengers are looked after by the general aviation handlers, who meet the aircraft, take the party through passport control and customs and bring the car to the door. At Salerno, a terminal built only for private flights opened in July 2026.

Which of these companies meets your flight is normally decided by the operator, though a preference for a particular lounge is usually easy to pass on.

From the aircraft to Capri, Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast, step by step

At Naples the time on the ground is short for the aircraft and for you. This is how a private arrival works, and the departure follows the same steps in reverse.

Timing is everything at Naples. The PPR, the helicopter or the boat and, for the flight home, the aircraft's return from wherever it waited are planned together, and we arrange them with the flight.

Five things to know before booking Naples

Each of the following affects the timing or the cost of a Naples trip, which is why every quote we send covers them from the outset.

From Capodichino to the city, the islands and the coast

The airport sits on the edge of the city, and the coast and the islands are within easy reach by road, by sea or by air. The times below are approximate, outside the rush hours and the summer weekend traffic.

For a party with a lot of luggage the car is the simplest choice, while the helicopter saves the most time in July and August, when the coast road can take twice as long.

Taxes and charges on a Naples trip

On top of the aircraft price come four smaller items: British duty on the flight out, the Italian passenger tax on every leg, the Naples city tax on hotel nights and the landing fee on Capri.

The Italian tax applies to private charters in aircraft with up to nineteen seats and is collected by the operator. The law adds 95 kilometres to the shortest distance between departure and arrival and charges 100 euros a passenger when the result is 1,500 kilometres or less, 200 euros when it is more. Even Jersey and Biggin Hill, the closest airports in our table, are more than 1,500 kilometres from Naples on that measure, so every route pays the higher rate. When a leg positions with no passengers the tax is zero, but once you buy it as an empty leg you are passengers like any others and the charge applies.

On the British side, APD falls on the outbound flight alone, in Band A for Italy: 32 GBP a head in a private jet between 5.7 and 20 tonnes and 142 GBP above that up to the end of March 2027, then one rate of 146.63 GBP for all private jets from 5.7 tonnes from April 2027. Lighter aircraft and flights from the Channel Islands are exempt, and the Scottish government takes over the tax on flights from Scotland in April 2027.

Salerno, Rome and the other airports for the Bay of Naples

Naples is the natural airport for the city and the islands, but its summer rules and the November closure make the other airports of southern Italy part of almost every plan.

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

Prices in this table buy the entire jet on a leg the operator must fly regardless, so two passengers pay the same as eight, and the durations shown are airborne time only. At roughly 1,600 kilometres from London, Naples is an easy trip even for a Citation M2, which appears on the Biggin Hill and Jersey lines, while a Challenger 350 or a Praetor 600 carries the larger groups. Add the Italian tax of 200 euros for each passenger. If your dates are set, compare with the standard charter figures in the second list near the top.

Sectors between Britain and Naples cluster on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in summer, when villas and hotels change guests. With no parking at Naples, flights from Naples back to Britain are released almost every day of the season, often only hours before departure.

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 Naples: passports and customs

A private flight from Britain to Naples crosses the external border of the EU and of Schengen, and Italian police and customs clear it at Capodichino or at Salerno.

• Passport. Check both dates on the photo page before booking: Italy refuses a passport issued more than ten years ago or one that expires less than three months after you leave Schengen.
• Visa free days. A rolling limit of 90 days in any 180 applies to British visitors across the whole Schengen area, with no visa needed.
• Entry/Exit System. Since April 2026 the border records British travellers electronically instead of stamping the passport, with a photograph and, from the age of twelve, fingerprints on the first entry.
• ETIAS. The EU travel authorisation is not yet required and has no confirmed start date; it is expected to cost 20 euros and last three years.
• Customs. Italy lets each adult arriving from the UK bring in, free of duty, 200 cigarettes and either a litre of spirits or two of sparkling or fortified wine, together with 4 litres of still wine, 16 of beer and goods worth 430 euros; larger sums of cash, from 10,000 euros, are declared.
• Food. British ham, bacon, milk and cheese are turned away at the EU border, and there is no need for them in a city famous for its mozzarella.
• Back to Britain. The duty free allowance for the flight home is 200 cigarettes, 4 litres of spirits or 9 of fortified wine, 18 litres of still wine, 42 litres of beer and 270 GBP of other goods for each adult, enough for plenty of limoncello; from 1 October 2026 sparkling wine sits inside the wine limit and cider inside the beer limit.

Empty leg calendar for Naples, month by month

The Bay of Naples has a long summer season and a quieter winter, when the city itself, with its churches, museums and Christmas cribs, takes the stage.

The best empty leg value comes from June to September, when every visiting jet must leave Naples within hours and fly home empty. Travellers with fixed dates find stands and slots most easily in spring and autumn, away from the summer peak and from the closure in November 2026.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Naples with a dog or a cat

A dog or cat travelling from Britain to Italy needs three things: a chip, a rabies jab at least 21 days old and an official veterinary health certificate issued no more than ten days before arrival, as pet passports from EU countries held by British residents stopped being valid in April 2026. No tapeworm treatment is needed to enter Italy. Tell the handler in advance so that the check at the airport is ready; AviaVIP at Naples welcomes pets, and hotels on the coast should be asked in advance whether they accept animals.

The return needs more care. Coming home, the animal may only fly with an operator that holds British approval for pets, and a dog needs its tapeworm treatment from a vet one to five days before the aircraft lands. Vets in Naples and Sorrento are used to this treatment for travelling dogs; book the appointment with the flight, and tell us about the animal in your first message so that we contact only operators able to carry it.

Private flights to Naples: your questions answered

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Include your dates, the party size, the bags and the name of your hotel or villa. You will receive the matching sectors and the charter alternative, and one quote that covers the PPR at Capodichino, the handler, the Italian passenger tax and the final leg by helicopter, boat or car.