Empty leg flights to and from Reykjavik

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and the starting point for glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs and salmon rivers, and it lies in the middle of the North Atlantic, about three hours by jet from London. Two airports serve private flights. Reykjavik Airport, code RKV, sits right in the city, two kilometres from the old harbour, while Keflavík International, code KEF, lies about 50 kilometres to the south west on the Reykjanes peninsula and is open around the clock.

The choice between them depends on the aircraft, the time of day and the weather, which in Iceland can change within the hour.

Reykjavik sectors available today

In the first list you will find every sector we hold into or out of Reykjavik and Keflavík; when both are quiet, it adds flights at Akureyri and Egilsstaðir instead. The second list, straight after it, shows the ordinary charter price of the same aircraft on your own dates, so the saving on each empty leg is clear.

Why Reykjavik produces empty legs

Iceland sits on the direct line between Europe and North America and about three hours from Britain. Few operators keep a crew waiting in Reykjavik for a week of touring, and many transatlantic jets stop here only for fuel, so empty flights appear in both directions.

Supply is steadiest in the summer from June to August and around the autumn conference season, and thinnest in December and January, when days are short and most visitors come for only a few nights.

Reykjavik and Keflavík airports in detail

Reykjavik Airport was built by the British Army from 1940 as RAF Reykjavik and handed to Iceland in 1946. It serves domestic flights, Greenland and private aviation, and its future has been debated for years because it occupies valuable land near the centre. Keflavík was built by the United States military in 1943, was a US naval air station until 2006 and is now Iceland's international gateway and a diversion airport for transatlantic airliners. Both are run by Isavia, the state airport company.

For crews the main factors are wind and weather. Reykjavik's short runways and the city's night closure suit light and midsize jets arriving in daylight, and Keflavík's long runways, open 24 hours, suit larger jets, late arrivals and strong crosswinds. Winter brings snow, ice and gales, and de icing is available at both airports. Whichever of the two airports serving Reykjavik we plan for, the other serves as the first alternate, with the north and east of the island as backup.

The city airport's long term future is uncertain. Reykjavik's master plan to 2040 foresees moving flights out of Vatnsmýri, the city says operations are permitted until 2032, and a residents' group has campaigned since 2024 for private jets and sightseeing helicopters to leave. For now private jets use the airport normally, and Keflavík is always there as the alternative.

A series of eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula near Grindavík since 2021 has not disrupted flights at Keflavík, because these fissure eruptions produce lava rather than ash clouds. The Blue Lagoon, nearby, has closed for short periods during some of them, so we check its status before a trip.

Arriving in Reykjavik by private jet: handlers, lounges and formalities

At both airports business jets are handled by independent FBOs with their own lounges, and passengers clear customs and immigration inside the handler's building.

How we plan a Reykjavik flight

• The right airport. We match Reykjavik or Keflavík to the aircraft, the arrival time and the forecast wind.
• Slot and hours. For Keflavík the operator requests a slot; for Reykjavik we plan within the 07:00 to 23:00 opening hours.
• Weather margin. We watch the forecast closely and keep the other airport near Reykjavik, Akureyri and Egilsstaðir as alternates.
• Ground travel. We book a 4x4 with driver, a guide or a helicopter together with the flight, because Iceland's sights lie far apart.
• Pets. We explain early that pets may enter Iceland only at Keflavík and must spend 14 days in quarantine, so in practice they stay at home.

Four things to know before booking Reykjavik

Nearly every Reykjavik trip depends on these four points, and we check them before we confirm an aircraft.

From the airport to Reykjavik and the rest of Iceland

Reykjavik itself is on the doorstep of the city airport, while the famous sights lie along the south coast and inland. Drive times assume dry roads and no winter closures.

For glaciers, volcanoes and remote lodges a helicopter saves hours, and several operators fly sightseeing and transfer flights from Reykjavik Airport. For the north, including heli skiing on the Troll Peninsula and the lodges near Siglufjörður, a jet can continue to Akureyri, about 250 kilometres from Reykjavik in a straight line; the heli ski season at Deplar Farm runs from 28 February to 5 June 2027, with guests collected at Akureyri Airport.

What else you pay on an Icelandic trip

Besides the cost of the jet, the extra charges on a flight to Iceland are small and usually included in the operator's price.

The UK duty applies to any departure in a jet of 5.7 tonnes or more. In the tax year ending 31 March 2027 a Band A passenger pays 32 GBP in a jet of up to 20 tonnes and 142 GBP in anything larger; from April 2027 all of these jets move to the Band A higher rate of 146.63 GBP. Flights leaving Jersey or Guernsey pay no UK duty. Scotland introduces its own Air Departure Tax in April 2027, and its government plans a separate private jet tax from April 2028.

Keflavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir and the other airports of Iceland

Between them the two airports serving Reykjavik take almost every private flight to the capital. The four fields below are those our crews file as alternates, or use for trips beyond the capital.

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

Prices here are for one party taking the whole aircraft on a positioning or return flight that is scheduled already; individual seats do not exist on these trips. The times cover only the flight itself. The North Atlantic crossing calls for jets with enough range, so the aircraft run from the Citation CJ3 and Phenom 300 up to the Challenger 350 and Praetor 600. If your trip is tied to exact days, the full charter list in the sectors section above is the fairer comparison.

Sectors run all year, with more in summer for touring and fishing and around the October and November events, and a steady flow linked to transatlantic crossings that stop in Iceland for fuel.

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.

Border and customs rules for Iceland

Iceland belongs to Schengen and the European Economic Area but not to the EU customs union, so it checks passports on Schengen rules and applies its own customs allowances. These are the points British visitors need.

• Passport. Icelandic border police expect a British passport under ten years old that still has three months to run after you plan to leave Schengen.
• 90 days in 180. Days in Iceland are counted together with every other Schengen country, up to 90 in any rolling period of 180 days.
• EES. On the first entry the Icelandic police record fingerprints and a photograph in the EU entry and exit system; children under 12 are only photographed.
• Alcohol. Allowances work as alternatives, for example 1 litre of spirits, 0.75 litres of wine and 3 litres of beer, or 3 litres of wine and 6 of beer, or 18 litres of beer. Only travellers aged 20 or over may bring alcohol.
• Tobacco. Adults of 18 and over may carry 200 cigarettes, or 250 grams of cigars or loose tobacco, without paying duty.
• Food. Up to 10 kilograms of food worth no more than 25,000 krónur may come in, but meat and dairy products from outside the European Economic Area, including the UK, are banned.
• Money. Iceland uses the króna, and cards and phone payments are accepted almost everywhere, even at remote petrol stations.
• Returning to the UK. Arriving home by private jet, every adult has a 270 GBP limit for souvenirs and gifts, and may also carry 42 litres of beer, 18 of wine, and either 4 of spirits or 9 of drinks up to 22 per cent, with 200 cigarettes. From 1 October 2026 cider falls under beer and sparkling wine under wine in these limits.

Empty leg calendar for Reykjavik, month by month

Reykjavik is busiest in the long days of summer and the aurora months of autumn, and quietest in the darkest weeks of midwinter.

Prices are at their best in the summer, when touring and fishing trips create sectors in both directions, and around the October conference and November festival. In the dark months of January and December almost any aircraft type is free on the dates you want.

Three situations, three answers

Why pets stay at home on an Iceland trip

Iceland has some of the strictest pet rules in Europe. A dog or cat from Britain needs an import permit from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, a rabies blood test, extra vaccinations and worming, and then 14 days in a quarantine station. Animals may arrive only at Keflavík, in approved weeks, on weekdays between 06:00 and 17:00, and the authority states that Reykjavik and Akureyri, private planes included, are not approved entry points.

Short visits are not an exception, so in practice a pet cannot join a holiday or business trip to Iceland. Animals on board an aircraft that only stops in Iceland for fuel must not leave it. Please tell us if an animal is part of your plans, and we will suggest a sitter or a different route.

Private jets to Reykjavik: questions and answers

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Tell us whether the trip is for business in Reykjavik, touring, fishing or the northern lights, with the dates, the number of travellers and the luggage, including any rods or ski equipment. Our answer will list the matching sectors with their full charter prices and recommend an airport, a handler and the transport on the ground.