Empty leg flights to and from Saint-Tropez

Saint-Tropez has its own airport, and it is one of the most unusual in Europe. La Môle sits in a wooded valley of the Massif des Maures about 15 kilometres from the harbour, with a runway of 1,071 metres, no night flying and a rule that every pilot must hold a local qualification before the first landing. Among business aircraft it is almost entirely limited to turboprops and light jets, and in summer it is one of the busiest small airfields in France.

Larger aircraft land at Toulon Hyères, Cannes Mandelieu or Nice and finish the journey by helicopter or by car.

The Saint-Tropez board as it stands today

The board lists every released sector into or out of La Môle. When La Môle is quiet, the board adds sectors into Toulon, Cannes and Nice instead, since each of them is a helicopter hop or a drive from the gulf and most parties heading for Saint-Tropez in a larger jet land at one of them. The charter list underneath prices the same aircraft for a UK to Saint-Tropez trip on dates you choose, and any empty leg worth taking has to come in below it.

Also moving across Toulon, Cannes and Nice

Sectors on this list do not touch Saint-Tropez 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 Saint-Tropez produces empty legs

The supply here has an unusual shape. It comes from a small airport that only certain aircraft can use, from the big airports around it, and from a season that runs from Easter to the regattas at the turn of September and October.

Supply starts at Easter, builds through May with the Bravade and the Cannes festival nearby, peaks in July and August and has a last strong burst around the regattas. In winter the airport keeps shorter hours and the board is thin.

La Môle Saint-Tropez Airport in detail

The airfield was created in the 1960s in the valley of La Môle, between Cogolin and the coast road to Le Lavandou, and has been owned since July 2013 by Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur, the group that also runs Nice and Cannes Mandelieu. It is classed as an aerodrome of restricted use, open only to aircraft and crews that meet the conditions of a ministerial order.

The runway, taxiways and aprons were rebuilt between November 2023 and March 2024, the first such work in three decades, and finished two weeks early. The setting is demanding: the valley is ringed by high ground that can hide the runway on the downwind leg, there is a ridge on the runway axis 2,200 metres from the threshold, and crews must check that the aircraft can clear the terrain if an engine fails on take off. The approach slope indicator on runway 24 is mandatory for every landing on that runway and is angled at 4 degrees, steeper than at most airports. The published runway length has been 1,071 metres since at least 2021, replacing an older figure of 1,180 metres.

Which aircraft can use La Môle

This is the first question for any Saint-Tropez trip, and the answer decides where you land.

Put simply, La Môle is the most convenient airport on the Riviera for the right aircraft and the wrong one for everything else. Every trip is planned around which of the two your aircraft is.

La Môle against the other airports for the gulf

Four main airports serve Saint-Tropez.

Toulon Hyères is the airport most people forget. It is a joint civil and military airport with a runway of more than 2 kilometres, a business aviation terminal at the entrance with lounges for passengers and crews, and border police every day in summer, until 20:00 from Monday to Saturday and 19:00 on Sunday, with customs asking for 24 hours' notice. Military activity shapes its hours, but for a midsize jet it is often the closest real alternative to La Môle.

What we do when we book a flight to Saint-Tropez

• Choose the airport by the aircraft. A light jet or turboprop goes to La Môle, anything larger to Toulon, Cannes or Nice, and we say which before quoting.
• Book a qualified crew. For La Môle we only offer operators whose captains hold the local qualification, which rules out many aircraft that would otherwise suit the route.
• Check the British window. Between 16 October and 30 June a flight from the UK cannot land at La Môle directly, so it clears the border at Toulon, Nice or Cannes first.
• Plan the alternative. Wind, rain or a late arrival can close La Môle to a particular flight, so every booking has a named fallback and a car or helicopter ready for it.
• Time the helicopter. Landings in the gulf are rationed in summer, and at the Grimaud heliport there are no movements between 13:15 and 15:45 from 1 July to 15 September, so the helicopter is booked with the flight rather than on the day.
• Weigh the bags. A light jet off a short runway carries less than people expect, and we count bags and passengers before we confirm the aircraft.

What a private passenger meets at La Môle

La Môle is small enough to feel like a private club rather than an airport. Nearly every passenger arrives on a private or charter flight, and the time from the aircraft steps to the car is usually a few minutes.

Bags, screening and the border at La Môle

The rules at La Môle are French and Schengen ones, and what sets the airport apart is its calendar for flights from outside Schengen.

For most trips from Britain this adds up to a simple plan: La Môle for a light jet or turboprop between 1 July and 15 October, and Toulon, Cannes or Nice for everything else.

Helicopters over the gulf

Helicopters are the fastest way to reach Saint-Tropez from Nice, Cannes or Toulon, but helicopter flying is also one of the most regulated activities on the coast. After years of complaints from Ramatuelle, Gassin and Saint-Tropez, the state has limited where and when they may land.

We book the helicopter at the same time as the jet and choose the landing site and time with the operator, so that the midday pause and the daily limits never catch a party at the airport.

What Saint-Tropez adds to the bill

Most of the cost is the flying. Four other lines are worth knowing before you book.

The French solidarity tax is charged on every passenger leaving a French airport on a business flight with 19 seats or fewer. Four people flying home to Britain from La Môle in a Phenom 300 pay 1,680 euros between them, at 420 euros a head, while a turboprop halves the rate to 210 euros. Babies under two are exempt, inbound flights are untaxed and a same day connection is charged only once.

Under Air Passenger Duty, France falls in Band A. Aircraft below 5.7 tonnes pay no duty at all, which covers the smallest jets that fly to La Môle, such as the Citation Mustang, the M2 and the Phenom 100. A passenger on a private jet between 5.7 and 20 tonnes pays 32 GBP in the current tax year, and from April 2027 the higher rate of 146.63 GBP applies to every private jet of 5.7 tonnes or more, which includes the CJ3, the CJ4, the Phenom 300 and the PC-24. Flights out of the Channel Islands are outside the British duty altogether.

The other airfields around Saint-Tropez

La Môle is the only airfield in the gulf itself. The others are along the coast in each direction, and each suits a different trip.

From La Môle to the village, the beaches and the villas

The airport lies at the south western edge of the gulf, about as close to Cavalaire and Le Lavandou as to Saint-Tropez itself. The times below are by car from La Môle on an ordinary day, with a note on summer traffic, which around the La Foux roundabout can double them.

The ferry between Sainte-Maxime and the port of Saint-Tropez takes about 15 to 20 minutes and avoids the worst of the gulf road, which on a summer afternoon can take an hour on its own. A tender from the port is the usual way out to a yacht anchored off Pampelonne or in the bay.

Popular routes between the UK and Saint-Tropez, and which way they run empty

Every line prices a whole light jet able to use La Môle with a qualified crew, never a single seat, at the price its operator will accept for a flight that would otherwise leave empty. The times run from wheels up to wheels down. Remember the window: a flight between the UK and La Môle itself is possible only from 1 July to 15 October, and at other times the same aircraft clears the border at Toulon or Nice. The charter list above gives the full price of each cabin for dates that cannot move.

Most of these sectors appear at weekends in July and August and in the week of the regattas at the turn of September and October.

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, allowances and the French border

French border rules apply to every trip to the gulf, and at La Môle a flight from outside Schengen can clear the border only within the calendar described above.

• Passport validity. Less than ten years since issue on the day you arrive, and at least three months still to run on the day you leave the Schengen area. Check both dates before booking.
• The 90 day rule. British visitors may spend 90 days in any 180 inside Schengen, and a week in Corsica, Italy or Spain in the previous 180 days counts towards it.
• The Entry/Exit System. In full operation since April 2026. A first crossing records fingerprints and a photograph instead of a stamp, and the record lasts three years.
• ETIAS. Not yet required. Brussels withdrew the planned launch date in July 2026, and there is still no fresh timetable. When the scheme opens, the fee will be 20 euros for three years.
• Arriving in France. An adult may carry a litre of spirits, 4 litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer, 200 cigarettes and 430 euros' worth of other goods. Sums of 10,000 euros or more in cash have to be declared, and British ham, cheese and milk will be confiscated.
• Flying home. The British limits for a private passenger are generous on drink, at 42 litres of beer, 18 of still wine and 4 of spirits, with 200 cigarettes and a 270 GBP ceiling on everything else. The categories change on 1 October 2026, with sparkling wine joining the wine and cider the beer. French cheese and charcuterie cannot be taken into Britain.
• Tax free shopping. Visitors from outside the EU can reclaim French VAT on purchases of more than 100 euros in one shop, and the boutiques of Saint-Tropez know the forms well. Ask the handler where the validation can be done before you leave.

Empty leg calendar for Saint-Tropez, month by month

Saint-Tropez has one of the longest private seasons on the coast, from Easter to the regattas, with a sharp peak in the middle.

For value, June and the first half of September are the times to watch, with good weather, plenty of aircraft and prices well below August. Early October is the other good time, when the fleet that spent the summer in the south flies home.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Saint-Tropez with a dog or a cat

To enter France from Britain an animal needs a readable microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days old on the day of travel, and an animal health certificate from an official vet dated within ten days of arrival in the EU. A British resident has not been able to use an EU pet passport issued to them for this since 22 April 2026. Saint-Tropez is relaxed about dogs in restaurants, but many beaches in the gulf ban them in summer.

The return flight is the part that needs planning. Only operators approved for the purpose can land a pet in Great Britain, which narrows the choice among the light jets that fly to La Môle. A dog also needs a tapeworm treatment from a vet between one and five days before arriving. Cats need the same papers without that treatment. Tell us about the animal when you first ask for a price.

Your questions about flying privately to Saint-Tropez

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Tell us the villa, hotel or yacht, the dates, the number of passengers and bags, and whether you would rather land at La Môle or take a larger jet into Nice or Toulon. Our reply lists the sectors that match, what each would cost as a charter, and how we would handle the airport, the border calendar and the final leg into the gulf.