Empty leg flights to and from Salzburg

Salzburg's airport is one of the closest to an old town anywhere in Europe. Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart, code SZG, lies on the western edge of the city, about 3 kilometres from the Altstadt in a straight line and barely 2 kilometres from the German border, and private passengers pass through a small terminal of their own named after Herbert von Karajan. A jet from London takes a little under two hours, and the city fills twice a year with private traffic: for the Salzburg Festival in summer and for the ski resorts of the Alps in winter.

That double season shapes everything about flying privately to Salzburg, from the hours the airport keeps for business jets to the Saturdays when the apron is full of ski charters.

Salzburg sectors available today

The first list gathers every sector we hold into or out of Salzburg Airport. On a quiet day it adds flights into Munich, Linz and Innsbruck, any of which can suit a trip to Salzburg or the mountains behind it. Underneath sits a second list with the full charter fare for those aircraft on your own dates, so every empty leg can be judged against a real alternative.

What keeps Salzburg supplied with empty legs

For a city of about 155,000 people, Salzburg sees a remarkable amount of business aviation. Five things account for most of it.

Supply peaks on winter Saturdays and in the festival weeks of July and August. The quietest times, when fewer aircraft come and go, are November and the weeks between the spring repositioning flights and Whitsun.

Salzburg Airport in detail

Salzburg Airport opened on 22 August 1926 and is today the second largest airport in Austria. It is a compact airfield with one runway, two passenger terminals and a general aviation area on its northern side, and it handles far more business jets than its airline traffic would suggest.

The approach is part of the experience. Most arrivals come in from the north over the Bavarian plain, while the Untersberg massif rises just beyond the southern end of the runway, so crews need to know the airport, and our operators brief for it.

Operating hours for charter and private flights at Salzburg

Salzburg sits close to houses on three sides and keeps a strict night rule. Its hours also differ between commercial flights, which include chartered business jets, and aircraft flown privately by their owners.

The Karajan terminal and handling at Salzburg

Private passengers at Salzburg do not use the airline terminals. They go through a small terminal on the north side of the airfield, named after the conductor who flew his own aircraft from here, and the airport's own handling team looks after the business jets.

How we plan a Salzburg flight

• A landing before 22:00. We time every evening arrival to land by about 21:30 local time, use the quiet hour until 23:00 only when the operator confirms the aircraft qualifies, and keep Munich or Linz ready as the alternate.
• Handling and permission in good time. We book the airport handling at least a day ahead and, in the winter season, request the prior permission as soon as the aircraft is held.
• The right hold for the skis. We compare the luggage list with the hold of each aircraft, because ski bags, boot bags and pushchairs fill a light jet quickly.
• The car or the helicopter onward. For Kitzbühel, Zell am See or Gastein we book the car at the terminal door, or a helicopter when the roads are slow.
• Festival nights. For the Salzburg Festival and the Easter Festival we book the hotel, the car and the return together, and plan the flight home for the next morning when a performance ends late.
• Weather in the mountains. Fog in the Salzach valley and snow on the approach can delay flights, so on winter mornings we allow extra time and keep an alternate open.

Four things to know before booking Salzburg

Salzburg is simple to use once these points are settled, and each can change the timing or the price of a trip.

The extra costs of a Salzburg trip

The extras at Salzburg are small next to the price of the aircraft, but they are worth knowing before the invoice arrives.

Five passengers flying home from Salzburg pay 60 euros of Austrian levy between them.

Air Passenger Duty is charged when the jet leaves Britain. A jet weighing between 5.7 and 20 tonnes pays 32 GBP per seat occupied until the end of March 2027, and a heavier one 142 GBP; after that, a single rate of 146.63 GBP per passenger covers every private jet from 5.7 tonnes upwards. The Citation M2 and other jets under 5.7 tonnes pay none, and neither do flights from Jersey or Guernsey. From 1 April 2027 flights from Scottish airports pay the Scottish Air Departure Tax instead, which is set to include a supplement for private jets.

In the city of Salzburg the overnight tax is 3.50 euros per guest per night, of which 50 cents is a mobility share; that share rises to 1.10 euros on 1 May 2027, taking the tax to 4.10 euros. Children under 15 are exempt, and ski resorts such as Kitzbühel or Zell am See set their own tourist taxes.

Munich, Linz and the other airfields around Salzburg

Salzburg Airport is the obvious choice for the city, the lakes and most of the resorts. When its hours or its Saturdays do not fit, a few other airports are within reach.

From the airport to the Altstadt, the lakes and the ski resorts

Few airports sit as close to a historic centre as Salzburg's. The times below run from the private terminal in ordinary traffic; festival evenings, ski Saturdays and snow on the passes can add a good deal more.

For the ski resorts the drive is usually the best option, but on a busy Saturday or after heavy snow a helicopter can save an hour or more; the handler arranges the transfer from the apron. Taxis also wait at the passenger terminals.

Salzburg sits on the German border, and Germany is also in Schengen, so a drive to Berchtesgaden or Munich involves no passport check, although police may stop cars near the crossing.

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

Nothing in this table is a seat fare: every amount hires the whole jet for a positioning trip its operator is making regardless. The flying times ignore the road transfer at either end. The list includes a Citation M2, a Challenger 350 and several types in between, so a longer route can cost less than a shorter one. Travellers with fixed dates will find the full fare for each of these jets in the charter list near the top.

Salzburg sectors come in waves: Saturdays and Sundays through the ski season, the opening and closing weeks of the festival, and the Easter holidays, when both the resorts and the Easter Festival are busy.

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 Salzburg

Austria is in Schengen and Britain is not, so every private flight from the UK is checked on arrival at Salzburg. The points below cover what the officers look for and what you may carry each way.

• Your passport. Austrian officers turn away a British passport issued more than a decade before your arrival, and also one due to expire less than three months after you leave the Schengen area.
• 90 days in 180. A British visitor may spend up to 90 days in any 180 day period in the Schengen area as a whole, so a ski week in Switzerland or a summer in France counts towards the same total.
• EES. EES checks have applied in full at the external frontier of Schengen since 10 April 2026. Your first crossing takes fingerprints and a facial image, or the image only for a child under 12, and the file is kept for three years.
• ETIAS. The EU travel authorisation for non EU visitors has still not been launched; in July 2026 its start was pushed back into 2027, with no exact day set. Once it begins, a 20 euro application should cover three years of trips.
• Duty free into Austria. Adults of 17 or older flying in from Britain can carry 200 cigarettes, either one litre of spirits or two of sparkling or fortified wine, a four litre allowance of still wine, 16 litres of beer and up to 430 euros of other purchases. Ham, cheese, milk and similar foods from Britain are refused at the border, and sums in cash from 10,000 euros need a declaration.
• VAT refunds. Visitors resident outside the EU can reclaim Austrian VAT of 20 per cent on purchases of more than 75 euros on one invoice, provided the goods leave unused with them and customs stamp the forms before departure.
• Back in the UK. Arriving by private jet, each adult has a 270 GBP allowance for gifts and other goods, alongside 42 litres of beer, 18 of wine, four of spirits and 200 cigarettes. Britain will regroup two drinks on 1 October 2026, moving champagne and other bubbly into the wine column and cider into the beer column.
• Money. Austria uses the euro. Cards are widely taken, although mountain huts, market stalls and some traditional inns still prefer cash.

Empty leg calendar for Salzburg, month by month

Salzburg has two high seasons, skiing from Christmas to Easter and the festival in July and August, with the lakes filling the gap in early summer.

The best prices are on Saturday and Sunday sectors in the ski season, when aircraft leave empty after a changeover, and on the days after the festival opens and closes. Midweek charters in September are the easiest to arrange.

Three situations, three answers

Bringing a dog or cat to Salzburg

Pets flying from Britain to Austria follow the EU rules. A dog or cat needs its chip first, then a rabies injection that is at least three weeks old on the day of the flight, and finally an animal health certificate that an official vet signs no earlier than ten days before departure. Since 22 April 2026 an EU pet passport no longer covers this trip for anyone living in Britain. Dogs and cats normally travel in the cabin of a private jet, and the papers are checked on arrival.

The trip home takes more planning. Only carriers approved by Britain can bring a pet into the UK, and a dog needs a tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before it lands, so book a vet in Salzburg or at the resort for the last days of the stay. Cats are exempt from the tapeworm treatment. Mention the animal at the first enquiry, since a few operators refuse pets altogether.

Salzburg by private jet: common questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Say where you are staying or what you are attending, which days suit, how many are travelling, what luggage and ski bags come along, and whether a pet travels too. Our reply lists the matching sectors beside their charter prices and shows how the trip fits the 22:00 cut off, with the handling and the car at the Karajan terminal arranged.