Empty leg flights to and from Tivat

Tivat is the private aviation gateway to Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor. Tivat Airport, code TIV, lies about 4 kilometres south east of the town centre on a strip of flat land between the mountains and the bay, and the end of its runway sits roughly 100 metres from the water. A jet from London takes a little under three hours, and ten minutes after landing you can be on board a yacht at Porto Montenegro, one of the largest superyacht marinas in the Mediterranean.

Tivat is also one of the most particular airports in Europe for business jets. The runway has no edge lighting, so every flight has to happen in daylight, the apron has room for only a handful of private aircraft, and the approach is famous among pilots. All of this makes the airport unusually rich in empty legs, because jets drop their passengers and leave rather than wait.

Tivat sectors available today

The first list shows every sector we currently hold into or out of Tivat. When Tivat itself is quiet, it adds flights into Podgorica and Dubrovnik, both about an hour and a half to two hours by road from the Bay of Kotor. The second list gives the full charter price for the same aircraft on dates of your choosing, so you can weigh each empty leg against a flight that waits for you.

Why Tivat releases so many empty legs

Tivat handled 1,343,565 passengers in 2025, a rise of 19 per cent on the year before, and business aviation grows with it. Five features of the airport and the coast turn a large share of those private flights into empty sectors.

Supply peaks on summer weekends, when owners and charter guests change over, and in the last days of August, when families head home for the new school year. From November to March private traffic thins out, and the airport's winter hours end at 16:30.

Tivat Airport in detail

Tivat Airport opened on 30 May 1957 with a grass strip of 1,200 metres and received its present runway in 1971. It passed to the state company Airports of Montenegro in 2003, and its terminal was rebuilt in 2006 and extended in December 2018.

The approach explains why pilots call Tivat the Kai Tak of Europe. Arrivals on runway 32 descend into the valley between the mountains and turn by about 20 degrees just before touchdown to line up with the runway. The approach from the other direction, which ended in a still harder circling manoeuvre, was removed from the charts in 2024. Strong crosswinds are common, and in July 2026 flocks of birds over the airfield caused several diversions to Podgorica, Tirana and Bari. Our operators send crews who know the airport, and we plan every flight with an alternate.

Opening hours at Tivat through the year

Because there is no runway lighting, Tivat publishes different hours for each part of the year. All times below are local, one hour ahead of the UK, and there is no night flying in any season.

Arriving and leaving as a private passenger at Tivat

Tivat has no private terminal in the sense of Farnborough or Nice. The airport company handles business jets itself and sells VIP extras to their passengers, and the details below, including the prices from the airport's own list, make the arrival and the departure predictable.

How we plan a Tivat flight

• Landing in good daylight. We plan arrivals to be on the ground at least half an hour before the published closing time, and keep Podgorica, which has an instrument landing system and a tower open around the clock, as the alternate.
• Notice and papers early. We send the handling request and the passenger list well before the 36 hour limit, and add the VIP service to every booking.
• A plan for the aircraft. We confirm whether the jet may stay at Tivat or must reposition, because that decides whether the return is a charter, an empty leg or two flights.
• The bags that come on board. We compare the luggage list with the hold, especially for yacht weeks, when guests bring more than on a city break.
• The last mile. We book the car to Porto Montenegro, Kotor or Budva, a tender to a yacht at anchor, or a helicopter to the coast further south.
• Wind and birds. Crosswinds and birds can close the runway for a while, so we keep the evening flight early and tell you at once if a diversion is likely.

Four things to know before booking Tivat

Each of these points can move a departure time or change the price, so we settle them before the aircraft is confirmed.

Where private travellers stay around the Bay of Kotor

Most private passengers at Tivat are heading to one of a few places on the bay or the coast just beyond it. Each has its own drive, and some have their own marina.

The extra costs of a Tivat trip

The extras on a Tivat trip are modest beside the cost of the aircraft, but a few of them catch travellers by surprise.

The UK charges Air Passenger Duty on the flight out of Britain. Montenegro sits in Band A, where a passenger in a jet of 5.7 to 20 tonnes pays 32 GBP this tax year and one in a heavier jet 142 GBP; once the 2027 to 2028 year begins on 1 April, all private jets of 5.7 tonnes and over move to 146.63 GBP. Jets under 5.7 tonnes, such as the Citation M2, pay nothing, and flights from the Channel Islands are outside the duty altogether. On 1 April 2027 flights from Scotland move to the Scottish Air Departure Tax, which is due to carry a private jet supplement of its own.

The tourist tax simply appears on the hotel or villa bill. On the aircraft side, parking beyond four hours is charged by weight and costs more from June to September, which is why a stay of several days is often cheaper with the jet repositioning. Taxi fares vary from driver to driver, and on a summer weekend the queue for the Lepetane ferry can reach 30 to 45 minutes, so a transfer booked in advance saves both money and time.

Podgorica, Dubrovnik and the other airfields near Tivat

Tivat is the closest airport to the bay and the coast. When its hours, its parking or the weather do not suit, several alternatives lie within reach.

From the airport to Porto Montenegro, Kotor and the coast

Distances around the bay are short, but the coast road is narrow and slow in July and August. The times below are for a car from the airport outside the rush; summer afternoons near the gates of Kotor and weekend queues for the ferry can add a good deal.

The Lepetane ferry crosses the narrows of the bay in about five minutes and runs every 15 to 20 minutes, day and night, from early May to mid October, and every 20 minutes from 06:00 to midnight in winter. It costs 5 euros per car, paid in cash, and avoids a drive of more than an hour around the inner bay.

For Sveti Stefan or the southern coast on a busy Saturday, a helicopter from the airport can save the best part of an hour, weather permitting, and a tender can meet guests at Porto Montenegro for a yacht lying at anchor.

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

Each figure below is the cost of the entire jet on a repositioning trip that goes ahead whether or not you book, never a price per seat. Flying times are from runway to runway and leave out the drive at each end. Because the list mixes a six seat Citation M2 with a nine seat Challenger 350 and everything between, distance alone does not set the price. Travellers who cannot move their dates can compare each line with the full charter fares listed near the start.

Tivat sectors cluster on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from June to September, and on the days when yachts change guests. Outside the season they are rarer, but the jets that do fly in winter usually leave empty the same day.

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 Montenegro

Montenegro is a candidate for EU membership but sits outside both the EU and Schengen, so its border rules differ from those of Croatia next door. These are the points British travellers ask about most.

• Your passport. Montenegrin officers want a British passport that is under ten years old on the day you arrive and still has three months to run after your planned departure.
• 90 days of your own. British visitors need no visa for up to 90 days in any 180 day period, and because Montenegro is outside Schengen those days are counted separately from time spent in France, Italy or Croatia.
• Registration within 24 hours. Every visitor has to be registered with the local tourist office or the police within 24 hours of arrival. Hotels do this for you and collect the tourist tax at the same time; in a private villa, check that the owner or agent has done it.
• No EES at Tivat. The EU entry system does not apply in Montenegro, and passports are stamped. It does apply on the Croatian border, so a day trip to Dubrovnik means fingerprints and a photograph on your first crossing.
• Duty free into Montenegro. From the age of 17 each traveller arriving by air may carry 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars, a litre of spirits or two litres of drinks of up to 22 per cent, four litres of still wine, two litres of beer and other goods to a value of 430 euros. Anyone carrying more than 10,000 euros in cash has to declare it to customs.
• Medicines. Personal medicines may be carried for up to six months of use, while those containing narcotic substances are limited to 30 days and need a doctor's certificate issued within the previous 90 days.
• VAT refunds. Shops in the tax free scheme give non residents a form that customs must stamp as the goods leave the country, within three months of the purchase. The refund is then paid by the shop on a later visit, not at the airport.
• Coming home. Each adult flying privately into Britain may bring 270 GBP of goods without paying duty. Drink and tobacco limits come on top, and the wine left over from a yacht week usually fits within them: beer up to 42 litres, wine up to 18, spirits up to four and cigarettes up to 200. From 1 October 2026 Britain will count champagne and prosecco as wine and cider as beer for these limits.
• Money. Prices are in euros. Cards are taken in hotels, marinas and most restaurants, but village taverns, beach stalls and the Lepetane ferry want cash.

Empty leg calendar for Tivat, month by month

Tivat has one long season, from May to September, when the marinas, villas and beach hotels are full. The winter months are quiet, and the airport's short winter hours shape every flight.

The best value is on summer weekend sectors, when jets leave Tivat empty after dropping yacht and villa guests, and on the last days of August. For a trip that must happen on set days, a Tuesday to Thursday in May, June or September gives the widest choice of aircraft.

Three situations, three answers

Bringing a dog or cat to Montenegro

A dog or cat entering Montenegro from Britain needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before travel and a health certificate from an official vet issued no more than ten days before the flight. The rules can change, so we confirm the current Montenegrin requirements with your vet before the trip. On a private jet the animal flies in the cabin with you, and officials at Tivat look at its papers when you land.

The return needs more care. Montenegro is not on Britain's list of approved countries for pets, so the animal needs a rabies blood test taken at least 30 days after the vaccination and may land in Great Britain only three months after that sample; having the sample taken in Britain well before departure keeps that wait from delaying the flight home. A Great Britain pet health certificate is required as well, and dogs need a tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before landing in Britain, and only approved carriers may fly them in. Please say at the outset that a dog or cat is coming, since a few aircraft owners do not allow animals.

Tivat by private jet: common questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Let us know if you are heading for a villa, a hotel or a yacht, the days that work, the size of the party, the luggage and any animal travelling with you. You will receive the matching sectors beside their charter fares, together with a plan for the daylight hours, the 36 hour notice, where the jet will park and the car at the VIP entrance.