Empty leg flights to and from Tromsø

Tromsø is the largest city in northern Norway, about 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, and the base for northern lights trips, whale watching in the fjords and ski touring in the Lyngen Alps. Its airport, Tromsø Airport Langnes, code TOS, lies on the island of Tromsøya about 5 kilometres from the city centre, and the flight from London takes about 3h 30m.

One rule shapes every private trip here: Tromsø is a coordinated airport where a business jet may stay on the ground for only an hour unless a hangar has been confirmed. Most jets therefore drop their passengers and leave, which makes the city a steady source of empty sectors.

Tromsø sectors available today

Our first list below holds every sector into or out of Tromsø; when Tromsø is quiet, it adds flights at Bardufoss, Evenes and Alta instead. Directly after it comes a list of full charter fares for the same aircraft on dates you pick, so you can see at once how much each empty leg saves.

Why Tromsø produces so many empty legs

Tromsø lies between about 2h 45m and 4 hours from Britain by jet, far enough that no operator wants a crew waiting for days, and the airport itself will not let most aircraft stay. Five things explain why so many aircraft leave Tromsø with an empty cabin.

Supply is strongest from December to March, when the aurora, the whales and the winter festivals overlap, and again at midsummer. The thinnest weeks are in late April and May, when the snow melts, the aurora has faded and the midnight sun has barely begun.

Tromsø Airport Langnes in detail

Tromsø Airport opened at Langnes on 14 September 1964, replacing the seaplane base at Skattøra, and is today the busiest airport in northern Norway and the fifth busiest in the country. Its terminal was enlarged by 10,000 square metres in a four year project costing more than a billion kroner: the new international terminal opened on 11 January 2024 and the work was completed in September 2024, while international routes rose from 11 in 2020 to 37 in 2024. The runway was resurfaced in summer 2025, and a central de icing platform, more aircraft stands and a new fuel facility are due by 2027.

For crews Tromsø is a demanding airport in a beautiful setting. The runway lies between steep mountains and open water, wind shear is common on the approach, and snow and ice can last from October to May, so de icing is part of almost every winter departure. From 27 November to 15 January the sun does not rise, and arrivals take place in darkness or the brief blue twilight around midday. We plan every flight with a slot for the return confirmed at the same time, and keep Bardufoss, Evenes or Alta as the alternate.

Arriving at Tromsø by private jet: handlers, formalities and the one hour rule

Tromsø has no general aviation terminal. Business jets are met on the apron by one of the airport's handlers, and passengers pass through the airport's own border control in the terminal.

How we plan a Tromsø flight

• Both slots at once. The arrival and the departure are requested together, because the coordinator limits international arrivals and ground time.
• Where the jet waits. We confirm a hangar or plan a repositioning flight before the trip, since that decides whether the return is a charter or an empty leg.
• Winter margins. From October to May we allow time for de icing and keep Bardufoss, Evenes or Alta as the alternate.
• Pets via Oslo. A flight carrying a dog or cat from Britain first clears in at Oslo Airport, with the food authority told 48 hours ahead.
• The ground programme. Aurora guides, whale boats, lodge transfers and cars are reserved in the same booking as the jet.

Four things to know before booking Tromsø

Every Tromsø booking depends on the points below, and we settle each one before an aircraft is held.

From the airport to Tromsø, the fjords and the mountains

The city centre is only minutes from the runway, while the best places for the aurora, the whales and the mountains lie out along the fjords, often with a ferry on the way. The times below are for a car in normal winter conditions.

In winter the roads are kept open but can close for a few hours in storms, so we build in time on every transfer. For Lofoten and Vesterålen, Harstad/Narvik Airport at Evenes is the closer jet airport, and a trip can begin at one and end at the other.

What else you pay on a trip to Tromsø

Set against the aircraft itself, the remaining costs of a Tromsø flight are minor, and most of them already sit inside the operator's figure.

British Air Passenger Duty is charged on the flight out of the UK. Until 31 March 2027 a Band A passenger pays 32 GBP in a jet of 5.7 to 20 tonnes and 142 GBP in a heavier one, and from 1 April 2027 every private jet from 5.7 tonnes up pays 146.63 GBP a head. No duty applies to lighter jets or to departures from the Channel Islands, and flights from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow move to the Scottish Air Departure Tax in April 2027, which is expected to include a charge on private jets.

Bardufoss, Evenes, Alta and the other airports near Tromsø

Tromsø takes almost every private flight to the region. The fields below are those our crews file as alternates, use to park the jet between the drop and the collection, or choose for a trip that begins or ends elsewhere.

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

The amounts shown are for sole use of the jet on a positioning flight that will happen whether or not you book it; seats are never sold one at a time. Flight times count only the time in the air. Tromsø is too far for the smallest jets once winter fuel reserves are added, so the list starts at the Citation CJ3 and Phenom 300 and runs up to the Challenger 350 and Praetor 600. With fixed dates, compare each line with the full charter fares in the second list near the top.

Tromsø sectors are busiest from December to March, with Thursday and Friday arrivals and Sunday and Monday departures, and because of the one hour rule almost every drop creates an empty flight out of the city 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 northern Norway

Norway is part of Schengen but outside the EU customs union, so British passengers meet Schengen passport rules and Norway's own, much tighter, customs limits. These are the points to know before a Tromsø trip.

• Passport. Norwegian police accept a British passport less than ten years old whose expiry date is at least three months after your exit from Schengen.
• 90 days in 180. Nights in Norway and the rest of Schengen are added together, and the total may not exceed 90 within any span of 180 days.
• EES. The first time you arrive, the EES captures four fingerprints and a facial image, while children under 12 simply have their picture taken.
• Alcohol. The duty free quota per person is a litre of spirits, a litre and a half of wine and two litres of beer, with spirits exchangeable for more wine or beer. Wine and beer may be brought in from 18, spirits only from 20.
• Tobacco. Visitors who live outside Norway may bring one carton of 200 cigarettes or, instead, 250 grams of pipe tobacco, cigars or snus, while nicotine pouches may not be imported at all.
• Food. Sandwiches with ham or cheese from home count as British meat and dairy, which Norway turns away without an import permit.
• Money. Norway uses the krone and hardly handles cash any more; cards and phones pay for everything from taxis to aurora tours.
• Returning home. Adults flying back to Britain privately may bring in 270 GBP of gifts and purchases free of duty, plus 42 litres of beer, 18 of wine, 4 of spirits and 200 cigarettes. New UK categories from 1 October 2026 put cider in the beer allowance and prosecco or champagne in the wine allowance.

Empty leg calendar for Tromsø, month by month

Tromsø has two seasons for private flights, the dark aurora months from late August to early April and the bright weeks of the midnight sun, with a quiet spring in between.

The best value comes from December to March, when most jets leave Tromsø empty after every drop, and on summer weekends. If your dates are fixed, look at May and October, when aircraft and slots are easiest to secure.

Three situations, three answers

Bringing a dog or cat to Tromsø

A dog or cat from Britain needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days old and an animal health certificate from an official vet, and dogs must be treated against tapeworm by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before entering Norway. Pets from Britain may enter only at Oslo Airport or the Storskog border post, so a flight with an animal cannot go straight to Tromsø: the jet lands first at Gardermoen, where the Norwegian Food Safety Authority must be told at least 48 hours ahead, and then continues north. The animal travels in the cabin throughout.

Flying home is easier: dogs arriving in Britain straight from Norway are exempt from the British tapeworm rule. Let us know about a pet when you first get in touch, as not every operator accepts animals, and the stop in Oslo adds to the flying time.

Private jets to Tromsø: your questions

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Tell us whether you are coming for the northern lights, the whales, the midnight sun or business, with the dates, the number of travellers, the luggage and any pet. Our reply sets out the sectors that suit you beside their full charter fares, and explains how we will handle the slots, the one hour rule and the drive from Langnes.