Empty leg flights to and from Venice

Few cities anywhere are reached by boat from the airport, and Venice is the most famous of them. From the private jet dock at Marco Polo a water taxi crosses the lagoon in about half an hour and stops at the landing stage of your hotel on the Grand Canal, the Giudecca or the Lido. The city of the Doges, St Mark's Basilica and the Rialto draws visitors all year, and the calendar is full: the Carnival in winter, the Biennale of art or architecture from May to November, the Film Festival on the Lido at the turn of August and September and the regattas of summer. Italian clocks run an hour ahead of British ones, and a light jet covers the distance from London in about two hours.

For private flights, Venice means Marco Polo Airport, code VCE, on the mainland shore of the lagoon at Tessera, with its own general aviation terminal and boat dock. Treviso, about 30 kilometres inland and run by SAVE's subsidiary AerTre, is the second choice, and the grass airfield on the Lido takes only light propeller aircraft.

Venice sectors available today

The list below shows every sector we hold into or out of Venice. When Venice itself is quiet, it adds flights at Treviso, Trieste and Verona, the airports where aircraft most often reposition, wait or drop passengers bound for the Venetian lagoon. The price list beneath it gives the cost of the same aircraft as an ordinary charter on dates you choose yourself.

Why Venice sends so many jets home empty

Venice is a place people stay in for several days, but its airport has little room for visiting aircraft to wait. In the busy months the jet drops its passengers, turns round and leaves, and it comes back empty at the end of the stay, so almost every trip produces two sectors that an operator will sell.

Sectors are released in every month, with the most between May and October and around the Carnival. Because a visiting jet usually has to leave soon after the drop in summer, operators often release the flight home at a day's notice.

Venice Marco Polo Airport in detail

Marco Polo Airport opened on 31 July 1961 and replaced the old airfield on the Lido as the city's airport. SAVE, whose group also runs Treviso, operates it, and the present terminal opened in 2002. In 2025 the airport handled 11,850,336 passengers, 2.2 per cent more than in 2024, with 87,597 aircraft movements, and it is Italy's third airport for long haul flights. The main runway was rebuilt in 2019, a moving walkway has linked the terminal with the boat dock since 2017, and a rail link to the national network is under construction.

For crews, Venice is an easy airport to fly into: a long runway at sea level, instrument approaches from both directions and no night closure. The difficulty is on the ground. Stands for business aircraft are few, and in summer the airport accepts visiting jets only for a quick turn, so the plan for where the aircraft waits matters as much as the flight itself. Treviso is the nearest alternative, Trieste and Verona are each more than an hour away by road, and in high summer many operators simply fly home.

The general aviation terminal, the handlers and the private dock

Private passengers at Venice use the general aviation terminal, a separate building beside the main terminal with its own passport control and customs, and, a few steps away, a dock reserved for their boats. Several handling companies work there, each with its own lounge.

It is normally the aircraft operator who picks the handling company, though we can request a specific one if you prefer its lounge or services.

From the aircraft to the water taxi, step by step

Arriving in Venice by private jet is quick and unlike anywhere else: minutes on land, then half an hour on the water, and the same in reverse on the way home.

Timing is the only real constraint. In summer the aircraft must leave soon after the drop, and the flight home has to fit the terminal's hours and the boat's crossing, so we plan the water taxi together with the slot.

Five things to know before booking Venice

Every one of these points affects the cost or the timing, which is why each Venice quote deals with them from the start.

From the airport to the city, the lagoon and the mainland

Most destinations in Venice are reached by water. The times below are for a private water taxi from the airport dock, or by car for the mainland, in good weather and outside the rush hours.

The Alilaguna public boats run from the same airport dock to Murano, the Lido and the centre and take an hour or more. For a large party, two water taxis are usually quicker and more comfortable than one.

Taxes and charges on a Venice trip

Apart from the jet itself, expect Air Passenger Duty when you leave Britain, Italy's per passenger levy on both the flight in and the flight out, and the lagoon city's own charges on hotel nights and on day visits.

The Italian tax falls on private charters in aircraft of up to nineteen seats and is collected by the operator. It is measured on the great circle distance between the two airports plus 95 kilometres: up to 1,500 kilometres the rate is 100 euros a passenger, and beyond that 200 euros. Measured this way, every airport on our list in England and Wales except Newcastle, together with Jersey, stays inside the lower band, and Newcastle, the three Scottish airports, Belfast and Dublin fall into the upper one. The tax applies once passengers are on board, so a sector flown empty pays nothing, while an empty leg sold to you pays it like any charter.

Air Passenger Duty is charged only on the flight out of the UK. Italian destinations sit in Band A. Until the end of March 2027 the charge is 32 GBP for each passenger aboard a private jet weighing between 5.7 and 20 tonnes, rising to 142 GBP above 20 tonnes; from April 2027 there is a single rate of 146.63 GBP for all private jets of at least 5.7 tonnes. Jets below that weight are exempt, as are flights leaving the Channel Islands, and flights out of Scotland will be taxed by the Scottish government from April 2027. In Venice the tourist tax is 5 euros a night in a five star hotel in the historic centre in high season and 4.50 euros in a four star one, with children under ten exempt.

Treviso, the Lido and the other airports around Venice

Venice Marco Polo is the only airport in the lagoon for jets, but the region has several others that matter when the airport is full, when the aircraft has to wait or when the trip continues inland.

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

Whatever the number of passengers, each fare covers the entire jet on a leg that is flying regardless, and the time shown is spent in the air. Venice is about 1,150 kilometres from London, easily within the range of a light jet, so our routes run from a Citation M2 on the Southampton and Jersey routes to a Challenger 350, a Legacy 500 or a Praetor 600 for larger groups. The Italian passenger tax is added for each passenger. The second list near the top shows what the same jet costs as a normal charter, for travellers whose dates are fixed.

Sectors between Britain and Venice bunch on Thursdays and Fridays and on Sunday and Monday afternoons, when long weekends begin and end, and on Saturdays in summer. Because visiting jets have to leave soon after landing from May to September, flights from Venice to Britain are released most often and at the shortest notice.

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.

Entering Italy at Venice: passports and customs

Coming from Britain, a private flight lands on the outer edge of the Schengen area, so Italian border police and customs deal with every passenger inside the general aviation terminal at Tessera.

• Passport. Italian officers check that it is less than ten years old and that it remains valid three months past your planned exit from Schengen.
• The 90 day rule. British visitors need no visa for up to 90 days in any 180, but every day in Schengen counts, whether in Italy, Austria, France or elsewhere.
• Entry/Exit System. At the Italian border British travellers are now enrolled in an electronic register instead of having their passports stamped, a change completed in April 2026; the officer takes your photograph and, if you are twelve or older, your fingerprints the first time you cross.
• ETIAS. Not yet required. In July 2026 the launch of the EU travel authorisation was put back to 2027; it will cost 20 euros and be valid for three years.
• Customs. Adults coming from Britain may carry 200 cigarettes duty free, together with four litres of still wine, sixteen of beer and one litre of spirits or two of sparkling or fortified wine, and up to 430 euros of other shopping. Carrying 10,000 euros or more in notes means filling in a declaration.
• Food from home. The EU does not admit meat or dairy products from Britain, so sausages, bacon and cheese should not travel in the luggage.
• Back to Britain. Returning on a private aircraft, an adult may land 200 cigarettes, 4 litres of spirits, 18 of wine and 42 of beer, plus 270 GBP worth of other purchases, without paying duty; sparkling wine joins the wine allowance, and cider the beer allowance, from 1 October 2026.

Empty leg calendar for Venice, month by month

Venice has a long season: the Carnival in winter, the Biennale from spring to autumn, the festivals of summer and a quiet spell only in early winter.

The best empty leg value comes between May and September, when visiting jets cannot wait at the airport and fly home after each drop. Travellers with fixed dates find parking and slots most easily from November to March, outside the Carnival.

Three situations, three answers

Flying to Venice with a dog or a cat

Italy asks for three things from a pet arriving from Britain: an implanted chip, a rabies shot given three weeks or more before departure, and a health certificate signed by an official veterinarian during the ten days before the flight lands. Owners resident in Britain can no longer use an EU pet passport; since April 2026 only the certificate is accepted. Italy does not ask for tapeworm treatment on the way in; tell the handler about the animal in advance so that the check at Marco Polo is arranged, and ask the water taxi and the hotel whether pets are welcome.

The flight home needs the most care. Only an operator holding British approval may fly a pet back into Britain, and dogs need a vet to give the tapeworm tablet within the window of one to five days before landing. Vets in Venice and Mestre know the procedure; book the appointment with the flight, and tell us about the pet at the outset so that we quote only operators that carry animals.

Private flights to Venice: your questions answered

Call +44 7857 574938 , message the same number on WhatsApp , or write to flight@empty-leg.co.uk . Tell us the dates, the number of travellers, the luggage and your hotel or villa. We will reply with the sectors that fit and their charter prices, and arrange the handler, the permission, the water taxi and the Italian tax in one quote.