The short answer
Helicopter charter to Henley Royal Regatta lands at White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead, 10 to 15 minutes by helicopter from Heathrow, Ascot or London, with a car for the last stretch. We do not promise a landing in the town. The regatta runs for five days around the turn of June and July. Dates are announced each year: ask us for the current date.
Quote this event Tell us the date and the number of guests; we reply with options and a price for the whole aircraft.
Key facts
- Event
- Henley Royal Regatta, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
- Usual timing
- Five days around the end of June and the start of July
- Dates
- Dates are announced each year: ask us for the current date
- Where we land
- White Waltham Airfield (grass, prior permission online, opens 08:00 daily); Wycombe Air Park (Booker) as the second site
- White Waltham to London (Battersea)
- About 15 to 20 minutes by helicopter; at least 53 minutes by road
- White Waltham to Oxford
- About 20 to 25 minutes by helicopter; at least 57 minutes by road
- Last mile
- Chauffeur car from the airfield to the town
The nearest landing site
White Waltham Airfield is the site we plan around for this event. Permission and times are confirmed with your booking.
The map draws a satellite picture, so it needs JavaScript and an internet connection. White Waltham Airfield is at White Waltham Airfield, Waltham Road, White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berkshire. Open it in Google Maps.
White Waltham Airfield
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White Waltham Airfield EGLM
- Address
- White Waltham Airfield, Waltham Road, White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berkshire
- Hours as published (checked 29 Sept 2026)
- Opens 08:00 seven days a week all year. Winter: Mon–Fri close 17:30, weekends 30 minutes after sunset. Summer: 30 minutes after sunset, latest 20:00
- Permission
- Prior permission required (PPR): we arrange it with your flight
- Customs
- By arrangement / prior notice
- Runway
- 07L/25R – 1,116 m × 45 m grass; three further grass runways
Helicopter charter Berkshire and WindsorOfficial websiteOpen in Google Maps
How does a Henley day work by helicopter?
Helicopter charter to Henley Royal Regatta follows a simple pattern. Your guests meet at a departure point, fly to a Thames Valley airfield, and a car takes them the last few miles to the enclosure or a riverside hospitality marquee. Henley is a small town and the roads around it are slow on regatta days, so a landing that avoids them is the main attraction.
Charter-A Helicopter is the helicopter charter service of Charter-A Ltd, which has arranged private flights across the UK and Europe since 2011. White Waltham, near Maidenhead, is the airfield we use first: a grass field with a 1,116 metre main runway that opens at 08:00 every day, by prior permission online. It takes turbine helicopters but not jets, and a wet week can limit a grass surface. Wycombe Air Park at Booker, 6.8 nautical miles away, is the alternative. See Berkshire and Buckinghamshire for both.
Journey times to White Waltham Airfield
Typical helicopter times against the car from the nearest cities, taken from our route data.
| To | Distance | Helicopter | By road | Typical saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascot Racecourse | 6.6 nm (8 mi) | 10 to 10 min | 26 min (14 mi) | 16 min |
| London Heathrow | 12 nm (14 mi) | 10 to 15 min | 28 min (19 mi) | 15 min |
| Epsom Downs | 22 nm (26 mi) | 15 to 20 min | 54 min (40 mi) | 36 min |
| London | 22 nm (26 mi) | 15 to 20 min | 53 min (31 mi) | 35 min |
| Oxford | 29 nm (33 mi) | 20 to 25 min | 57 min (41 mi) | 34 min |
| London Gatwick | 31 nm (35 mi) | 20 to 25 min | 1 h 10 min (58 mi) | 47 min |
| Silverstone | 36 nm (41 mi) | 20 to 25 min | 1 h 15 min (59 mi) | 52 min |
| Goodwood | 39 nm (44 mi) | 25 to 30 min | 1 h 34 min (64 mi) | 1 h 06 min |
| Southampton | 40 nm (46 mi) | 25 to 30 min | 1 h 18 min (61 mi) | 50 min |
| Cheltenham Racecourse | 54 nm (62 mi) | 30 to 35 min | 1 h 41 min (75 mi) | 1 h 08 min |
| Cambridge | 55 nm (63 mi) | 30 to 35 min | 1 h 48 min (83 mi) | 1 h 15 min |
| Newmarket Racecourse | 62 nm (72 mi) | 30 to 40 min | 1 h 50 min (92 mi) | 1 h 15 min |
| Birmingham | 68 nm (78 mi) | 35 to 45 min | 1 h 52 min (94 mi) | 1 h 12 min |
| Bristol | 73 nm (84 mi) | 35 to 45 min | 2 h 10 min (104 mi) | 1 h 30 min |
| Cardiff | 96 nm (111 mi) | 45 to 55 min | 2 h 49 min (142 mi) | 1 h 59 min |
| Norwich | 104 nm (119 mi) | 50 to 60 min | 2 h 59 min (146 mi) | 2 h 04 min |
| Manchester | 124 nm (143 mi) | 55 to 70 min | 3 h 37 min (175 mi) | 2 h 34 min |
| Liverpool | 134 nm (154 mi) | 60 to 75 min | 3 h 43 min (193 mi) | 2 h 35 min |
| Aintree Racecourse | 143 nm (164 mi) | 65 to 80 min | 3 h 44 min (201 mi) | 2 h 31 min |
| Leeds | 146 nm (168 mi) | 65 to 80 min | 4 h 02 min (208 mi) | 2 h 49 min |
| York Racecourse | 147 nm (170 mi) | 65 to 80 min | 3 h 55 min (210 mi) | 2 h 42 min |
| Newcastle | 215 nm (247 mi) | 95 to 115 min | 5 h 44 min (294 mi) | 3 h 59 min |
Helicopter figures are typical block times: distance at 135 knots plus 8 minutes, shown as a range. Road figures are free-flowing road times, a floor that real journeys rarely beat. Distances are in a straight line. Figures from our UK route data, checked 29 Sep 2026.
Times from London, Oxford and the Home Counties
From White Waltham, Heathrow and Ascot are each 10 to 15 minutes by helicopter, London (Battersea) 15 to 20 minutes against at least 53 minutes by road, Epsom 15 to 20 against 54, Oxford 20 to 25 against 57 and Silverstone 20 to 25 against 1 hour 15. Those figures come from our route data; the road numbers are free-flowing floors.
Most Henley groups start in London, in Oxfordshire or on the Surrey side. Our Oxford and Surrey pages cover the other starting points, and London to Oxford covers the capital-to-Oxfordshire leg.
Hospitality and the river
Henley is a corporate hospitality event as much as a rowing one. Tickets, enclosure badges and marquee places are arranged through the regatta and its hospitality providers; we arrange the flight and the car. Tell us the party size, the weights, the time you want to be at the river and the time you want to leave. We also need to know whether guests are in formal dress, because a long walk from the car to the enclosure matters.
Landing at a private riverside house or a lawn nearby is sometimes possible with the owner's permission, subject to landing permission and site suitability. We ask first and never promise one in advance. For similar summer events, see Royal Ascot, polo and Wimbledon.
Planning notes
Arrive 10 minutes before departure and use soft bags. White Waltham closes in the evening (winter weekday 17:30, summer by sunset plus half an hour, latest 20:00), so a late return needs an extension agreed in advance. The Thames Valley is under busy airspace near Heathrow, and routes are planned for that. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.
See the London and Home Counties page for more airfields, and Executive Global Travel for the cars.
Frequently asked questions
Can a helicopter land in Henley?
Not in the town. We land at White Waltham or Booker and a car completes the journey. A private riverside lawn may be possible with permission.
When is Henley Royal Regatta?
Dates are announced each year: ask us for the current date. It normally runs for five days around the end of June and the start of July.
Can you arrange tickets?
No. Tickets and hospitality are arranged through the regatta. We arrange the flight and the car.
How long is the flight from London?
About 15 to 20 minutes to White Waltham from Battersea, then a car.
Is White Waltham affected by rain?
It is a grass airfield, so a wet week can limit it. We keep Booker as the alternative.
What if the weather stops the flight?
If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.
