Helicopter charter 2027: the UK events season

Key points

• Cheltenham Festival: Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027, with the racecourse helipad open on race days only.
• Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree: Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027, with the race on the Saturday.
• Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom Downs: Friday 4 and Saturday 5 June 2027.
• Royal Ascot: 15 to 19 June 2027, Tuesday to Saturday.
• Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone: 2 to 4 July 2027 on the provisional calendar; the Goodwood Festival of Speed follows on 15 to 18 July.
• Helicopter landings at every venue are booked in advance and are subject to permission and site suitability. Please check dates with the organiser before you commit.

What are the main 2027 UK events for helicopter charter?

The helicopter charter 2027 season runs from March to September, and the organisers have now confirmed most dates. The table lists what we could verify on 23 October 2026. Flight times are from central London (Battersea) and come from our route data: helicopter block time is distance at 135 knots plus 8 minutes, and road time is free-flowing, so real car journeys are slower.

Three more favourites are not yet confirmed from an organiser's own site as of 23 October 2026: Glorious Goodwood (the Qatar Goodwood Festival), the Newmarket July Festival and the York Ebor Festival. Their 2027 hospitality is on sale, but we have not seen published dates, so we do not quote any. Check each venue before you plan.

When is the Cheltenham Festival in 2027, and how do helicopters arrive?

The 2027 Cheltenham Festival runs from Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March, and The Jockey Club names the days Champion Day, Ladies Day, St Patrick's Thursday and Gold Cup Day. It is the first major helicopter event of the year. Our airport library describes the Cheltenham Racecourse Helipad as the UK's biggest race-day helipad during the Festival, receiving 350 to 400 flights over the four days, with strict slot timing.

Landings are booked and briefed in advance and race-day tickets are needed on arrival. No landings are allowed within 30 minutes of the first race and no take-offs until 30 minutes after the last race, except by permission of the Clerk of the Course. Plan for the helicopter to be held on the ground around those windows. The full guide is helicopter charter to Cheltenham, and Cheltenham helicopter charter covers the town and the nearby airfield.

When is the 2027 Grand National, and what is the landing arrangement?

The Randox Grand National Festival takes place from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027 at Aintree, with the Grand National itself run at 4pm on the Saturday according to The Jockey Club. Friday is Ladies Day. The Aintree helipad works on the three festival days only, and flights are held before each race for at least 30 minutes or until the horses have cleared the track.

As with Cheltenham, landing is booked through the helipad organisers, and we arrange it with your flight. Access into the racecourse is escorted. See helicopter charter to the Grand National and Liverpool helicopter charter for the area. A flight from central London takes about 70 to 85 minutes, against about 4 hours 15 minutes by road at best.

What about the Epsom Derby and Royal Ascot in June 2027?

June 2027 has two of the biggest days in the helicopter year, and both involve very short flights from London. The Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom Downs runs on Friday 4 June (Ladies Day, with the Betfred Oaks) and Saturday 5 June (Derby Day) according to The Jockey Club. Royal Ascot runs from 15 to 19 June 2027, according to Ascot Racecourse.

Epsom is the closest race-day helipad to London, about 10 to 15 minutes from Battersea, and it is open on Ladies Day and Derby Day only. Ascot's heliport is available year-round subject to permission and handles about 400 movements in Royal Ascot week, with a courtesy car transfer. Royal Ascot slots are allocated early, so decide soon. Read helicopter charter to Epsom and helicopter charter to Ascot, and see the Royal Ascot arrival guide on Charter-A.com.

How does helicopter arrival work at the British Grand Prix and Goodwood?

The Formula 1 British Grand Prix is listed for Friday 2 to Sunday 4 July 2027 on Silverstone's published provisional 2027 calendar, and the Goodwood Festival of Speed is on 15 to 18 July 2027, according to Goodwood's announcement. Tickets for the Festival of Speed go on general sale in November.

Silverstone has an on-site heliport that operates for all Silverstone events on pre-booked slots. Grand Prix slots sell out early, and the heliport is the busiest event heliport in Europe on that weekend. The grass helipad is for daylight flights. Passengers are transferred from the terminal to their hospitality or grandstand. Goodwood is different: helicopters land at Goodwood Aerodrome, a licensed aerodrome, and are driven to the Festival of Speed, with transport included in the event landing fee. Event slots are strictly allocated.

See helicopter charter to Silverstone, race circuits by helicopter and the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Because the Grand Prix calendar is provisional, treat the date as subject to change until the organiser confirms it.

What is the position on Glastonbury and the late-summer meetings?

Glastonbury Festival took a planned fallow year in 2026 and returns in 2027, with reports giving Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 June. The festival's own website lists "Glastonbury 2027 ticket information confirmed" on 8 September 2026, but we could not read the dates there, so please check with the organisers. We cannot promise helicopter access to the site itself, and any arrival would be subject to landing permission; the usual answer is a nearby airfield and a car. Our page on Glastonbury by helicopter explains the options.

Doncaster Racecourse has published its 2027 fixtures with the St Leger Festival on 9 to 12 September. See helicopter charter to the St Leger. For Glorious Goodwood, Newmarket and York, we will add dates when the organisers publish them. The Newmarket and York pages are linked from the corporate days out hub.

How should I plan an events trip by helicopter?

Plan early, plan the ground at both ends and plan a second option. Landing slots at the biggest meetings are allocated months ahead, and our library notes that Royal Ascot and Grand Prix slots go early.

• Book the landing first. Tell us the event, the day and the party size, and we ask the venue for a slot. Every landing is subject to permission.
• Allow for holds. Race-day helipads stop movements around races. Build in slack on the return.
• Bring tickets. Cheltenham, Aintree and Epsom require race-day tickets on arrival.
• Arrive 10 minutes before departure and give us weights. Soft bags are easiest.
• Arrange the car. Executive Global Travel can meet you at the helipad or airfield.

If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing. See our corporate days out guide for every event, or ask for a quote through our form. For prices, see Helicopter Hire Prices.