The short answer
Helicopter charter Berkshire uses White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead and Ascot Racecourse Heliport. From White Waltham, Ascot is about 10 minutes by helicopter, Heathrow 10 to 15 and Oxford 20 to 25, against 26, 28 and 57 minutes by road. Send your date and weights for a quote.
Flying from Berkshire and Windsor? Tell us where and when; we reply with options and a price for the whole aircraft.
Key facts
- Main site
- White Waltham Airfield (EGLM), near Maidenhead, 1,116 m grass runway, opens 08:00 daily, prior permission online
- Racing and events
- Ascot Racecourse Heliport, helicopters only, available year-round by permission, slots booked with your flight
- White Waltham to Ascot
- Helicopter about 10 minutes; car at least 26 minutes (14 miles)
- White Waltham to Heathrow
- Helicopter about 10 to 15 minutes; car at least 28 minutes
- White Waltham to Oxford
- Helicopter about 20 to 25 minutes; car at least 57 minutes (41 miles)
- White Waltham to London (Battersea)
- Helicopter about 15 to 20 minutes; car at least 53 minutes (31 miles)
- White Waltham to Silverstone
- Helicopter about 20 to 25 minutes; car at least 1h15 (59 miles)
Where Berkshire and Windsor flights start and end
The map shows White Waltham Airfield and the other sites that serve Berkshire and Windsor, with range rings and the nearest cities. Pins with a page of their own are links.
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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Hover, or tap, a pin for the details
Sites that serve Berkshire and Windsor
Hours, permission and customs are the airport's or site's published information, checked 29 Sept 2026. We arrange permission and confirm times with your booking.
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
Official websiteOpen in Google Maps
Ascot Racecourse Heliport
- Address
- Ascot Racecourse, High Street, Ascot, Berkshire
- Hours as published (checked 29 Sept 2026)
Available on event and non-event days throughout the year, subject to permission; the Royal Ascot Heliport operates on…
Available on event and non-event days throughout the year, subject to permission; the Royal Ascot Heliport operates on all five days of Royal Ascot. No fixed daily hours published- Permission
- Prior permission required (PPR): we arrange it with your flight
Landing slots are booked through the heliport company's slot portal – Charter-A arranges the slot with your booking; Royal Ascot slots are allocated early. Helicopters only (not suitable for fixed-wing).
Map position is approximate.
Where in Berkshire do you land?
Helicopter charter Berkshire has two main sites. White Waltham Airfield is a grass airfield near Maidenhead with a 1,116 metre main runway and three more, open from 08:00 every day, prior permission by online request, and a grass surface that depends on the weather. It takes turbine helicopters and large single-engine turboprops, but not jets. Ascot Racecourse Heliport is helicopters only, operates all year by permission and handles around 400 movements in Royal Ascot week, with a terminal and a courtesy car.
Charter-A Helicopter is the helicopter charter service of Charter-A Ltd, which has arranged private flights across the UK and Europe since 2011. We choose between them by destination: Ascot for the racecourse, White Waltham for the Thames Valley business parks, Windsor and the Chilterns.
Journey times from White Waltham Airfield
The nearest places first, with the helicopter time against the car, 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 |
Times from Ascot Racecourse Heliport
| To | Distance | Helicopter | By road | Typical saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow | 8.8 nm (10 mi) | 10 to 15 min | 27 min (16 mi) | 14 min |
| Epsom Downs | 17 nm (19 mi) | 15 to 15 min | 41 min (30 mi) | 26 min |
| London | 19 nm (22 mi) | 15 to 20 min | 52 min (28 mi) | 34 min |
| London Gatwick | 24 nm (28 mi) | 15 to 20 min | 57 min (48 mi) | 39 min |
| Goodwood | 33 nm (38 mi) | 20 to 25 min | 1 h 12 min (52 mi) | 49 min |
| Oxford | 35 nm (40 mi) | 20 to 25 min | 1 h 08 min (51 mi) | 45 min |
| Southampton | 38 nm (43 mi) | 20 to 30 min | 1 h 01 min (53 mi) | 36 min |
| Silverstone | 42 nm (48 mi) | 25 to 30 min | 1 h 26 min (69 mi) | 58 min |
| Cambridge | 57 nm (66 mi) | 30 to 35 min | 1 h 46 min (80 mi) | 1 h 13 min |
| Cheltenham Racecourse | 60 nm (69 mi) | 30 to 40 min | 1 h 46 min (85 mi) | 1 h 11 min |
| Newmarket Racecourse | 64 nm (74 mi) | 35 to 40 min | 1 h 49 min (89 mi) | 1 h 11 min |
| Birmingham | 74 nm (85 mi) | 35 to 45 min | 2 h 04 min (104 mi) | 1 h 24 min |
| Bristol | 77 nm (88 mi) | 40 to 45 min | 2 h 07 min (101 mi) | 1 h 24 min |
| Cardiff | 100 nm (115 mi) | 45 to 60 min | 2 h 46 min (139 mi) | 1 h 53 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 White Waltham
The Thames Valley is a place where short trips are slow by road. White Waltham to Ascot is about 10 minutes by helicopter against 26 by car, Heathrow 10 to 15 against 28, Epsom 15 to 20 against 54, London 15 to 20 against 53, Oxford 20 to 25 against 57, Gatwick 20 to 25 against 1 hour 10 and Silverstone 20 to 25 against 1 hour 15. Those road times are free-flowing floors.
The Ascot heliport is 8.8 nautical miles from Heathrow, which makes a jet-to-helicopter connection fast; see airport transfers by helicopter and Heathrow. For Oxford, see helicopter charter Oxford.
Racing, polo, horse shows and business
Berkshire is Royal Ascot, and the Ascot page explains the heliport, the slots and the five days in June. The Royal Windsor Horse Show and polo at Windsor Great Park bring their own corporate crowds, and the Thames at Henley is just over the county line; see Henley Royal Regatta. Polo by helicopter covers the polo side.
Reading, Bracknell, Slough and Maidenhead hold some of the largest technology and pharmaceutical offices in the Thames Valley, and a director's day often needs two sites in a morning. Landing at an estate, hotel or business park is subject to landing permission and site suitability, and we ask first. Executive Global Travel arranges the car.
Planning notes
Give us the date, the destination and each passenger's weight, and arrive 10 minutes before departure. Heathrow's controlled airspace is close, so routes are planned in advance. White Waltham is grass, so a wet week can limit it, and we keep Ascot or Wycombe as an alternative. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.
See also Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Blackbushe, and the London and Home Counties page.
One practical point for Thames Valley groups: guests who come in by road to White Waltham or Ascot often travel in two or three cars, so we ask for a single meeting point and a head count, and we keep the passenger list and weights in one place. That saves minutes on the day and avoids a late change of aircraft.
Nearby airfields and heliports
Other sites close to White Waltham Airfield, with the distance in nautical miles. Chips with a link open that site's own page.
Frequently asked questions
Where do helicopters land near Windsor and Maidenhead?
White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead is the main site, and the Ascot heliport serves racing and events.
How long is a helicopter from White Waltham to Oxford?
About 20 to 25 minutes, against at least 57 minutes by road.
Can a jet land at White Waltham?
No. It has grass runways and suits helicopters and large single-engine turboprops.
How do I land at Ascot?
Slots are booked through the heliport with your flight. Royal Ascot slots are allocated early, so ask as soon as you have a date.
Can you land at an estate near Windsor?
Often, subject to landing permission and site suitability. We ask first.
What if the weather stops the flight?
If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.
