Helicopter charter in Northern Ireland

Where can you charter a helicopter in Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland has two Belfast airports with very different rules, plus Derry and two small airfields. Prior permission applies at each.

• George Best Belfast City Airport is about five minutes from downtown Belfast and has a private business jet centre. The airfield is open 06:30 to 21:30 daily and non-scheduled flights are not accepted after 21:30, so late evening private flights use Belfast International. Customs is by arrangement.
• Belfast International Airport in County Antrim is a genuine 24-hour airport with customs and immigration on site, no night curfew and no slots. Civil helicopters need prior permission via the airport duty manager because parking is limited.
• City of Derry Airport is about ten minutes by car from the city centre. It publishes split daily hours with gaps (for example 07:30 to 08:30 on Tuesday to Thursday), and aircraft must be airborne 15 minutes before closing.
• Newtownards in County Down (09:00 to 17:00) and Enniskillen in County Fermanagh (09:00 to 17:00) are small VFR airfields; both need prior permission and short-runway checks.

How long does it take to fly from Northern Ireland?

These are crossings over the Irish Sea or North Channel, so there is no road figure. The times below come from our route data, using block time at 135 knots plus eight minutes, and they are what a helicopter typically needs, not a fixed schedule.

• Belfast City to Glasgow takes about 45 to 55 minutes.
• Belfast City to Edinburgh takes about 55 to 65 minutes.
• Belfast City to Liverpool takes about 60 to 75 minutes.
• Belfast City to Manchester takes about 65 to 85 minutes.
• Belfast City to London (Battersea) takes about 120 to 150 minutes.

We have not compared ferry or scheduled air timings on this page and will not guess at them. If you want a comparison, tell us your dates and we will lay out the options. For the method behind the figures, see our journey times article.

Over-water flying: what changes?

Crossing the sea affects the choice of aircraft and the plan. Over-water legs usually lead us to look at twin-engine helicopters, longer-range types and a fuel plan that allows for an alternative. We also check the weather at both ends and en route, and we build in time for customs paperwork on any cross-border or international leg. Read our guide to choosing a helicopter for your trip for the factors involved, and the fleet guide for each type.

If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.

What do people in Northern Ireland fly for?

Belfast's business community, with its technology, financial and engineering firms, generates regular demand for trips to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester and London, often with a return the same evening, where the Belfast City curfew matters. See business helicopter charter and same-day business trips for how a day is built.

Visitors flying into Belfast for meetings often continue by road or air to other parts of the island, and the two Belfast airports let us choose by arrival time. Estate and shooting movements in Antrim, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone are possible by arrangement; read shooting by helicopter for how guns are carried, noting that the rules are specific to the jurisdiction and we confirm them before booking. For protected principals, secure helicopter transport sets out how a planned crossing reduces exposure.

Neighbouring regions and the Belfast page

The detailed city guide is helicopter charter Belfast. The nearest regions by air are Scotland across the North Channel, North West England across the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man in between. For the national picture see helicopter charter UK, and for every site see the UK heliports and airfields directory. In short, helicopter charter northern ireland means a sea crossing, so we give flight times and say plainly that no road comparison exists.

More places in Northern Ireland

Derry-Londonderry, Enniskillen and Fermanagh and County Down have city pages of their own, each with the sites that serve them and the typical flight times.