Airport transfers by helicopter

What is a helicopter airport transfer?

It is a charter flight that starts or ends at an airport. Examples: you leave a head office in Birmingham and land near a private jet terminal for a flight abroad; you arrive on an airliner at Manchester and fly on to a site that has no airport; or a jet lands at Farnborough and the helicopter takes you the rest of the way. The helicopter does the first or last leg; the jet or the airline does the long one.

For the jet itself, see charter-private-jet.com. For the car at the airport, see exec-chauffeur.com.

Why people use it

The main reason is time that cannot slip. A jet slot, a check-in cut-off or an international meeting does not wait for the M25. A direct helicopter flight from Birmingham to Heathrow typically takes about 40 to 45 minutes where the road takes around 2 hours. Manchester to Heathrow is about 60 to 75 minutes against around 3 hours 30; Leeds to Heathrow about 65 to 85 minutes against around 4 hours. Road times are free-flowing minimums.

Landing at the airport: what is possible

It depends on the airport, so we ask before we quote. Business-aviation airfields such as Farnborough, Biggin Hill and Luton are used to private aircraft, and where available a helicopter can land beside or close to the private terminal. Slot-controlled airports are harder. Heathrow accepts business aviation only with prior written permission and a slot, and Gatwick needs a slot for each movement. In those cases we often land at a nearby field and use a short car transfer instead: from Redhill, for example, Gatwick is about 10 minutes by helicopter and typically under half an hour by road with a car waiting. Hours differ by airport and we always check them.

Tight connections

For a tight connection we plan backwards from the aircraft you are joining: the cut-off at the airport, the time to get from the helicopter to the aircraft, the landing time, the flying time, the departure time. Then we add a cushion. Where the airport and the jet handling allow, your bags are taken straight from the helicopter. Where they do not, we say so, and we do not promise to bypass any security or border checks. Customs and immigration for international flights follow the airport's own arrangements.

Typical transfers

• Farnborough to Heathrow: about 15 minutes, around 40 minutes by road.
• Luton to London Heliport: about 15 to 20 minutes against around 1 hour 10 by road.
• Heathrow to London Heliport: about 10 to 15 minutes against around 35 minutes by road.
• Manchester airport to Leeds: about 20 to 30 minutes against around 1 hour 20.
• Newcastle airport to Edinburgh: about 40 to 50 minutes against around 2 hours 50.

For London Heliport arrivals and onward flights from Battersea, see Battersea Helicopter airport transfers; for flights into London from other UK cities, see London helicopter transfers.

What we need from you

Tell us the airport, the terminal or handler if you know it, the time you must be there, the aircraft or flight you are joining, your passengers and their weights, and your luggage. Soft bags work best. Arrive 10 minutes before the helicopter departs, with photo ID. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing. For tight connections we also keep an alternative in mind.

Airfields and airports we fly to

Our UK heliports and airfields directory lists hours, customs arrangements and notes for each site. For the airport region you need, start from helicopter charter UK, or browse helicopter charter times between UK airports.