Nowhere to park: Private jets in Europe forced to reposition at huge costs to airlines and the environment
August 27, 2025
As Europe powers through another busy summer season, the squeeze on airport capacity is being felt particularly sharply by private jet operators.
Kevin Singh, CEO of Icarus Jet and a pilot himself, told Aerospace Global News that the lack of parking is not only a financial burden for operators and passengers but also an environmental setback.
High demand for private jets and nowhere to park them
Global private jet usage has risen to 10% above pre-pandemic levels, and continues to grow at a rate of around 3% per year. In Europe, a 2022 Private Jet Card Comparisons report revealed a 15% increase in business aviation flights.
Whether flying within Europe or to Europe from elsewhere, business jet operators have a painful problem on their hands: Airports are running out of parking spaces.
According to Singh, the problem is not new but has escalated in the years since the pandemic. A surge in leisure demand from low-cost carriers, combined with the shift of wealthy travellers into private aviation, has put mixed-use airports under extreme pressure.
“Mykonos, 10 years ago, was an island known solely by people that had access to private aircraft,” he explains. “But once the low-cost carriers came in, there was no way to expand infrastructure post-COVID. Parking spaces for private jets were out the window.”
Airports such as London Luton, Zurich, and popular Mediterranean destinations have introduced new restrictions on ground times and parking slots. In Greece, for example, private jets may be forced to depart within 45 minutes of arrival.
Ops Group noted the 2025 summer rules at both Mykonos and Santorini limited aircraft to just 40 minutes of ground time. Numerous other Greek airports limited ground time to an hour or two, and others simply didn’t promise any landing space for private aircraft at all.
This summer, there were barely any bizav slots and scarce overnight parking across the Côte d’Azur and Corsica. Event weeks such as Cannes, the Monaco GP and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice added extra restrictions.
For operators like Icarus Jet, this leaves them with no choice but to drop off their passengers and fly the aircraft elsewhere.
Repositioning flights: A carbon crisis for private aviation
The solution is known as a repositioning flight. After disembarking passengers, the aircraft flies to another, less oversubscribed airport, to await the return service.
Singh said around 70% of his company’s flights into Europe this summer were forced to reposition.
“I cannot park in Naples, Salerno, Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Majorca, Nice, Toulon… You can’t park anywhere. If you are flying privately, you will have to reposition. That is a fact,” he told AGN.
This adds significant costs to operators, but these are almost always passed on to the end user. Singh noted that high-net-worth travellers are often willing to pay, since the value of time and convenience outweighs the surcharges. But it’s not just about the money.
“It’s a cost financially and environmentally,” Singh admitted. “Repositioning means more emissions. If governments were educated that better infrastructure would actually generate more revenue and lower the carbon cost, there would be more incentive to expand.”
A recent study published in Nature showed that 18.9% of private jet flights are short (<200 km / 125 miles), and many are empty delivery or pickup flights. Operating over such short distances puts the aircraft in climb and descent for a greater proportion of the journey – the least efficient phases of flight.
Lack of investment in airport infrastructure despite high taxes
The taxes charged to private jet operators can be eye-watering. France charges up to €2,100 ($2,400) per passenger, depending on where the flight is from. It’s bringing in around €160 million a year, but the funds disappear into general public finances, rather than being invested in sustainability or infrastructure projects.
There’s covert money to be made from these companies too. With no space to park, a two-movement mission becomes six movements at two airports, with all the associated fees, taxes and charges multiplied.
“Why would anybody expand the ramp when they can just have you pay more money and go someplace else and make twice as much on your movements?” Singh argued.
When it comes to who gets the parking space, the issue is one of politics and priorities. Airports are incentivised to prioritise the biggest aircraft, as they bring in the most passengers and generate the most revenue. But the EU slot regulations also favour scheduled traffic, with business aviation flights classed as ‘unscheduled’ and therefore deprioritised for space.
“Airlines will always take preference, and commercial traffic will always win,” says Singh. “But private jets also create employment and contribute to the economy.”
And it does. An Oxford Economics study found that private aviation is worth €44 billion ($51 bn) annually in direct GDP to Europe, plus generates another €56 bilion ($65 bn) in indirect income, for a total of €100 billion ($116 bn) a year.
The study warns that policies curbing business aviation could jeopardise €76–120 billion ($88 – 140 bn) in foreign direct investments and eliminate 57,000 to 104,000 jobs by 2030
The private jet parking problem is not just a European issue
The capacity challenge is most acute in Europe and island destinations such as the Maldives, but Singh noted that airports from Japan to Australia are also hiking private jet parking fees to deter demand. The one exception is the United States, where dedicated general aviation airports offer far greater flexibility.
Despite the challenges, demand remains resilient. “Traffic is not slowing down. It keeps climbing,” Singh said.
Generational attitudes may bring some change, with younger travellers more conscious of emissions and wary of social media backlash. “Gen Z owners are cancelling flights if they find out they’re the only ones onboard. They’d rather fly first class on an A380,” Singh observed.
There are a handful of projects in the pipeline that could alleviate some of the pressures on multi-use airports.
In Crete, for example, the new Heraklion International Airport at Kastelli is under construction with a dedicated General Aviation/VIP terminal and an apron sized for 16 GA aircraft. The site is due to open in 2027.
But 16 parking spots barely scratch the surface of the issue, and few other projects aim to physically increase capacity.
For now, the repositioning of private jets and the costs and carbon emissions that come with it are set to remain part of the business aviation landscape.
