Private Jet London to Dubai
Nearly three thousand nautical miles separate London from the Gulf, which changes what this route is about. The question is no longer which cabin suits the party but which aircraft crosses the distance without stopping, and the answer narrows the fleet considerably. What follows sets out exactly which types make it nonstop, which do so only in the right conditions, and what the difference costs.
2,956 nm
London to Dubai
from 6 h 13 min
Flight time
from £31,000
One way
UK +3 hours
Local time
Nonstop is the whole question on this route
A heavy or ultra-long-range cabin crosses to Dubai without touching down, with fuel in hand for the weather at the far end. A super-midsize does it too, though the margin is narrower and a full cabin against a winter headwind can turn the sector into one with a technical stop at Larnaca or Bahrain. Anything smaller than that is a two-leg trip by design rather than by accident, which is why the table below starts where it does. None of this is a problem when it is known at the enquiry, which is why we quote the aircraft against the payload and the season rather than against the map. Tell us how many are travelling and what they are bringing, and the range picture follows from that.
London to Dubai: prices, flight time and which aircraft go nonstop
The nonstop column is the one to read first. Every type below reaches Dubai; the difference is whether it does so in a single leg with a full cabin, or with a planned stop for fuel:
| Aircraft class | Seats | Flight time | Nonstop | One way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super-midsize Challenger 350, Citation Longitude |
8 - 9 | about 7 h 05 min | Usually, with conditions | from £31,000 |
| Large jet Challenger 605, Legacy 650 |
12 - 13 | about 6 h 55 min | Yes | from £37,000 |
| Large jet, long-legged Falcon 2000LXS, Gulfstream G450 |
10 - 13 | about 6 h 45 min | Yes | from £41,000 |
| Large jet, three-engine Falcon 900LX |
12 - 14 | about 6 h 41 min | Yes | from £44,000 |
| Long-range Global 5000, Falcon 8X |
13 - 14 | about 6 h 35 min | Yes | from £48,000 |
| Ultra-long-range Global 6000, Gulfstream G550 |
13 - 16 | about 6 h 32 min | Yes | from £52,000 |
| Ultra-long-range flagship Global 7500, Gulfstream G650ER |
14 - 19 | about 6 h 13 min | Yes | from £65,000 |
What "usually, with conditions" means on the super-midsize line
A Challenger 350 is published at around 3,200 nautical miles and the sector is a little under 3,000. That margin is real but it is not generous, and it is spent by three things: a full cabin of passengers and luggage, a winter jet stream running against you, and any routing that adds miles around weather or airspace. In summer with six aboard the aircraft goes straight through. In January with nine and full bags we would plan a fifteen-minute fuel stop at Larnaca and tell you so at the quote. What we will not do is promise the nonstop and discover the problem at the flight plan stage.
Two caveats on those figures
– These are one-way figures. Because the aircraft has to get home, a one-way booking on a sector this long carries the empty return inside it, which is why booking both legs together comes out well below two separate charters;
– Air Passenger Duty is charged per passenger leaving the United Kingdom and sits inside the figures. On a sector this length it falls in the higher band, and it applies to the outbound leg only.
Which London airport for a Dubai flight
Fifty-six nautical miles separate the nearest London field from the furthest, which on a sector of this length is under ten minutes and changes nothing. What matters instead is which field has the right size of aircraft on it. Each has its own page in our London section:
| Airport | To Dubai | What it offers on this route |
|---|---|---|
| London Stansted STN / EGSS |
2,956 nm | Its own business terminal and generous ramp space, which suits the large cabins this route uses. About an hour from the City and rarely short of parking for an aircraft of this size |
| Biggin Hill BQH / EGKB |
2,957 nm | Dedicated to business aviation and about 50 minutes from central London. Uncongested, with a hotel on the field for the early departures a Gulf sector often needs |
| London City LCY / EGLC |
2,958 nm | Fifteen minutes from Canary Wharf. The steep approach restricts the types that may operate there, and most of the aircraft on this route are too large, so we check the pairing before quoting |
| RAF Northolt NHT / EGWU |
2,976 nm | Closest to Mayfair at around 30 minutes. A Royal Air Force station with a fixed annual cap on civil movements, and worth asking about well ahead |
| London Luton LTN / EGGW |
2,978 nm | Around 45 minutes from the City and the busiest London field for private movements, with the deepest choice of heavy and long-range aircraft on any given day |
| Farnborough FAB / EGLF |
2,986 nm | Business aviation only, with no scheduled traffic and the smoothest ground handling of the London fields. Roughly an hour from central London and a common base for the larger cabins |
| London Oxford OXF / EGTK |
3,012 nm | The easiest field to reach from west or north of London. Its business terminal handles the class of aircraft this route needs, though the resident long-range fleet is smaller than Luton’s |
On a Gulf sector the aircraft chooses the airport
On the short European routes we start from your address and work outward. Here the order reverses. Heavy and long-range cabins are based where the ramp and the hangars suit them, which in practice means Luton, Farnborough and Stansted carry the deepest choice, and an aircraft already sitting at one of them saves a positioning leg that on this distance is worth a great deal. So we look first at what is available and where, then at your drive. The exception is London City, where the approach rules out most of the types this route needs, and we would rather say that at the enquiry than let a client plan a morning around it.
Arriving in Dubai: which airport takes private traffic
Al Maktoum handles most private traffic into Dubai, with four further options behind it that each suit a particular trip. The city in full is covered on our Dubai page.
| The alternatives | When each one earns its place |
|---|---|
| Dubai International DXB / OMDB |
Eleven kilometres from Downtown and much the shorter drive, which is the reason to ask for it. It is among the busiest airports in the world and private movements sit alongside that traffic, so slots and ground handling want arranging further ahead. Where the destination is Downtown or DIFC and the timing allows, it is worth the effort |
| Sharjah SHJ / OMSJ |
Twenty-eight kilometres from Downtown Dubai and quieter again than Al Maktoum. Handles business traffic without difficulty and comes into its own for a destination on the northern side of the conurbation or in the other emirates |
| Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi AZI / OMAD |
An executive-only airport in the centre of Abu Dhabi, about two hours from Dubai by road. The natural arrival where the trip is split between the two emirates, and covered in full on our Abu Dhabi page |
| Ras Al Khaimah RKT / OMRK |
A little over an hour north of Dubai and the quietest option of all. Occasionally the answer when the Dubai ramps are full during a major event week |
Al Maktoum first, and when to ask for one of the others
Al Maktoum is the default because it was built for exactly this traffic: a quiet ramp, a dedicated terminal and none of the queueing that comes with one of the world’s busiest airports. The half hour of extra road is the trade, and for anyone staying at the Marina, on the Palm or towards Jebel Ali it barely registers. Where the destination is Downtown or the financial district and the arrival hour is flexible, Dubai International puts you twenty minutes closer and we will pursue the slot. Tell us the hotel or the office and the airport follows from it.
Which aircraft actually fly this route
Range comes first here and cabin second, which is the reverse of every European sector. Published range figures are quoted below alongside the hourly rate, because on a sector of nearly three thousand miles that number decides whether the trip has a stop in it:
Large cabins, the volume of the route
The class most Dubai bookings settle on. Every type here crosses nonstop with a full cabin and fuel in reserve, and the flat-bed configurations turn an overnight sector into a night of actual sleep.
Ultra-long-range, where the margin is largest
Roughly double the range the sector needs, which buys routing freedom around weather and the option of continuing east afterwards. The cabins are the widest available and the noise levels the lowest.
The flagships
For a delegation, for a family travelling with staff, or where the Dubai leg is one stage of something that continues to Asia. Both types reach the Gulf with more than half their range unused.
Super-midsize, the value route with a caveat
The lowest figure on the page, and it works in the right conditions. Published range sits a little above the sector, so a light load in summer goes straight through while a full cabin in winter may take fuel on the way.
The overnight sector, and why the return takes longer
Six and a half hours is long enough that the departure hour shapes the whole trip. Five things govern how these bookings are usually built:
leave after the working day, sleep across the sector and land in Dubai for breakfast with the morning ahead of youthe most requested shape
away at nine and on the ground by half past seven local, which suits a dinner rather than a meetingfor a same-day arrival
the jet stream runs west to east, so the flight home pushes against what helped you outboundby around thirty to forty minutes
small enough that the adjustment is easy in either direction, which is part of why the route worksthree hours ahead, four in summer
thirteen hours of flying plus ground time exceeds a single crew’s day, so an overnight or a second crew is planned inthe limiting factor
The flat bed is what the money buys on this sector
On a European route the cabin is a place to work for ninety minutes. Here it is where you spend the night, and the difference between a seat that reclines and a berth that lies flat is the difference between landing ready and landing tired. Most of the large and long-range cabins on this route convert to two or three proper beds, and the crew make them up once you are level. If the point of flying private to Dubai is to arrive able to work, that configuration is worth asking about specifically, because it varies between individual aircraft of the same type.
What moves the price on this route
Positioning matters more here than anywhere, because an empty leg across this distance is expensive for the operator to absorb. After that comes the calendar. Six periods worth knowing about:
the industry fills the emirate and the ramps with it, in the years the show runsthe tightest week of the two-year cycle
pleasant weather, the racing and tennis calendars, and the heaviest demand of the yearthe season
aircraft and hotels both go months ahead, and New Year in Dubai is booked well before the autumnthe peak inside the peak
the working day shifts and hours change, which is worth planning around rather than discoveringa different rhythm
still warm, noticeably easier to place an aircraft, and the softest pricing outside summerthe shoulder
heat in the forties keeps most leisure traffic away, and availability is at its broadestthe quiet stretch
Why the round trip costs far less than two one-ways
A one-way from London to Dubai leaves the aircraft nearly three thousand miles from where it started, and someone pays for it to come back. That empty return sits inside the one-way figure, which is why booking both legs together is the single largest saving available on this route rather than a modest discount. Where the stay is a week or two, the operator will often reposition the aircraft to other work in the region and return for you, which costs less again. Give us both dates at the enquiry even if the second is provisional, and we will price it that way rather than as two separate charters.
Four levers you control
– Book both legs together. On a sector this long it changes the figure more than any other single decision;
– Say how many are travelling and what luggage comes with them. Payload decides the nonstop question, and we would rather settle it before quoting;
– Ask what is already heading that way. Aircraft repositioning towards the Gulf turn up regularly, and catching one is the deepest saving on the route;
– Consider April or October if the dates are yours. The same trip in the shoulder costs appreciably less than in February.
Empty legs between London and Dubai
An empty leg is a flight the operator is making anyway with nobody in the back, sold well below a fresh charter. On a sector this long the sums involved are large, which makes catching one worth real effort:
fewer than on the European corridors, but each one is worth several times as much when it landsweekly rather than daily
on a route priced in tens of thousands, that is the largest single saving anywhere in our networkhalf a fresh charter or better
aircraft based in the region reposition north for maintenance, for the summer and for owner tripsthe Gulf fleet moving to Europe
when the Gulf fleet follows its owners to Europe and comes back empty, and again in reverse each autumnheaviest from May to September
the operator owns all three, so this suits a window of several days rather than a fixed planthe date, the hour and sometimes the airport
A selection from our own books on this corridor, so the percentages have figures behind them. Dates left off, since a leg lasts only until somebody takes it:
| Route | Aircraft | Capacity | Whole aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Al Maktoum - London Luton | Challenger 350 | 9 seats | £16,000 |
| Farnborough - Dubai Al Maktoum | Challenger 605 | 12 seats | £19,500 |
| Dubai Al Maktoum - Farnborough | Gulfstream G450 | 13 seats | £22,000 |
| London Luton - Dubai Al Maktoum | Global 5000 | 13 seats | £25,000 |
| Dubai Al Maktoum - London Stansted | Global 6000 | 13 seats | £27,500 |
| London Stansted - Dubai Al Maktoum | Gulfstream G550 | 16 seats | £29,000 |
| Dubai Al Maktoum - Biggin Hill | Global 7500 | 19 seats | £36,000 |
How to read those figures
– Each price is for the whole aircraft rather than per seat. A Global 7500 at 36,000 pounds carrying nineteen works out under two thousand a head for a nonstop flight to the Gulf in the largest cabin flying;
– Compare each line with the same class in the price table above. A Global 6000 at 27,500 against a fresh charter at 52,000 is the discount in plain terms;
– Registering a window is worth far more here than on a short route. These legs are infrequent enough that watching a page rarely catches one.
What is available at the moment sits on the empty legs page, and we will tell you directly when something suitable appears on this corridor.
What a charter changes on a six-hour sector
The Gulf is well served from London, and over six and a half hours the differences compound rather than staying where they started:
| Flying commercially | Private charter | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you depart from | A commercial terminal, three hours before wheels up | Your nearest private field, fifteen minutes before |
| The night itself | A seat, however good, in a shared cabin | A flat bed made up by the crew once you are level |
| Arrival | Passport hall, baggage belt, transfer desk | Off the aircraft into the car on the apron |
| Door to door, London to Downtown | Around eleven hours | Around eight |
| If the schedule changes | A rebooking on whatever is left | The departure moves with you, subject to the slot |
| Luggage and equipment | A hold, a weight limit and a fee | Loaded at the steps, and golf bags travel as a matter of course |
| Privacy across the sector | A cabin shared with the flight | Yours alone, and the conversation stays aboard |
| Travelling with an animal | A hold, a crate and a separate booking | At your feet for the whole sector, with no crate and no hold |
| A family or a delegation of twelve | Twelve fares and twelve seats scattered | One cabin, and everyone lands at the same time in the same state |
What the length of the sector does to the comparison
Three hours come back to you on the ground, which on a ninety-minute European route would be the whole story. Here the hours in between matter just as much. A flat bed in a cabin you are not sharing means arriving in Dubai at seven in the morning ready to work rather than ready for a hotel room, and that is the difference clients on this corridor are actually buying. Add a party of eight or twelve travelling as one group, luggage that goes on at the steps, and an animal that stays at your feet rather than in a hold, and the arithmetic on a route priced like this looks different from the one on a short hop.
Travelling with a dog to Dubai
This is the route where the cabin matters most for an animal, because the alternative is the best part of seven hours in a hold. The paperwork is more involved than for Europe and it wants starting early.
Going out to the Emirates
The United Arab Emirates require an import permit obtained in advance by a local sponsor, an ISO microchip, a rabies vaccination with a blood titre test taken at least twenty-one days after it, and a health certificate issued close to travel. Certain breeds are restricted and the list differs from the British one, so the breed is checked against the Emirati position rather than assumed. The permit is the long pole: allow several weeks rather than several days, and start it before the aircraft is booked.
Coming home to Britain
The return is the part owners underestimate. Britain treats the Emirates as an unlisted third country, which means the rabies blood test must be taken at least thirty days after vaccination and there is then a three-month wait before the animal may enter the United Kingdom. A dog going out for a fortnight cannot simply come back with you unless that testing was done well beforehand. Add the tapeworm treatment given by a vet in Dubai between one and five days before departure, and an Animal Health Certificate. We raise all of this at the first conversation, because the timeline is measured in months rather than weeks.
The full requirements, including cats and the less common species, sit on our flying with pets guide, and we confirm the current position in writing for your dates.
What our clients say about flying to Dubai
A few notes from people who have made this trip with us. Names shortened, everything else as they told it.
FAMILY HOLIDAY
"The kids slept the whole way"
Luton to Dubai · Challenger 605 · James and family
“We flew out for half term with two children, six and nine. Left Luton in the evening, the crew made up the beds, and both of them slept right through. We landed at seven in the morning and went straight to the hotel. On our usual airline the little one would have been awake and miserable for most of it. My wife said afterwards it was the first holiday that did not start with everyone exhausted.”
TRAVELLING WITH A DOG
"Buster sat by my feet the whole flight"
Biggin Hill to Dubai · Legacy 650 · Sarah H.
“We were moving out for work and I was dreading putting the dog in a hold for seven hours. He just lay by my feet the whole way. The paperwork was the hard part, not the flight, and honestly I would not have known where to start on my own. They told me at the very first phone call that the permits take weeks, which gave us time to sort it properly.”
WEATHER DELAY
"They found us another aircraft the same morning"
Farnborough to Dubai · Global 6000 · Michael R.
“Fog at Farnborough put our departure back and the crew were going to run out of hours. I thought the day was lost. They rang me within the hour with a different aircraft out of Luton and a car to get us there. We left about three hours later than planned and still made the dinner we were flying out for.”
EMPTY LEG
"Half the price for waiting a few days"
Dubai to Luton · Challenger 350 · Alan T.
“I had no fixed date to come home, so they said to give them a week and see what turned up. An aircraft was going back to Luton empty and I got it for about half what I would have paid otherwise. The only catch was that it left at two in the afternoon rather than the morning I had in mind. For that money I was not going to argue.”
BUSINESS TRIP
"Six of us, one cabin, straight to the meeting"
London City to Dubai · Gulfstream G450 · David and colleagues
“Six of us going out for two days of meetings. We worked for the first couple of hours, ate, then slept. Landed, car was waiting on the apron, and we were at the office by nine. Doing that on a scheduled flight means arriving frayed and losing the first morning. This way nobody lost a day at either end.”
SLOT CHANGE
"The airport moved our time and nothing else changed"
Stansted to Dubai · Global 6000 · Rebecca M.
“Our arrival slot got moved an hour later two days before we flew. They called to tell me rather than letting me find out, pushed the departure back to match, and rearranged the car at the other end. It made no difference to us at all in the end, but I appreciated hearing about it from them first.”
Frequently asked questions about London to Dubai private flights
1How much does a private jet from London to Dubai cost?
From about 31,000 GBP one way on a super-midsize, 37,000 GBP on a heavy cabin and 52,000 GBP on an ultra-long-range aircraft, with the flagship types from 65,000 GBP. Booking the return alongside the outbound reduces the total substantially, because a one-way figure carries the empty repositioning leg inside it.
2How long is the flight from London to Dubai by private jet?
Between 6 hours 13 minutes and 7 hours 5 minutes depending on the aircraft, over a sector of 2,956 nautical miles. The return is typically thirty to forty minutes longer, because the jet stream that helps you eastbound works against you coming home. Dubai runs three hours ahead of the United Kingdom, four in British summer time.
3Which aircraft can fly London to Dubai nonstop?
All heavy and ultra-long-range types cross with fuel in reserve: Challenger 605, Legacy 650, Falcon 2000LXS, Gulfstream G450 and everything above them. A super-midsize such as the Challenger 350 is published a little above the sector, so it goes through with a light load in summer while a full cabin against a winter headwind may take fuel at Larnaca or Bahrain. We settle that against your actual payload before quoting.
4Which Dubai airport do private jets use?
Al Maktoum International is the usual arrival, purpose-built for business aviation with a quiet ramp and an ExecuJet terminal, about 35 km from Downtown. Dubai International is 11 km out and much the shorter drive, but it is among the busiest airports in the world, so slots want arranging further ahead. Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah serve as quieter alternatives.
5Can I take my dog to Dubai on a private jet?
In the cabin, for the whole six and a half hours, with no crate and no hold. The paperwork needs starting early: the Emirates require an import permit arranged by a local sponsor plus a rabies blood test. Coming home is the longer timeline, since Britain treats the Emirates as an unlisted country and requires a blood test thirty days after vaccination followed by a three-month wait.
6Are there empty legs between London and Dubai?
Weekly rather than daily, and they are worth catching because the saving on a sector priced in tens of thousands is the largest in our network. They cluster from May to September, when Gulf-based aircraft follow their owners to Europe and return empty, and again in reverse each autumn. Register a window with us rather than watching a page, since these appear infrequently.
Book your London to Dubai flight
Tell us the dates, the number travelling, what luggage comes with them and where in Dubai you are staying. Payload decides the nonstop question on this route, so those details shape the quote rather than following it. Give us the return date too, even provisionally, because pricing both legs together is where the saving sits.
Related pages
The two ends of this route in detail: private jet charter from London, private jet charter to Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates guide.
Elsewhere in the Gulf: Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia.
The London fields: Stansted, Biggin Hill, London City, RAF Northolt, Luton, Farnborough and Oxford.
Also here: the empty legs currently on offer and our guide to travelling with animals.