More private jet trips are starting in Southern Europe than arriving

Global Charter says charter flights involving Cascais, Faro, Málaga and Palma have shifted since 2024, with more journeys now beginning at those Southern European airports than ending there. The change points to longer, more flexible stays in coastal markets that are increasingly used as second bases, not just holiday destinations.

Why it matters: - Southern Europe’s coastal airports are showing a shift in travel behavior, with more private jet journeys now starting there than arriving there. - The pattern suggests some travelers are using places such as the Algarve, the Costa del Sol, Mallorca and the Lisbon coast as part-time bases. - The change matters for private aviation, local travel demand and how affluent households are using second homes.

What happened: - Global Charter analyzed flights involving Cascais, Faro, Málaga and Palma from January 2021 through September 2026. - Across those airports, trips arranged by Global Charter more than tripled over the study period. - From 2021 to 2023, 41% of trips involving the four airports started there. - Since 2024, that share has risen to 57%. - London remains the most common destination from the four airports, but its share fell from 32% in 2021-2023 to 21% since 2024.

The details: - The analysis covers Cascais Airport, Faro Airport, Málaga Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport. - The data reflects Global Charter’s own charter activity, not total private aviation traffic at the four airports. - The full analysis is available in Second Bases in Southern Europe: What Our Flight Data Shows. - Destinations reached from the coast have doubled since the earlier period. - Journeys now include Ibiza, Madrid, Milan, Paris and the French Riviera. - Since 2024, around two thirds of trips starting from the four coastal airports also began from at least one other city. - June and July remain the busiest months. - Since 2024, more than half of flights have taken place outside June, July and August. - One quarter of flights have operated between October and April. - Faro shows a sharp seasonal change, with fewer than one in four flights outside the main summer period from 2021 to 2023 and more than half since 2024. - Cascais has also changed, with more than half of trips involving Cascais now beginning there. - Those Cascais trips include journeys where a client leaves for another European city and later returns.

Between the lines: - Harry Morgan, founder and CEO of Global Charter, said the airports are now more often used as departure points than arrival points. - Morgan said the bookings now often involve a client starting on the coast, going elsewhere in Europe and returning a few days later. - That pattern is less typical of a short holiday and more consistent with someone spending part of the year in the same place. - Flexible working has made longer stays abroad easier for some households. - International communities in parts of Portugal and Spain have grown. - Changes to the UK's non-domiciled tax regime in 2025 have also prompted wider discussion about residence among internationally mobile families. - The flight records do not show why any individual chose to spend more time in Portugal or Spain, so no direct link can be made to any single booking.

What’s next: - The travel pattern may keep shifting toward multi-base living as more households split time between Southern Europe and other cities. - Global Charter’s data suggests coastal destinations are becoming year-round starting points for private travel, not just summer arrivals.

The bottom line: - Southern Europe’s private jet traffic is looking less like a holiday market and more like a network of second homes and seasonal bases.