Private jet to Senegal

Senegal is the westernmost country of mainland Africa, and for a private jet almost every trip there ends at one airport: Blaise Diagne International (DSS / GOBD), about 43 km east of central Dakar near the town of Diass. It has a 3,500 m runway, is open around the clock with customs and Jet A-1, and takes any business jet. From Paris, Geneva, Milan or London a super midsize jet such as the Praetor 600 covers the sector without a fuel stop in under six hours.

Most clients come for business: Dakar is the capital, a large Atlantic port and a regional hub that also serves landlocked Mali, with fishing, phosphates, oil and gas behind much of the traffic. The second group flies in for the dry season between November and May, for the beaches of Saly on the Petite Côte, the Saloum Delta or Cap Skirring in the Casamance. Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor and Cap Skirring are reached from Dakar on a local flight.

Give the dates, the number of passengers and whether the trip continues beyond Dakar, and a consultant replies with the aircraft, the operator and the price.

Why charter a jet to Dakar

Flight times to Dakar

Non-stop flight times on a direct track, taken from the price tables below:

• Madrid: 4:27 h in a Praetor 600; Lisbon 4:05 h and Malaga 4:01 h in a Citation XLS+
• Nice 5:27 h, Geneva 5:39 h, Paris and Milan 5:46 h
• London 5:54 h, Zurich 5:56 h, Brussels 6:05 h
• Frankfurt 6:12 h, Munich 6:14 h, Amsterdam 6:16 h
• Vienna 6:32 h, Hamburg 6:40 h, Larnaca 7:24 h
• Gran Canaria and Tenerife: 2:24 h in a Citation XLS+

Light and midsize jets such as the Citation XLS+ need a fuel stop from Paris, London or Geneva, usually in the Canary Islands, which adds about an hour and a half with the landing and the refuelling. For two or three passengers with soft bags this can still be the cheaper quote, so we price both options. Senegal keeps GMT all year: the clock matches London in winter and is one hour behind it in summer, and it is one hour behind Paris in winter and two in summer.

Prices for a private jet to Senegal

All prices are for the whole aircraft, one way, assuming an aircraft available near the departure airport. Handling, landing and parking charges, the landing authorisation, passenger taxes and any crew nights are added in the quote. The flight time is that of the first aircraft in each row.

From the European hubs

Madrid is the closest hub at 3,156 km, so a Praetor 600 costs EUR 32,000 from there. Nice comes next at EUR 38,000, then Geneva at EUR 39,000 and Paris at EUR 40,000. London is EUR 41,000, while the long sectors from Vienna and Hamburg reach EUR 45,000 and EUR 46,000. A Challenger 650 with room for twelve costs EUR 55,000 from London, and a Falcon 7X EUR 71,000.

From Iberia, Madeira and the Canary Islands

The south-west edge of Europe is close enough for a midsize jet without a stop. Lisbon - Dakar costs EUR 25,000 in a Citation XLS+, Madeira EUR 21,000, and Gran Canaria or Tenerife EUR 17,500 for a flight of 2:24 h. Clients spending the winter on Tenerife or Madeira use these legs for a week on the Senegalese coast.

From Morocco, Cape Verde and West Africa

Regional legs are flown by operators based in Morocco, West Africa or Europe, each with its own permits. Nouakchott in Mauritania is 1:05 h away and costs EUR 9,000 in a Citation CJ3; Sal in Cape Verde costs EUR 10,000. Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire costs EUR 15,000 and Casablanca EUR 17,000 in the same jet; Lagos in Nigeria costs EUR 23,000 in a Citation XLS+.

Long-haul to Dakar

Dakar is one of the closest points of Africa to the American east coast: New York - Dakar is 6,187 km, 7:37 h in a Falcon 7X at EUR 94,000. The sector from the Gulf is longer: Dubai costs EUR 115,000 in the same aircraft and EUR 125,000 in a Global 7500. All rows in this table are flown without a stop.

Passenger taxes depend on the departure country. The French solidarity tax for business jets is set by distance band, so Paris - Dakar is charged above the rate for a flight inside Europe, and Italy charges EUR 200 per passenger on sectors beyond 1,500 km, both on departure and on arrival in Italy. Austria charges EUR 12 per passenger; Germany and the UK have their own departure taxes, and in the UK aircraft under 5.7 t pay no APD, while the higher rate applies only to aircraft of 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats. Senegalese airport and passenger charges are listed in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips with real costs

Price per passenger

The aircraft is booked as a whole, so the share per person falls with each seat taken:

Price calculator

For another departure airport or a return with nights in Dakar, the calculator gives an indicative figure in a few seconds.

Airports and handling in Senegal

There is no separate business aviation terminal at Blaise Diagne. The handler meets the aircraft, takes the passengers through immigration and customs and brings the cars to the terminal; where your party is processed is confirmed in writing before departure. The airport administration works from 08:00 to 17:00 UTC, so a change of schedule late on a Friday can wait until Monday.

Foreign aircraft need an authorisation from ANACIM, the civil aviation authority. For non-commercial flights the published rules ask for at least three days' notice by aeronautical message and ten days for a written application, and handlers treat 72 hours as the routine minimum. An authorisation is typically valid for 72 hours from the planned time; a different aircraft, date or route can mean a fresh request.

Flights between two Senegalese airports with passengers are reserved for local operators. A jet from Europe ends its trip in Dakar, and Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor or Cap Skirring are reached by a Senegalese operator's turboprop or on Air Senegal's scheduled flights; we quote that leg with the main flight.

Which aircraft for the Atlantic sector

• Two to eight passengers from the main hubs: a super midsize Praetor 600, non-stop from every city in the first table.
• Up to twelve passengers or heavy luggage: a heavy jet such as the Challenger 650 or the Legacy 650.
• More range in hand and a quieter cabin for six hours: a long-range jet such as the Falcon 7X.
• From the Canaries, Madeira or Lisbon: a midsize jet such as the Citation XLS+, or the Citation Latitude for more cabin height.
• From New York or the Gulf: the Falcon 7X, the Gulfstream G650 or the Global 7500, all non-stop.

A light jet from northern Europe needs at least one stop and seats four to six people with soft bags. Golf bags for Saly or Cap Skirring and surfboards travel better in a heavy jet.

Leave your number, and a consultant will call to go through the aircraft and the schedule.

When to fly to Senegal

The best months are November to May, when it hardly rains; December to February are the most comfortable, with highs of 25 to 28 degrees in Dakar and a dry wind from the Sahara, the harmattan, that brings haze. The rainy season runs from June to October, with most of Dakar's rain between July and October. Empty Legs appear most often from December to April, when more aircraft drop clients in Dakar and fly home empty.

The Grand Magal of Touba is held on the 18th of Safar in the Islamic calendar, so it moves about eleven days earlier each year; millions of pilgrims travel to Touba and roads around it are crowded for several days. Dak'Art, the Dakar Biennale of contemporary African art, takes place every second year and lasts about a month, which fills hotels and drivers in the capital.

From Blaise Diagne to Dakar and the coast

Demonstrations in Dakar occasionally block main roads, including the road to the airport, so we book cars through the handler or the hotel and add a margin before any meeting that depends on the drive. A helicopter for the transfer is checked case by case; we do not name an operator before it is confirmed for the date.

Empty Legs to and from Dakar

Empty Legs cost a fraction of a full charter, but the date and the aircraft are fixed by the operator. Send your direction and a window of a few days to empty-legs@jets.flights, and we write back when a suitable leg appears.

Flying to Senegal with a dog or cat

The pet travels in the cabin next to you once the operator has approved it. Senegal asks for an import permit issued before the flight by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, valid for three months from issue, an ISO microchip fitted before the rabies vaccination, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before travel and a veterinary health certificate dated within the window that the permit sets. We obtain the conditions and the entry airport in writing before the aircraft is confirmed, because incomplete papers can mean refusal on arrival.

Entry rules and documents

For a return to the UK the operator also files a General Aviation Report before departure. Demonstrations in Dakar can turn violent, and foreign nationals have been prosecuted for attending protests that were not approved, so clients keep away from gatherings.

Before departure

• Passports valid for six months after arrival, with the return or onward itinerary at hand.
• Yellow fever certificate if the routing touches a risk country; malaria advice from a travel clinic.
• Hotel booking or invitation letter, in case immigration asks.
• Cars booked through the handler, with a time margin for the road from Diass.
• Local flight to Saint-Louis or Cap Skirring reserved together with the jet.
• Pet import permit and health certificate, plus the antibody test for the way home.
• Contact numbers of the handler and the driver saved before take-off.

How booking works

1. Send the route, dates, number of passengers and any onward legs in Senegal or the region.
2. We check operators with the right aircraft available near you and ask each to confirm the sector and its insurance.
3. You receive two or three options with operator, model, year, flight time and full price.
4. You sign the charter contract with the operator and pay; the authorisation request goes to ANACIM at least 72 hours before departure.
5. Before the flight we send the handler details, the car plan from Blaise Diagne and the crew contacts.

Questions about flying privately to Senegal

• • How much does a private jet to Senegal cost?

  • From EUR 32,000 one way for the whole aircraft, Madrid - Dakar in a Praetor 600. Paris costs EUR 40,000 and London EUR 41,000, plus charges and taxes.

• • How long is the flight from Europe to Dakar?

  • About 5:46 h from Paris, 5:54 h from London and 6:12 h from Frankfurt in a Praetor 600 without a stop. From Lisbon a Citation XLS+ takes 4:05 h.

• • Which airport do private jets use?

  • Dakar Blaise Diagne (DSS / GOBD), about 43 km from the city centre. It is open 24 hours with customs, and a handler meets every private flight.

• • Is there a VIP terminal at Dakar?

  • There is no separate business aviation terminal. The handler escorts passengers through immigration and customs in the terminal building and brings the cars to the door.

• • Do EU or UK citizens need a visa?

  • No, for stays of up to 90 days. The passport must be valid for six months after arrival, and immigration can ask for a return ticket and accommodation details.

• • Can we fly straight to Cap Skirring or Saint-Louis?

  • Not with the jet from Europe as a rule: the party clears in Dakar and continues on a local operator's aircraft or a scheduled flight. We book that leg with the main flight.

• • How far ahead should we book?

  • At least three to four days for a weekday trip, because the landing authorisation needs about 72 hours. For Christmas, New Year and February, book several weeks ahead.

• • Can we return on the same day?

  • Yes, if crew duty time allows: about six hours each way from most hubs means a short programme in Dakar or a second crew. Otherwise the aircraft stays one night.

• • Can I take my dog?

  • Yes, in the cabin with the operator's approval, an import permit, a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days old and a health certificate. Plan the antibody test for the return before you leave.

• • Are there Empty Legs from Dakar?

  • Yes, mostly empty returns to Paris, Geneva or Brussels between December and April. Write to empty-legs@jets.flights with your dates.

• • How much luggage fits?

  • A Praetor 600 takes the bags of eight passengers on a long sector; golf bags and surfboards fit best in a heavy jet such as the Challenger 650.