Private jet to Vanuatu
Vanuatu is a Y-shaped chain of about 80 islands between New Caledonia and Fiji, with some 300,000 people and its own currency, the vatu; Bislama, English and French are all languages of government. Until independence on 30 July it was the New Hebrides, run jointly by Britain and France. Visitors come mainly from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia; private clients fly in for the volcanoes of Tanna and Ambrym, the wreck of the SS President Coolidge off Espiritu Santo, the land divers of Pentecost, sailing and a few days in Port Vila, often as part of a wider Pacific trip.
Bauerfield International in Port Vila, on the island of Efate, is the airport for a long-range jet: 2,600 m of runway, border officers and fuel. Santo-Pekoa at Luganville is the second airport with customs and fuel; everything else is a strip for turboprops. From Europe no business jet reaches the islands without landing on the way; from Brisbane a light jet takes 3:08 h.
Send the dates, the number of passengers and the islands on your list; a consultant replies with aircraft, route and price.
Prices and flight times
Each price covers the whole aircraft one way; landing approval, handling, stopover charges, crew hotels and passenger taxes are added in the quote. Because the track from Europe bends around closed and restricted airspace, the tables add 10 % to the straight line. The Global 7500 and the Falcon 7X stop once for fuel, the Challenger 650 twice; the arrival in Port Vila is planned for the afternoon, inside the customs hours.
From Europe
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Heavy jet Challenger 650 |
Long range Falcon 7X |
Ultra long range Global 7500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Farnborough - Port Vila | 17,775 km | 24:25 h, 2 stops | EUR 220,000 | EUR 275,000 | EUR 305,000 |
| Paris Le Bourget - Port Vila | 17,945 km | 24:37 h, 2 stops | EUR 220,000 | EUR 280,000 | EUR 305,000 |
| Geneva - Port Vila | 18,089 km | 24:47 h, 2 stops | EUR 225,000 | EUR 280,000 | EUR 310,000 |
| Zurich - Port Vila | 17,850 km | 24:30 h, 2 stops | EUR 220,000 | EUR 275,000 | EUR 305,000 |
| Munich - Port Vila | 17,600 km | 24:12 h, 2 stops | EUR 220,000 | EUR 275,000 | EUR 300,000 |
| Frankfurt - Port Vila | 17,592 km | 24:12 h, 2 stops | EUR 220,000 | EUR 275,000 | EUR 300,000 |
| Vienna - Port Vila | 17,353 km | 23:55 h, 2 stops | EUR 215,000 | EUR 270,000 | EUR 300,000 |
| Amsterdam - Port Vila | 17,498 km | 24:05 h, 2 stops | EUR 215,000 | EUR 270,000 | EUR 300,000 |
| Nice - Port Vila | 18,291 km | 25:01 h, 2 stops | EUR 225,000 | EUR 285,000 | EUR 315,000 |
| Larnaca - Port Vila | 16,677 km | 23:07 h, 2 stops | EUR 210,000 | EUR 260,000 | EUR 285,000 |
From Zurich a Challenger 650 costs EUR 220,000 and a Falcon 7X EUR 275,000. The longest flight in the table, Nice - Port Vila, takes 22:19 h in a Global 7500. A crew cannot fly that long without rest, so the operator carries a second crew or changes it at the stop, and the cost appears as a separate line.
From Asia
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Super midsize Praetor 600 |
Heavy jet Challenger 650 |
Long range Falcon 7X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Changi - Port Vila | 7,348 km | 11:11 h, 1 stop | EUR 76,000 | EUR 96,000 | EUR 110,000 |
| Hong Kong - Port Vila | 7,403 km | 11:15 h, 1 stop | EUR 77,000 | EUR 96,000 | EUR 110,000 |
From Australia, New Zealand and the islands
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Light jet Citation CJ3 |
Midsize jet Praetor 500 |
Super midsize Challenger 350 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane - Port Vila | 1,894 km | 3:08 h | EUR 15,500 | EUR 21,000 | EUR 25,000 |
| Sydney - Port Vila | 2,484 km | 3:57 h | EUR 18,000 | EUR 25,000 | EUR 30,000 |
| Auckland - Port Vila | 2,239 km | 3:37 h | EUR 17,000 | EUR 23,000 | EUR 28,000 |
| Nadi - Port Vila | 966 km | 1:50 h | EUR 11,000 | EUR 15,000 | EUR 17,500 |
| Nouméa - Port Vila | 528 km | 1:14 h | EUR 9,000 | EUR 12,500 | EUR 14,000 |
| Honiara - Port Vila | 1,282 km | 2:17 h | EUR 12,500 | EUR 17,000 | EUR 20,000 |
| Brisbane - Luganville | 1,965 km | 3:14 h | EUR 15,500 | EUR 21,000 | EUR 26,000 |
Port Vila is close to its neighbours: Nouméa in New Caledonia is 1:14 h away and costs EUR 9,000 in a Citation CJ3, Nadi in Fiji EUR 11,000, and a light jet from Brisbane can clear customs straight at Luganville for EUR 15,500. From Singapore or Hong Kong the Falcon 7X flies without a stop for EUR 110,000. On the European side, a jet leaving France pays a solidarity tax per passenger that grows with the length of the flight, Austria adds EUR 12 a head, and Germany and the Netherlands (from 5.7 t) have departure taxes of their own. From the UK, Air Passenger Duty depends on the distance band and the aircraft: none under 5.7 t, the higher private-jet rate from 20 t with fewer than 19 seats. Charges in Vanuatu, including the landing approval fee, are listed in the quote.
Business jet price per flight hour
Price per person
| Route | Aircraft | Whole aircraft | 4 passengers | 8 passengers | 12 passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Farnborough - Port Vila | Global 7500 | EUR 305,000 | EUR 76,300 | EUR 38,100 | EUR 25,400 |
| Vienna - Port Vila | Falcon 7X | EUR 270,000 | EUR 67,500 | EUR 33,800 | EUR 22,500 |
The calculator gives a first figure for any other pairing.
Airports
- A non-scheduled flight needs landing approval from the flight approval office of Airports Vanuatu, requested by the handler with type, registration, operator, times and purpose.
- Jet A-1 is sold only at Port Vila and Luganville and is not kept for unscheduled visitors, so the uplift for the next sector is ordered with the approval, several days ahead.
- For a heavy jet the crew carries fuel to divert to a larger airport such as Nouméa or Nadi.
- Port Vila - Luganville is a domestic sector; whether the jet from Europe may fly it or a local operator takes over is settled when we quote.
Not sure which island to land on first? Leave your number and a consultant will call.
Month by month
Vanuatu has a warm, humid climate with two seasons. May to October is drier and cooler, with steady south-east trade winds: the main season for Tanna, Santo diving and island hopping. November to April is hot and wet, and the cyclone risk peaks from January to March, when an airport can close for a day or more and the return date should stay flexible. Hotels fill at Christmas with visitors from Australia and New Zealand. Empty Legs are rare all year, slightly more frequent around the Christmas holidays when jets reposition in the region.
Empty Legs
Empty Legs to Vanuatu are rare, and we will not promise one. Most come from a jet that has dropped a party in Port Vila and flies back empty, or from an aircraft sent out to collect guests. A regional light jet repositioning between Australia, New Caledonia and Fiji is a more realistic match than a long-range jet from Europe. With open dates, write to empty-legs@jets.flights.
Pets
Vanuatu is free of rabies, and the conditions for dogs and cats are written so that animals reach the islands only from Australia, New Zealand or New Caledonia. Flying a pet straight from Europe is not possible.
- On the EU side the usual papers apply: microchip, EU pet passport, rabies vaccination at least 21 days old, no more than five animals per owner.
- Every dog and cat needs an import permit from Biosecurity Vanuatu. A dog must first be imported into Australia or New Zealand and have lived there or completed quarantine; a cat may come from Australia, New Zealand or New Caledonia.
- The animal travels directly to Vanuatu, enters at Bauerfield and is inspected before release; the permit sets the certificates, vaccinations and parasite treatments.
- Pit bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, fila brasileiro, dogo argentino, presa canario and tosa are banned.
- Vanuatu is one of the countries on the EU list with simpler rules, so an animal with microchip, passport and a valid rabies vaccination comes back into the EU without an antibody test. A dog heading for Great Britain, Ireland, Malta, Finland or Norway is treated against tapeworm 1-5 days before it lands.
Entry rules
The commander gives immigration a list of everyone on board, crew included, and the aircraft needs a clearance certificate before it leaves. Anyone with an EU passport continuing to the UK afterwards needs an electronic travel authorisation.
How to book
- Tell us which islands are on the list, the dates and how many people travel.
- We choose the aircraft and the stop so that the jet lands in Port Vila in daylight and inside customs hours.
- Each offer names the operator, the aircraft, the stop and the flight time; island hops and regional sectors are priced on separate lines.
- The contract is with the operator. You pay by bank transfer or card, and the cancellation charges in it depend on how close to departure the trip is called off.
- The handler obtains the landing approval, orders the fuel and books the car; the island hops are confirmed with the local operator.
Questions about private flights to Vanuatu
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- How much is a private jet to Vanuatu?
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Larnaca - Port Vila in a Challenger 650 with two stops is the lowest European price: EUR 210,000 for the aircraft one way. From London a Global 7500 costs EUR 305,000 with one stop.
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- How long is the flight from Europe?
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A Global 7500 needs 21:45 h from London including one fuel stop; a Challenger 650 stops twice and takes 24:25 h.
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- Which airport do private jets use?
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Bauerfield in Port Vila. Santo-Pekoa at Luganville also has customs and fuel but a very small apron; Tanna is for turboprops.
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- Can we arrive at night?
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The tower does not work around the clock, customs closes at 17:00 and night movements cost extra, so a night arrival must be arranged ahead.
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- How do we get to the volcano on Tanna?
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By turboprop from Port Vila to Whitegrass airport; the runway and fuel supply there do not suit a business jet.
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- Do EU and UK citizens need a visa?
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Not for a holiday. The length of stay is stamped on arrival, and the passport needs more than six months of validity.
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- What is the cheapest way to fly privately?
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Fly to Australia, New Zealand or Fiji by scheduled flight and charter the last sector: Nadi - Port Vila costs EUR 11,000 in a Citation CJ3.
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- Can we bring our dog from Europe?
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No. Dogs are accepted only after import into Australia or New Zealand, and several breeds are banned.
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- When is the best season?
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May to October, the drier months; cyclones are most likely from January to March.
The aviation expert will answer all your questions about business aviation and private flights. We will help you to compare and choose the best business jet for your flight.