Airport Empty Leg Index: Top 10 US Departure Airports

# Airport Empty Leg Index: Top 10 US Departure Airports

Private jet empty legs are not spread evenly across the country. A handful of airports generate the vast majority of empty leg departures, and the concentration is more extreme than most travelers expect.

This is the SkyAccess Airport Empty Leg Index: a ranking of the top 10 US departure airports by empty leg flight volume, pulled from the SkyAccess marketplace database.

## Methodology

**Source:** SkyAccess marketplace database. Non-cancelled, publicly listed flights with a US departure airport (ICAO codes beginning with K), grouped by ICAO code to normalize display-string variants.

**Window:** Rolling 90 days through September 2026.

**Sample:** 90,278 non-cancelled, publicly listed flights in the window.

**Exclusions:** Internal-only (operator-private) flights; cancelled flights; non-US departures.

This methodology differs from feed-based trackers. SkyAccess data is grounded in actual operator listings on the marketplace, not aggregated from third-party schedule data. That means each row represents an operator who chose to list a specific leg for public booking.

## Top 10 US Departure Airports for Empty Legs

| Rank | ICAO | Airport | Location | 90-Day Departures | Share |
|——|——|———|———-|——————-|——-|
| 1 | KLAS | Harry Reid International Airport | Las Vegas, NV | 23,366 | 25.9% |
| 2 | KVNY | Van Nuys Airport | Van Nuys (Los Angeles), CA | 5,292 | 5.9% |
| 3 | KTEB | Teterboro Airport | Teterboro (New York Metro), NJ | 1,711 | 1.9% |
| 4 | KHPN | Westchester County Airport | White Plains (New York Metro), NY | 1,195 | 1.3% |
| 5 | KCLE | Cleveland Hopkins International Airport | Cleveland, OH | 1,195 | 1.3% |
| 6 | KAUS | Austin-Bergstrom International Airport | Austin, TX | 896 | 1.0% |
| 7 | KOPF | Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport | Miami, FL | 876 | 1.0% |
| 8 | KHOU | William P. Hobby Airport | Houston, TX | 782 | 0.9% |
| 9 | KFXE | Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 764 | 0.8% |
| 10 | KPDK | DeKalb-Peachtree Airport | Atlanta, GA | 760 | 0.8% |

*Share percentages are of 90,278 total qualifying flights in the window.*

## Why Las Vegas Dominates

Las Vegas (KLAS) generates 23,366 departures over 90 days — more than the other nine airports on this list combined. That is not a seasonal anomaly. It is a structural feature of how private aviation works in Las Vegas.

The city draws visitors from across the country on one-way trips: conventions, entertainment events, sports, and leisure weekends. Operators position aircraft in Las Vegas to serve those arrivals. After the inbound trip, the aircraft needs to return to its home base or to a new assignment. That return leg is listed as an empty leg.

The result is a persistent, high-volume supply of departing empty legs at KLAS. According to SkyAccess marketplace data, no other single US airport comes close.

## Los Angeles: Van Nuys Over LAX

Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) ranks second with 5,292 departures. KVNY is the hub of private aviation in the Los Angeles metro, preferred over LAX and Burbank for its dedicated FBOs, faster turnarounds, and direct ramp access.

The high volume reflects Southern California’s concentration of charter operators and the high demand for outbound flights from Los Angeles to destinations across the country and internationally.

## The New York Metro Splits Across Two Airports

Teterboro (KTEB, 1,711) and Westchester County Airport (KHPN, 1,195) together account for 2,906 departures in the 90-day window. The New York metro area is the second-largest empty leg origin market in the US when these two airports are treated as a combined hub.

KTEB historically served heavy jets; KHPN handles a mix of mid-size and light jets serving Westchester and Connecticut. Both feed routes south to Florida, west to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and across the Atlantic.

## Texas and Florida Each Have Two Entries

Texas places both Austin (KAUS, 896) and Houston Hobby (KHOU, 782) in the top 10. Austin’s rapid growth as a business travel destination, combined with a concentration of operators serving the Texas market, pushes KAUS into the top six.

South Florida similarly splits: Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF, 876) serves the broader Miami market, while Fort Lauderdale Executive (KFXE, 764) covers Broward County and the northern Palm Beach corridor. Together they account for 1,640 departures.

Cleveland (KCLE) at rank five may be the most surprising entry. With 1,195 departures, KCLE matches KHPN. Cleveland is a primary repositioning point for aircraft serving the Great Lakes and Midwest, with strong business aviation demand from manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services sectors.

## What This Means for Travelers Searching for Empty Legs

The concentration in this data has a direct practical implication for anyone looking for empty leg deals.

**Flying from a top-10 airport gives you more options.** Las Vegas and Los Angeles alone account for roughly 32% of all US empty leg supply on the SkyAccess marketplace. A traveler searching from KLAS or KVNY will see dramatically more available legs than a traveler starting from a smaller market.

**Destination demand creates return supply.** The reverse logic also applies. If a destination airport is a frequent target of private jet trips (Las Vegas being the clearest example), that destination generates outbound empty legs. A traveler flying commercially into Las Vegas can search SkyAccess for empty legs departing KLAS to their home airport for the return trip.

**The New York metro is two airports, not one.** Searching only Teterboro misses the Westchester supply, and vice versa. Travelers in the New York area get better results by searching both KTEB and KHPN.

## How This Compares to the Monthly Empty Leg Index

The [SkyAccess Monthly Empty Leg Index](/blog/empty-leg-index-september-2026) tracks the busiest specific routes (origin-destination pairs) each month. The airport index measures departure volume only: it counts the origin side of every route, without specifying where flights are going.

The two indexes are complementary. The route index shows which corridors are most active for a specific month; the airport index shows where supply is concentrated geographically, on a rolling basis.

## Booking an Empty Leg From a Top-10 Airport

SkyAccess is the world’s largest empty leg marketplace by listing volume, with 5,000+ live empty leg flights from 900+ FAA Part 135 (and international equivalent) certified charter operators. All listings are whole-aircraft bookings — no per-seat pricing, no broker call, direct booking with all-in pricing.

Empty legs typically cost 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter rate. The savings vary by route, aircraft type, and how close to departure you book — legs listed further out generally have more negotiating room than last-minute listings.

To search empty legs from any of the airports in this index, visit [skyaccess.com](https://skyaccess.com) and filter by departure airport code.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Which US airport has the most empty leg flights?**
Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (KLAS) generates the most empty leg departures in the SkyAccess marketplace, with 23,366 non-cancelled public listings over a 90-day window through September 2026. Las Vegas produces more empty legs than the next nine airports combined.

**Why does Las Vegas have so many empty legs?**
Las Vegas attracts one-way private jet trips at scale: conventions, events, and leisure weekends drive large numbers of inbound charters. After dropping off passengers, operators need to position aircraft elsewhere, and those return trips are listed as empty legs on marketplaces like SkyAccess.

**What is an airport empty leg index?**
An airport empty leg index ranks airports by the number of empty leg flight departures originating from each location. It is different from a route index, which ranks origin-destination pairs. The SkyAccess Airport Empty Leg Index is drawn from the SkyAccess marketplace database, not from schedule aggregators.

**Are empty legs from major airports cheaper?**
Not necessarily, but more options are available. Higher supply from airports like KLAS and KVNY means more legs to compare, more departure times, and more aircraft types. Pricing depends on the route, aircraft, and proximity to departure date.

**How often is this index updated?**
SkyAccess updates this airport index periodically as new data accumulates. The current edition covers the 90-day window through September 2026.

—

*Data: SkyAccess marketplace database, 90-day window through September 28, 2026. Grouping by ICAO code normalizes display-string variants (for example, “(KLAS) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States” and “(KLAS) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States – Harry Reid International Airport” both count under KLAS). Total qualifying flights: 90,278.*