How many empty legs leave one airport in a day? 76.8% of listings shared their airport and day with another leg
- ✓ 76.8% of distinct empty leg listings left an airport with at least one other leg the same local day.
- ✓ 14.9% left an airport with 10 or more legs that day.
- ✓ 23.2% were the only leg from their airport that day.
- ✓ No single operator supplied more than 21.8% of the legs in any band.
- ✓ Every figure is a share of distinct listings shown to customers of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, and no total is quoted.
How many empty legs leave one airport in a day? On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, 76.8% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 left an airport that had at least one other empty leg departing on the same local day. 14.9% left an airport with 10 or more legs that day and 32.8% one with 4 to 9, while 23.2% were the only leg from their airport that day. All figures are shares of distinct empty leg listings shown to customers of the marketplace, so they measure supply, the repositioning flights operators list for sale, and not passenger numbers or bookings.
This is a departure-day analysis, not a route ranking. For the busiest routes, see the Empty Leg Index for November 2026, which ranks corridors every month.
Contents
- How many empty legs leave one airport in a day?
- Why do most empty legs share their airport and day?
- What do these airport day shares measure?
- What does a busy departure day mean for a search?
- How were these figures calculated?
- What do people get wrong about empty legs from one airport?
- Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
- Frequently asked questions
How many empty legs leave one airport in a day?
Usually more than one: 76.8% of distinct empty leg listings left an airport that had at least one other empty leg departing the same local day, and 23.2% were the only leg from their airport that day. 29.1% left an airport with 2 or 3 legs that day, 32.8% one with 4 to 9 and 14.9% one with 10 or more. The shares use the distinct legs whose departure airport has a time zone, which is almost every leg.
The table gives each band as a share of all distinct empty legs with a known local departure day in the window.
| Legs from the same airport that day | Share of listings |
|---|---|
| Only leg that day | 23.2% |
| 2 or 3 legs that day | 29.1% |
| 4 to 9 legs that day | 32.8% |
| 10 or more legs that day | 14.9% |
Why do most empty legs share their airport and day?
An empty leg is a repositioning flight, so it starts where a charter trip ended or where an aircraft is kept. Busy private jet airports see many trips end each day, and many aircraft are kept at the same fields. Ranked by share, the bands ran 4 to 9 legs that day, 2 or 3 legs that day, only leg that day and 10 or more legs that day.
What do these airport day shares measure?
Each distinct empty leg is placed in a band by the number of distinct legs that left its departure airport on the same local calendar day, the leg itself included. A share is the number of distinct empty legs in that band divided by all distinct empty legs with a known local departure day in the window. The figures also do not show how many legs were booked: a listing counts whether it sold or not. Each listing is the whole aircraft, offered by the operator that flies it under an FAA Part 135 certificate or its international equivalent, and the operator confirms every booking.
What does a busy departure day mean for a search?
Look for a second leg from the same airport. 76.8% of listings shared their airport and local day with another leg, so the same airport may have a second option that day.
Widen the search from a quiet airport. 23.2% of listings were the only leg from their airport that day, so for a quiet field, nearby airports widen the search.
Check the board through the day. New legs are added to the board throughout the day and others are booked.
Price the whole aircraft. Empty legs are priced for the whole aircraft, not by the seat, and taxes and fees are shown at checkout. Prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter, a range sourced from Avinode marketplace data.
How were these figures calculated?
Source: the database of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, read-only queries run on November 6, 2026: one checking the mix of listing sources, one producing the figures, and one repeating them without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window. Window: departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, the twelve full months before this analysis. Only listings shown to SkyAccess customers on the empty leg marketplace are counted. Each empty leg is counted once: listings that share origin airport, destination airport, departure time, tail number and aircraft model are one leg, and deleted, cancelled and internal-only listings are excluded. The local day is the calendar date of the departure time in the time zone stored for the departure airport; each leg is banded by how many distinct legs left that airport on that day, itself included: the only leg, 2 or 3 legs, 4 to 9 legs, and 10 or more legs; almost every leg had a departure airport with a time zone, and the few without one are left out. Every figure is a share of distinct legs, and no total is quoted. Concentration check from the same query: in every band, no single operator supplied more than 21.8% of the legs. Recomputed without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window, no share in this post moved by more than 0.7 percentage points and no ranking changed. Counts reflect listings on the marketplace, not flights flown, bookings or passengers.
What do people get wrong about empty legs from one airport?
✗ Myth: “An empty leg is always the only flight out of its airport that day.”
✓ Reality: 76.8% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 left an airport that had at least one other empty leg the same local day, and 14.9% left one with 10 or more.
✗ Myth: “Every airport has several empty legs leaving each day.”
✓ Reality: 23.2% of distinct listings were the only leg from their airport that day in the same window.
✗ Myth: “Empty legs are sold by the seat.”
✓ Reality: Every empty leg on SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, is the whole aircraft at one listed price; taxes and fees are shown at checkout, and prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
✗ Myth: “The marketplace flies the aircraft.”
✓ Reality: No. The marketplace lists the leg; the certified charter operator that flies the aircraft offers it and confirms every booking.
Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
Each page below measures the same listing supply from another angle, with its own window and method.
- the Empty Leg Index for November 2026: ranks the busiest corridors every month, the route view this post leaves out.
- the airport Empty Leg Index: ranks departure airports by listings, the place view of the same supply.
- the private jet airport directory: lists departure airports and their empty leg pages.
- the best day of the week for empty leg flights: shows how listings spread across the week, the companion timing view.
- the live empty leg board: lists current departures, each one the whole aircraft at one listed price.
Frequently asked questions
How many empty legs leave one airport in a day on the marketplace?
Usually more than one: 76.8% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 left an airport that had at least one other empty leg departing the same local day. 14.9% left an airport with 10 or more legs that day.
What share of empty legs are the only departure from their airport that day?
23.2% of distinct empty leg listings were the only leg from their departure airport on that local day. The other 76.8% shared the airport and day with at least one more leg.
How is the departure day counted here?
The day is the calendar date of the departure in the local time of the departure airport. Every distinct leg leaving that airport on that date counts, the leg itself included.
What counts as one empty leg in these figures?
Each empty leg is counted once: listings that share origin airport, destination airport, departure time, tail number and aircraft model are one leg, and deleted, cancelled and internal-only listings are left out. Only listings shown to customers of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, are counted.
Do these figures count bookings or passengers?
These figures do not count bookings or passengers. A listing counts whether it sold or not, so the figures describe supply, the repositioning flights operators list for sale, and not passenger numbers.
Is an empty leg priced by the seat?
Empty legs are not priced by the seat. Every empty leg on SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, is priced for the whole aircraft; taxes and fees are shown at checkout, and prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
Which period do these figures cover?
The figures cover departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, the twelve full months before this analysis. The read-only queries behind them ran on November 6, 2026.
Did leaving out the listing sources that changed sharply move the figures?
The figures held when those sources were left out. Recomputed without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window, no share in this post moved by more than 0.7 percentage points and no ranking changed.
Where can I see which routes carry the most empty legs?
The Empty Leg Index for November 2026 ranks corridors every month and names the busiest routes. This post is a departure-day analysis, not a route ranking.
How many empty legs leave one airport in a day? Across distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, 76.8% left an airport with at least one other leg the same local day and 23.2% were the only leg from their airport. 14.9% left an airport with 10 or more legs that day. On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, every listing is the whole aircraft, offered by the certified charter operator that flies it, and new legs are added throughout the day.
Browse current departures on the SkyAccess empty leg flights page.
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