Private helicopter hire in Germany

Sources:Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, Articles 2, 3, 4 and 6: operating licence and air operator certificateFederal service portal (FIM): licensing a German air carrier, operating licence and AOC from the Luftfahrt-BundesamtLuftfahrt-Bundesamt: list of licensed German air carriers, 15 September 2026Luftverkehrsgesetz (LuftVG) § 25: take-off and landing outside approved airfields, read 19 October 2026HeliSeven: shuttle and door-to-door charter, read 19 October 2026Berlin Helicopter: Rundflug Berlin Brandenburg, read 19 October 2026Berlin Helicopter: Deutsche Ostsee, Bäderflug to Usedom, read 19 October 2026

Usedom

Strausberg to Heringsdorf on the Baltic coast in about 60 minutes, from €5,400 for the whole helicopter.

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Sources:Berlin Helicopter: Deutsche Ostsee, Bäderflug to Usedom, read 19 October 2026

• Flying time at the hourly rate for the type: as a guide, €1,420 to €4,130 per flight hour for the whole helicopter.
• Positioning when the helicopter is based away from your pickup point, both to reach you and to fly home.
• Landing fees from each airfield's published tariff. At Strausberg near Berlin, a helicopter with an enhanced noise certificate pays €9.80 per landing at 751 to 1,200 kg, €34 at 2,001 to 3,000 kg and €49 at 3,001 to 4,000 kg, VAT included.
• Extra hours at Strausberg: from €38 for the first 30 minutes of early or late handling, and a flat €700 for night handling between 22:00 and 06:00. Commercial flights with more than four seats also pay €4.40 per passenger.
• A permit for a meadow, car park or company site. Some operators, HeliSeven among them, organise it as an add-on.
• VAT at 19%: Germany's reduced 7% rate for passenger transport does not cover air travel. On a cross-border flight only the German part is taxable, and the Finance Ministry may reduce or waive the tax on international flights.
• Aviation tax: since 1 July 2026, €13.03 per passenger departing from a German airfield or permitted landing site on a flight within Germany or to a country in the lowest band, such as Austria or Switzerland. Sightseeing flights in helicopters of up to 2,500 kg are exempt.
• Waiting time if the helicopter holds for you during the day.

Sources:Flugplatz Strausberg: fee regulations (English), valid from 1 May 2026, landing, handling and passenger fees incl. 19% VAT, checked 19 October 2026UStG § 12: standard VAT rate of 19 per cent; the reduced rate for passenger transport does not cover air travelUmsatzsteuergesetz (UStG) § 3b: place of supply of passenger transport; only the German part of a cross-border journey is taxedUStG § 26(3): VAT on cross-border passenger air transport may be reduced or waivedLuftVStG § 1: taxable event, departure of a passenger from a German airport by aeroplane or helicopter with an air carrierLuftverkehrsteuergesetz (LuftVStG) § 2: definitions, air carrier, departure site including § 25 LuftVG landing sites, checked 19 October 2026LuftVStG § 5: exemptions, including sightseeing flights in helicopters up to 2,500 kg, checked 19 October 2026LuftVStG § 11: aviation tax rates per passenger by distance band, checked 19 October 2026Federal Government of Germany, 1 July 2026: aviation tax lowered from 1 July (rates before and after)LuftVStG Annex 1 (Anlage 1 zu § 11): countries in the lowest distance bandHeliSeven: shuttle and door-to-door charter, read 19 October 2026

• Under EU law, a company may carry passengers for payment only with an operating licence, and that licence depends on a valid air operator certificate. Local flights that do not carry passengers between different airports are outside the licence rule.
• For German air carriers, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) issues both the operating licence and the AOC. A carrier from another EU country holds them from its own national authority.
• Check the operator's name on the LBA's list of licensed German air carriers; the version we checked is dated 15 September 2026. The seller and the operator can be different companies.
• HeliSeven, which flies sightseeing from Augsburg and Mainz, holds LBA AOC D-185.
• The Air Charter Association calls a flight illegal when a privately operated aircraft is hired out for payment without an AOC. Its chairman says the core issue is safety, and advises asking to see the AOC, the insurance and the pilot's qualifications.
• As a broker, Altivo Jets names the operator and its certificate before you book.

Sources:Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, Articles 2, 3, 4 and 6: operating licence and air operator certificateLuftverkehrsgesetz (LuftVG) § 20: operating licence for commercial carriage of passengersFederal service portal (FIM): licensing a German air carrier, operating licence and AOC from the Luftfahrt-BundesamtLuftfahrt-Bundesamt: list of licensed German air carriers, 15 September 2026HeliSeven: helicopter sightseeing, charter and flight school, read 19 October 2026aeroTELEGRAPH, 9 February 2025: illegal charter flights, interview with the Air Charter Association chairman