For the New York executive who treats London as a second office, the ritual of arrival has just been redesigned. On September 10, Flexjet officially opened its first dedicated luxury terminal in Europe, at Farnborough Airport, in a ramp-side building separate from the airport’s main terminal. Elite Traveler, which toured the space, places it roughly an hour outside London and describes it as Europe’s first dedicated private terminal for a single operator.
The scale is considerable. According to the company’s announcement, the facility represents a $34 million investment and covers 2,098 square metres, and a new 3,530-square-metre maintenance, repair and overhaul hangar has opened on the same site. With Farnborough, Flexjet says it now operates ten private terminals: nine in the United States and one in Europe.
A cabin you can walk into before you board
The showpiece is a full-size recreation of a Gulfstream G700 cabin, bedroom suite included, installed in the lounge. Around it, Flexjet lists an owners’ bar and lounge with views across the airfield, private meeting spaces reserved for its owners, dedicated security screening and immigration, and a commissioned sculpture, “Aero”, by the artist David Spriggs. Interiors are by Carver Hain Art + Design. The building also houses a Tactical Control Centre and an expanded training centre for cabin crew, which Elite Traveler notes includes kitchens equivalent to those on board.
Sustainability is part of the brief: the release cites 138 solar panels, expected to generate approximately 37,848 kilowatt-hours a year, and a rainwater recycling system.
“This opening establishes one of the most significant branded luxury environments in private aviation and is a defining moment in Flexjet’s global expansion.” Kenn Ricci, chairman, Flexjet, in the company’s release
The New York connection
Flexjet explicitly frames Farnborough as the counterpart to its existing terminal at Teterboro Airport, describing the pair as exclusive gateways to London and New York. For owners who fly the transatlantic corridor regularly, the proposition is a branded, controlled environment at both ends of the journey: the logic of a private members’ club, applied to the business of getting on and off an aircraft.
Chief executive Mike Silvestro was unequivocal when speaking to Elite Traveler: “This is the blueprint of what a branded FBO can be. There’s no comparison.” That is the company’s own assessment. The more telling measure will be how owners use the space once the autumn and holiday travel seasons are under way.
The fleet behind the building
Flexjet counts more than 350 private jets and helicopters. Per the release, the roster spans the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500 and 600, the Bombardier Challenger 350 and 3500, the Gulfstream G450, G500, G650 and G700, and Sikorsky S-76 and Agusta AW139 helicopters.
At a glance
- Opened: September 10, 2026, at Farnborough Airport, about an hour from London (per Elite Traveler).
- Investment and size: $34 million; 2,098 square metres, plus a 3,530-square-metre maintenance hangar.
- Signature space: a full-size Gulfstream G700 cabin recreation in the lounge.
- Designed around owners: private meeting rooms, dedicated security and immigration.
- Transatlantic twin: Flexjet’s terminal at Teterboro, New Jersey.
See all sources
- Flexjet Unveils Its First Dedicated Luxury Terminal In Europe, At Farnborough Airport, Flexjet, 2026-09-10
- Flexjet Unveils Its First Dedicated Luxury Terminal in Europe at Farnborough Airport, GlobeNewswire (Flexjet press release), 2026-09-10
- Flexjet Opens Europe’s First Dedicated Private Terminal at Farnborough Airport, Elite Traveler, 2026-09-11
Lead image: illustrative photo by Chris Leipelt on Unsplash.
