Palma. A private terminal open around the clock, and your car timed to the yacht's passerelle.
Palma's general aviation terminal is its own building on the eastern side of Son Sant Joan, open around the clock with formalities on site. Most of our work here ends at a passerelle rather than a front door, and that changes how the day is planned.
The terminal
Palma business aviation, at a glance
- AirportPalma de Mallorca (PMI / LEPA)Son Sant Joan, about eight kilometres east of Palma, with the bay and the marinas a straight run along the coast. Operated by Aena.
- The terminalA separate general aviation buildingOn the eastern side of the field, away from the main terminals, with its own approach, VIP lounges and crew facilities.
- Hours and customsAround the clock, formalities on siteCustoms and immigration are handled in the building rather than in the main terminal. Two long parallel runways, and no meaningful aircraft size limit.
- Summer apron rulesReal, and worth knowingFrom 1 April to 30 September a general or corporate aviation slot request must carry both the arrival and the departure, and is not authorised until coordination confirms it.
Cars on Mallorca are arranged through operators we know and brief. Odyssey Connections owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else.
The handlers
Who you will be handled by
| Handler | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| Mallorcair | An island handler working from the general aviation terminal around the clock, and a name that appears on a large share of Balearic private movements. |
| Sky Valet | The former Gestair operation inside the terminal. The Sky Valet network in Spain moved into the Luxaviation group in 2024 alongside ExecuJet, so paperwork may carry either name. |
| Aviapartner Executive | The third of the names consistently listed inside the general aviation terminal at Palma. |
| Others in listings | Swissport Executive and General Aviation Service also appear in current Palma listings. Listings for the Balearics disagree with one another, which is why we confirm rather than assume. |
Your operator appoints the handler. All of them work from the same general aviation building, but the desks and the lounges differ, so we confirm which one and which entrance before the day. Odyssey Connections claims no relationship with any of these companies.
Planning it
Most Palma arrivals are really yacht arrivals
The majority of the transfers we arrange out of Palma's general aviation terminal end at a boat. That sounds obvious and it changes everything practical about the day. Marina gates are controlled, they are not all equally easy to drive into, and a passerelle time set by a captain is not a suggestion. Club de Mar and the Moll Vell are minutes from the airport road. Puerto Portals and Port Adriano are half an hour further west, and both get slow on a summer evening.
So we work backwards from the boat. The captain or the yacht manager gives the passerelle time and the gate, we give the handler the tail number and ask for the car to be at the terminal before the aircraft is on stand, and the luggage plan is agreed in advance because a tender is not the place to discover there are fourteen bags. Where a crew transfer is part of the same movement we say so, because crew and guests do not always want the same vehicle or the same hour.
The second thing worth knowing in summer is the apron. Between June and the end of September, longer aircraft are normally limited to about a week on the general aviation apron without specific approval, so an aircraft staying for a fortnight with the boat is usually not staying at all. It repositions and comes back. Your operator handles that. It matters to you only because it fixes the departure time more firmly than you might expect.
What we do about it
How a Palma arrival is set up
The detail that makes the difference between a smooth transfer and a long wait on a quay.
- Handler, terminal entrance and tail number confirmed in writing. The general aviation building has its own road approach, not the main terminal road
- Marina, berth and gate named, with the captain's or yacht manager's contact, so the car is expected at the gate rather than explained at it
- Passerelle time taken as the fixed point and the flight planned around it, rather than the other way round
- Ramp side collection where the terminal permits it and it is arranged ahead. Otherwise the car waits at the terminal door
- Luggage counted properly. A second vehicle arranged in advance is always cheaper in time than one called from the quay
- If the charter itself is still being arranged, one enquiry covers the boat and the cars. See yacht charter and Palma superyacht marinas
Onward
Typical drive times from the terminal
| To | Quiet roads | July and August |
|---|---|---|
| Palma old town, Moll Vell and Club de Mar | 15 to 25 minutes | 25 to 40 minutes |
| Puerto Portals and Bendinat | 20 to 30 minutes | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Port Adriano and Santa Ponsa | 30 to 40 minutes | 40 to 55 minutes |
| Camp de Mar, Andratx and Port d'Andratx | 35 to 50 minutes | 45 to 65 minutes |
| Valldemossa and Deia | 40 to 55 minutes | 50 to 75 minutes |
| Pollensa, Alcudia and Formentor | 50 to 70 minutes | 1 hour to 1 hour 40 |
Realistic ranges, not promises. The Ma-20 ring road around Palma is the pinch point and it slows on summer mornings and evenings. The north west coast road through Valldemossa and Deia is beautiful, narrow and not a road to rush.
Request a quote
Tell us the movement
Date, tail number or operator, the handler if you know it, passengers, luggage, and the marina and berth or the address. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About the Palma terminal
Which handler will I be with?
Your operator chooses. They all work from the general aviation terminal on the eastern side of the field, but the desks and entrances differ, so we confirm it in writing beforehand.
Is the general aviation terminal open at night?
It works around the clock, and so do the formalities in it. A two in the morning arrival at Palma is unremarkable.
Can the car drive into the marina?
Usually, with notice. Marina access is controlled and the rules differ between Club de Mar, the Moll Vell, Puerto Portals and Port Adriano. We arrange the gate in advance and give the marina the vehicle and driver details.
Can the aircraft stay for the whole trip?
Often not in high summer. Longer aircraft are normally limited to about a week on the general aviation apron between June and the end of September without specific approval, so many reposition and return. Your operator will tell you which applies.
Are these your own cars and chauffeurs?
Odyssey Connections owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. On Mallorca the car comes from an operator we know and brief, and we stay responsible for the arrangement.
We deal with problems before you know they exist