I’ve been noticing that flights to classic charter destinations like Greece seem to depart insanely early in the morning lately. I’m talking 5–7 am takeoffs that basically require getting up in the middle of the night. I get that airlines want to maximize aircraft usage and avoid congestion later in the day, but it still feels extreme compared to how it used to be. For me this is a real downside, because I almost pick destinations based on flight times alone. I really hate starting a trip already exhausted from lack of sleep, especially when it’s supposed to be a relaxing holiday.
Is this something others are seeing too, or is it mainly a Sweden thing? I’d be curious to hear if travelers from other countries are also dealing with these super-early charter departures, or if you’re still getting more humane flight times elsewhere.
I really wish the Swedish charter companies would let you filter trips by departure time on their websites, because for me that alone can be the deciding factor when choosing where to go.
I'm sure there's some members who work in aviation who know the answer to this — but my guess is that those desirable airport slot times are not available for seasonal charters and constrained on both origin and destination airports. I'd also guess that most families and holiday-makers want to maximise their time abroad so prefer the earlier flight.
6 days later
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Insanely early morning flights to charter destinations?
Insanely early morning flights to charter destinations?
was posted by Anders Björk
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Discussion,Aviation.
Updated on Feb 4, 2026 (10 days ago).
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I’ve been noticing that flights to classic charter destinations like Greece seem to depart insanely early in the morning lately. I’m talking 5–7 am takeoffs that basically require getting up in the middle of the night. I get that airlines want to maximize aircraft usage and avoid congestion later in the day, but it still feels extreme compared to how it used to be. For me this is a real downside, because I almost pick destinations based on flight times alone. I really hate starting a trip already exhausted from lack of sleep, especially when it’s supposed to be a relaxing holiday.
Is this something others are seeing too, or is it mainly a Sweden thing? I’d be curious to hear if travelers from other countries are also dealing with these super-early charter departures, or if you’re still getting more humane flight times elsewhere.
I really wish the Swedish charter companies would let you filter trips by departure time on their websites, because for me that alone can be the deciding factor when choosing where to go.
I'm sure there's some members who work in aviation who know the answer to this — but my guess is that those desirable airport slot times are not available for seasonal charters and constrained on both origin and destination airports. I'd also guess that most families and holiday-makers want to maximise their time abroad so prefer the earlier flight.