Smart Aviation are the leaders in global sports charters and have been since the company was founded 20 years ago. Whilst we are renowned for our involvement in high profile football and rugby fixtures, we are also dominating in other sports too.
Since the start of the year, the Smart sports charter team has been extremely busy quoting and booking a large number of substantial and complex sports charter requests, both for national teams and fan supporter groups.
The team is currently handling some team charters in the CEV (European Volleyball Confederation) Championship Volley Cup tournament which is about to enter the 4th Finals round, and we’re currently sourcing charters for the FIVB Men’s National Volleyball Championships which will take place in September in the Philippines. We’re also involved in acclaimed women’s volleyball tournaments, with a number of charters already confirmed for the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Championships, which starts in August 2025 in Thailand.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup is coming to the UK in August 2025 and teams from across the world will battle it out at stadiums across the UK, from Sunderland down to Exeter. Our involvement includes flying national teams and international fan groups to the tournament, with a schedule of bookings already finalised. We are also delighted to be gearing up for the UEFA Women’s Euros 2025 and to be working with some of our valued clients and partners again… and secretly hoping England retain their title!
Earlier this month, we completed charters to the IHF Handball Champions League, which saw Denmark beat Croatia 32-26 in Oslo (Norway) in the final.
Other sporting events with bookings in the Smart calendar include charters to the IHF Handball Champions League in Croatia, the Ice Hockey World Championships which start on 9th May in Stockholm (Sweden), flying national basketball teams to the Women’s FIBA 2025 EuroBasket qualifiers which will be held in Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy from 18th – 29th June 2025, and the UEFA Nations League, with the playoffs starting in March in Murcia, Spain.
Scott Harding, Aircraft Charter Broker at Smart Aviation, said: “2025 has got off to a flying start and we’re delighted to have already secured such a large number of considerable sports charters. Sport is part of the Smart Aviation DNA and with lots of exciting sporting events happening throughout 2025, we are excited to see what other tournaments we will be involved in this year.”
James Gregory, Head of VIP Charter at Smart Aviation, added: “January and February have also been busy with private jet bookings for sporting stars. The last few weeks have been non-stop with private jet bookings coming in thick and fast ahead of the football transfer deadline day. We are always discrete with these bookings and confidentiality is of the utmost importance to these football stars and clubs they are in discussions with”.
About Smart:
Smart Aviation was founded in 2005 by Managing Director Mark Hawkins, an established sports charter specialist with over 30 years’ experience in senior operational roles within the travel and aviation industry, including managing sports charters at Excel Airways. Over the last 20 years, Mark has led Smart Aviation to become the leaders in global sports chartering. Mark is still very active in sports chartering, frequently providing air travel for global sports teams to key sporting fixtures including Champions League and Premier League football matches, as well as to ice-hockey, boxing, basketball, golf, motorsport and cricket tournaments.
