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FAQs

Passenger Requirments

Children as young as 8 years old can fly in a hot air balloon with us. However, the basket is 1.1m, so we recommend that they be at least 1.4m so they can enjoy the view safely. Please note, children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
We believe you’re only as old as you’re feel. There is no upper age limit, but if you have any health problems that might prevent you climbing into the basket, taking off and landing safely, we recommend seeking advice from a GP.

There is a total basket weight we need to stay below to fly safely. In order to ensure all passengers get a chance to fly, we regret that we cannot fly anyone over 18 stone.

We cannot fly passengers who are pregnant.

If you are recovering from surgery, we recommend that you do not fly. If you are unsure whether you are fit to fly, please seek advice from a GP.

What To Expect On The Day Of Your Flight

You must call the weather line the night before or the morning before your flight depending on when your flight is booked for. It’s important you do this to check if the flight is going ahead or not.

When you arrive on site you’ll see the balloon team waiting by our Land Rover and trailer at the time specified on the weather line.

Once everyone has arrived we’ll move into the field and start preparing the balloon for flight, you’re very welcome to help with this under instructions from our pilot and crew. It’s a lot of fun!

Your safety is our number one priority so we’ll have a comprehensive passenger safety briefing before our pilot inflates the balloon

Once airborne we’ll float over York and it’s surrounding countryside for approximately 1 hour. This is your time to relax and take in the amazing views!

After we’ve landed gently back on the ground we’ll work as a team to get the balloon back in its bag and on the trailer, which has been following us on the ground whilst we’re in the air.

Finally, we’ll celebrate the flight with a glass of champagne and hand out flight certificates signed by our pilot before heading back to the launch site in our minibus.

About Hot Air Balloon Flights

We usually fly at altitudes of up to 1000 feet but we may climb to 5000 feet (around a mile high) to find a suitable breeze with which to travel.

Hot air balloons fly as fast as the wind around them. We can safely fly in winds up to 10mph.

We travel at the same speed as the wind and since the hot air balloon can only safely be flown in winds up to 10 mph, we usually cover 7-10 miles, although it can be more or less.

Our hot balloon flights are usually early morning and early evening when the wind is generally calmer. Our flying season is from April to October.

Flight times depend on sunrise and sunset, so vary throughout the season. Typically in May we meet you at 6am for morning flights and 6pm for evening flights.

We have balloons that take 10 or 16 passengers. The basket is divided up into compartments and each compartment takes 2-4 passengers depending on which balloon we are using when you fly. However, you can book an exclusive flight for two where it will be just two passengers and a pilot.

Booking and Vouchers

To book a flight, you first have to purchase a flight voucher that you can buy on our website. With your voucher you will get a voucher number. This can be used to redeem your flight on our book a date page.