When is the weather good enough to fly?
It's the question we get asked most often once a flight is booked: "how do you know when the weather's good enough?" The honest answer is that we often don't know for certain ourselves until shortly beforehand. Ballooning is one of the few air sports where the weather on the day — sometimes even the morning itself — has the final say.
That's not carelessness on our part — quite the opposite. It's precisely because we keep tracking the forecast for as long as possible that we only confirm a flight once we're genuinely certain.
The three factors that matter most
Wind speed
We don't fly above 20 km/h. Taking off can still be possible, but landing becomes too unpredictable.
Wind direction
A particular direction can push the balloon too close to busy roads or built-up areas, even when the speed itself is fine.
Precipitation & visibility
Rain makes the balloon envelope heavy, and fog or low cloud limits the pilot's visibility. Either one rules out a flight.
Why decide so late?
Weather models become more accurate the closer you get to take-off time. A forecast made three days out can look very different from the situation on the morning itself. By holding off on the final call for as long as possible, we give every flight the best chance of actually going ahead — rather than cancelling prematurely based on a forecast that could still change.
If a flight can't go ahead after all, that's always the pilot's call, based on decades of experience, and we reschedule free of charge to a new date — as often as needed, with no limit.
For the full picture of how we assess the weather and what happens if a flight is rescheduled, read our page on weather and ballooning.
