Bezos – Sánchez wedding: business aviation takes Venice by storm

On the weekend of June 22, 2025, the radars ataéroport de Venise Marco Polo were unusually busy. An exceptional concentration of Gulfstream, Global, Falcon and Legacy aircraft flocked to the lagoon, transforming the VCE tarmac for a few days into a showcase for global business aviation.

The occasion was the much-publicized wedding ofAmazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez.

A large-scale operation at a tense airport

Venice’s Marco Polo Airport (VCE), usually oriented towards commercial tourist traffic, suddenly found itself transformed into a large-scale VIP platform. Normally hosting a modest flow of private flights, it was swamped by the arrival of top-of-the-range aircraft – Gulfstream, Bombardier Global, Dassault Falcon – carrying tycoon billionaires, media figures and fashion celebrities to the Venetian lagoon.

A modest infrastructure by European hub standards (one 3,300 m runway, few sites dedicated to business aviation), Marco Polo had to adapt in a hurry. Repositioning to Treviso, Verona, even Switzerland or Croatia, temporary reinforcement of VIP handling, rigorous slot management: this logistical operation demonstrates the responsiveness of an entire ecosystem to the unexpected.

Ranked among Italy’s 15 busiest airports and in Europe’s top 50 in terms of passenger traffic, Marco Polo has a single 3,300-metre runway andlimited infrastructure for general aviation. It is not one of Europe’s benchmark hubs for business aviation, like Le Bourget in Paris or Farnborough in London – but this event has temporarily redefined its use.

Well-identified passenger profiles

It wasn’t just an influx of celebrities. It was a concentration of customer typologies emblematic of business aviation:

• Owners, arriving on their own aircraft: Oprah Winfrey, Diane von Fürstenberg, Barry Diller..
• Regular users of shared-ownership or charter companies : Global 7500 g650ER or Falcon 8X.
• Guests traveling in shared fleets, coordinated by private agencies or concierge services in Los Angeles, New York, London or Dubai.

For an event such as Jeff Bezos’s wedding in Venice, Gates is likely to have used one of his G650ERs – an aircraft capable of flying directly to Venice with a single fuel stop, combining comfort, discretion and logistical efficiency.

A textbook case for operators and brokers

This type of event illustrates the extent to which large private celebrations can generate a peak in activity comparable to that of a G7 summit. To cope with this influx, the airport authorities put in place a rigorous slot management system, and a temporary reinforcement of ground services was deployed to meet the specific needs of this clientele.

In less than 72 hours:

• Strong demand for long-range aircraft available in less than 48 hours
• Close coordination with Venice FBOs and secondary airports
• Specific requests: customized catering, boat transfers, private security

For brokers like AEROAFFAIRES, the ability to react quickly, to propose credible alternatives (particularly in the event of airport saturation), and to anticipate additional needs (customs, schedule coordination, last-minute changes) is becoming key.

Real economic leverage for regions

Beyond the glamour of the event, these operations have significant economic spin-offs:

• Aviation fuel and local taxes
• Business for FBOs, caterers, security services
• Hotel bookings for crews
• Indirect revenue from high-end services

An event that reveals the dynamics of luxury aviation

Jeff Bezos’ wedding provides a rare glimpse into the logistical and financial scope of such gatherings. It also highlights the tangible economic impact of luxury aviation: airport revenues, fuel sales, high-end FBO services and the increased sollicitation tion of luxury concierge service providers.