Courchevel Altiport Altiport de Courchevel | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Serves | Courchevel | ||||||||||
| Location | Courchevel | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1962 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,008 m / 6,588 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 45°23′51″N 06°38′04″E / 45.39750°N 6.63444°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  CVF/LFLJ Location in Savoie  CVF/LFLJ CVF/LFLJ (France) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Courchevel Altiport (French: Altiport de Courchevel) (IATA: CVF, ICAO: LFLJ) is an altiport serving Courchevel, a ski resort in the French Alps. The airfield has a very short runway of only 537 metres (1,762 ft) with a gradient of 18.6%.[1] There is no go-around procedure for landings at Courchevel due to the surrounding mountainous terrain. The airfield primarily sees use by smaller fixed-wing aircraft such as the Cessna 208 Caravan, as well as helicopters. The runway has no instrument approach procedure or lighting aids, making landing in fog or low clouds unsafe and almost impossible.[1]
The airport is considered dangerous, as it features a difficult approach, an upward-sloping runway and ski runs in the adjacent area. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranks it as the seventh most extreme airport in the world.[3]
Commercial service
In the early 1970s, Air Alpes had regular flights between Paris Orly and Courchevel using a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 (Twin Otter) during the ski season. In case of bad weather, the aircraft landed in Chambery and the passengers were bused to Courchevel. In the 1980s, Tyrolean Airways served Courchevel using Dash-7 STOL aircraft capable of carrying 54 passengers.[4] More recently, De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops have served the airport.
According to their website, Alpine Airlines is currently the only company worldwide to offer commercial flights to Courchevel Altiport.[5]
Tour de France
The Altiport has been used as the finish line of Tour de France stages on numerous occasions, given its steep gradient and location close to the ski resort of Courchevel.[6]
| Year | Stage | Start | Finish | Stage length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 14 | Le Bourg-d'Oisans | Courchevel | 148.0 km (92.0 mi) |
| 2000 | 15 | Briançon | Courchevel | 173.5 km (107.8 mi) |
| 2005 | 10 | Grenoble | Courchevel | 177.0 km (110.0 mi) |
| 2023 | 17 | Saint-Gervais-les-Bains | Courchevel | 166 km (103 mi) |
Statistics
References
- 1 2 3 SIA AIP Archived 2020-01-02 at the Wayback Machine PDF (in French)
- ↑ "Un altiport dynamique toute l'année" (PDF). mairie-courchevel.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ↑ Most Extreme Airports, History Channel, October 14, 2010
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Tyrolean Dash 7 landing at Courchevel". YouTube.
- ↑ "Alpine Airlines - Airline ' Courchevel Paris Tropez". Alpine Airlines. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ↑ "Tour de France 2023 : Arrivée à l'altiport de Courchevel ! - Mairie de Courchevel". altiport.mairie-courchevel.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-20.
External links
