Routes and airports

Ten airports,
and fourteen resorts out of fifteen where the jet does not land.

The distances on this page are calculated from the airports' official coordinates, not taken from a portal. The last-leg minutes come from the alpine helicopter operators and the airport files. Where a figure is not published we say so: we do not estimate it.

Price your route Where you need the helicopter

Why Geneva

Almost one movement in four
is business aviation.

That is why Geneva is the first alpine airport, and not because it is the most convenient: it is the one that asks no particular qualification of the crew. Sion asks for one, Samedan demands a briefing with an exam, Innsbruck simulator training. Geneva does not — but from 15 December to the end of April it requires PPR inbound and outbound, and the slot is booked a maximum of twenty-one days ahead.

The departure markets

Where people actually start from
to reach the Alps.

Three catchment areas, three different logics. From the United Kingdom and France they go up on Saturday morning and come back on Saturday afternoon. From Italy they arrive in an hour and can be home to sleep. From northern Europe they come for the whole week, and the constraint is not the distance: it is the parking on arrival.

United Kingdom and France → Alps

It is the biggest Saturday-morning flow, and the one that generates the most empty legs on the afternoon of the same day.

Route	Nautical miles	Kilometres	The last leg
London Luton → GenevaEGGW → LSGG	423 NM	784	Courchevel: 35 min by helicopter
London Luton → ChambéryEGGW → LFLB	448 NM	830	Méribel: 20 min by helicopter
London Farnborough → GenevaEGLF → LSGG	407 NM	753	Verbier: 45 min by helicopter
London Biggin Hill → ChambéryEGKB → LFLB	413 NM	765	Val Thorens: 25 min by helicopter
Paris Le Bourget → GenevaLFPB → LSGG	221 NM	409	Gstaad: 40 min by helicopter
Paris Le Bourget → SionLFPB → LSGS	257 NM	477	Verbier: 50 min by car
Paris Le Bourget → ChambéryLFPB → LFLB	244 NM	452	Courchevel: 90 min by car
Nice → GenevaLFMN → LSGG	162 NM	300	Crans-Montana: 150 min by car

Italy → Alps

Under an hour of flying, the category changes the comfort, not the clock. Here the time is won on the ground and on the last leg.

Route	Nautical miles	Kilometres	The last leg
Milan Linate → GenevaLIML → LSGG	141 NM	261	Zermatt: 60 min by helicopter
Milan Linate → ChambéryLIML → LFLB	143 NM	265	Courchevel: 25 min by helicopter
Milan Linate → SamedanLIML → LSZS	70 NM	130	St Moritz: 10 min by car
Milan Malpensa → GenevaLIMC → LSGG	115 NM	214	Megève: 25 min by helicopter
Turin → GenevaLIMF → LSGG	90 NM	166	Val d'Isère: 40 min by helicopter
Rome Ciampino → GenevaLIRA → LSGG	386 NM	716	Courchevel: 35 min by helicopter
Venice → InnsbruckLIPZ → LOWI	113 NM	210	Lech-Zürs: 120 km, 100 min by car
Rome Ciampino → VeniceLIRA → LIPZ	223 NM	413	Cortina: 162 km by road

Germany, Austria and northern Europe → Alps

The eastern side has fewer helicopters and more road: here the airport is chosen on the number of kilometres, not out of habit.

Route	Nautical miles	Kilometres	The last leg
Munich → SamedanEDDM → LSZS	134 NM	248	St Moritz: 10 min by car
Munich → InnsbruckEDDM → LOWI	68 NM	126	Kitzbühel: 96 km by road
Frankfurt → GenevaEDDF → LSGG	248 NM	459	Courchevel: 35 min by helicopter
Berlin Brandenburg → ZurichEDDB → LSZH	351 NM	651	Davos: by road
Amsterdam → GenevaEHAM → LSGG	368 NM	682	Verbier: 45 min by helicopter
Brussels → ChambéryEBBR → LFLB	321 NM	594	Méribel: 20 min by helicopter
Vienna → SalzburgLOWW → LOWS	145 NM	268	Kitzbühel: 81 km, 90 min by car
Copenhagen → InnsbruckEKCH → LOWI	504 NM	934	Lech-Zürs: 120 km, 100 min by car

Where there is no runway

Fourteen resorts out of fifteen.
The last leg is the helicopter, or the car.

The only resort where the jet genuinely arrives is St Moritz, via Samedan — and not every jet. For all the others, this table says which airport you land at, how long the last leg takes, and the constraint nobody writes down until you run into it.

Resort	The airport	The last leg	The constraint
Courchevel	Chambéry LFLB	25 min by helicopter, 90 by car	537 m altiport at an 18.6% gradient: no jets
Méribel	Chambéry LFLB	20 min by helicopter	406 m altiport at 1,717 m, uncontrolled
Val d’Isère	Chambéry LFLB, 135 km	35 min by helicopter, 120 by car	Only the Daille heliport, which closes at 23:00
Val Thorens	Chambéry LFLB	25 min by helicopter	Altiport at 2,300 m, seasonal and weather-dependent
Megève	Annecy LFLP	20 min by helicopter	548 m altiport at 7%: in winter the runway is groomed, not cleared
Chamonix	Geneva LSGG	by road	Neither altiport nor passenger heliport: article L363-1
Verbier	Sion LSGS	50 min by car	Sion requires the crew to hold a Type A or B aerodrome qualification
Zermatt	Geneva LSGG	60 min by helicopter, 240 by car	No private cars in the village: the limit is Täsch, then a shuttle every 20 min
Crans-Montana	Sion LSGS	Chermignon heliport, 5 min from the village	Two and a half hours from Geneva, three from Zurich
Gstaad	Saanen LSGK	in the village	In winter only small turboprops; 15,000 kg maximum take-off weight
St Moritz	Samedan LSZS	10 min by car	No ILS, no night operations; Global 7500 and G650 excluded
Davos	Zurich LSZH	by road	In Forum week, Zurich gives you 2-3 hours on the ground
Kitzbühel	Salzburg LOWS, 81 km	90 min by car	No airport for jets; Innsbruck is 96 km away, Munich 127
Lech-Zürs	Innsbruck LOWI, 120 km	100 min by car	Six possible airports, nearly two hours between the first and the last
Cortina d’Ampezzo	Venice LIPZ, 162 km	heliport at Fiames, hours not published	No railway: Dobbiaco 32 km away, Calalzo 35

The alpine airports

Ten airports,
and for each one a line that decides the trip.

Each has a constraint you will not read anywhere until you meet it. We have put them in a column.

Airport	Why you go there	The constraint you do not expect
Geneva LSGG	No particular crew qualification required: that is its advantage over Sion and Samedan.	PPR mandatory inbound and outbound from 15 December to the end of April; slots a maximum of 21 days ahead; hangars scarce at peak.
Chambéry LFLB	The closest to the Tarentaise: twenty-five minutes by helicopter from Courchevel.	Five arrivals an hour on winter weekends, no hangars, the T-10 rule on slots, customs to be notified 24 hours ahead.
Sion LSGS	The only alpine airport where the aircraft can stay.	Type A or B aerodrome qualification mandatory; handling mandatory above 3 tonnes; the easterly Föhn closes it.
Samedan LSZS	Ten minutes from St Moritz, and the highest airport in Europe at 1,707 metres.	No ILS, no runway lighting, closes at sunset; a 30-50% margin on performance; the higher fire categories are not admitted.
Annecy LFLP	1,598 metres of runway, and twenty minutes by helicopter from Megève.	08:00-19:00 in winter, no evening operations; PPR for all flights; tower hours to be checked on the NOTAMs.
Grenoble LFLS	3,050 metres of runway, and it takes the diversions when Chambéry saturates.	Hours 07:00-21:00; fire cover rises from category 5 to 7 only at peak; parking has to be requested in advance.
Lyon LFLL	4,000 metres and no curfew: it is the airport that holds the night.	Two and a quarter hours by road to Courchevel, three to Val d'Isère. The real cost is the time, not the runway.
Innsbruck LOWI	In the city, with a single 2,000-metre runway at 1,906 feet.	On-site or simulator training below a 3,000 ft ceiling; limited parking; the Föhn is the dominant phenomenon.
Salzburg LOWS	CAT III and 2,750 metres: the most capable on the Austrian side.	PPR from mid-December; hours 06:00-23:00; a 98 dB noise limit; 14 main stands, to be booked at peak.
Turin LIMF	3,300 metres under the western Alps, and outside the big events it is not congested.	The constraint is not the airport: it is the passes and tunnels, tolled and queueing on holiday returns.

From the Alps → the rest of Europe

These are the returns, and this is where empty legs come from. Chambéry has no hangar and weekend parking is assessed case by case: many aircraft leave empty the same day.

Route	Nautical miles	Kilometres	The last leg
Geneva → London LutonLSGG → EGGW	423 NM	784	Saturday afternoon, often empty
Chambéry → London LutonLFLB → EGGW	448 NM	830	no hangar: it leaves the same day
Geneva → Paris Le BourgetLSGG → LFPB	221 NM	409	Saturday return
Samedan → ZurichLSZS → LSZH	78 NM	144	before sunset: no night flying
Salzburg → MunichLOWS → EDDM	59 NM	110	24-25 January 2027, end of the Hahnenkamm
Zurich → London LutonLSZH → EGGW	436 NM	807	22-23 January 2027, after the Forum

The peak is 22 and 23 January 2027. The World Economic Forum ends on the 22nd, the Hahnenkamm on the 24th: half the alpine region goes home over the same two days, and those are the two days when there is most to be had.

Beyond Europe

When the route does not end at Vienna.

An ultra long range crosses the Atlantic or reaches the Gulf without stopping. The mountains are not the point: the point is that we look for the right aircraft on the same market, with the same method.

Route	Nautical miles	Kilometres	The last leg
Geneva → DubaiLSGG → OMDB	2657 NM	4920	ultra long range, non-stop
Geneva → New York TeterboroLSGG → KTEB	3352 NM	6208	ultra long range, non-stop
Zurich → DubaiLSZH → OMDB	2575 NM	4769	ultra long range, non-stop
Geneva → MadridLSGG → LEMD	545 NM	1009	heavy or super midsize
Geneva → StockholmLSGG → ESSA	909 NM	1683	super midsize
Geneva → BaselLSGG → LFSB	100 NM	185	Zermatt: 240 min by car

Your route is not in the table?
Almost none of them are.

These are the routes we are asked for most often, and they are only part of the work. The booking engine knows over a thousand airports and twenty-nine destinations with the last leg already worked out: write yours and see what happens.

Try your own route See the empty legs

Every route, one by one

Every route has its own page: real flight time, the airports that work, the aircraft that fit and a price estimate. Start from where you take off.

Ten airports,and fourteen resorts out of fifteen where the jet does not land.

Almost one movement in fouris business aviation.

Where people actually start fromto reach the Alps.

United Kingdom and France → Alps

Italy → Alps

Germany, Austria and northern Europe → Alps

Fourteen resorts out of fifteen.The last leg is the helicopter, or the car.

Ten airports,and for each one a line that decides the trip.

From the Alps → the rest of Europe

When the route does not end at Vienna.

Your route is not in the table?Almost none of them are.

Every route, one by one

From Abu Dhabi

From Ajaccio

From Amsterdam

From Antalya

From Antigua

From Athens

From Barcelona

From Bastia

From Berlin

From Biarritz

From Bodrum

From Boston

From Brussels

From Calvi

From Cannes

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From Catania

From Copenhagen

From Corfu

From Cortina d'Ampezzo

From Costa Smeralda

From Courchevel

From Crans-Montana

From Crete

From Dalaman

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From Deauville

From Doha

From Dubai

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From Figari

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