Annecy
Annecy LFLP: 1,598 metres of runway. Here is what that changes
Annecy has 1,598 m of runway and opens 08:00-19:00: it is a light-jet airport, not a heavy-twin one. But it is very close to Megève. Quote in 1 minute.
Airports
The alpine airports, one by one
Runway, opening hours, PPR, parking. And how many minutes are left to the resort.
Aosta
Aosta: forty minutes from Courmayeur, and it has no ILS
Aosta is forty-one kilometres from Courmayeur, but it operates visually only and in daylight only. It has no ILS, whatever you read online about it.
Bergamo
Bergamo: open twenty-four hours, but on night flights we promise nothing
2,874 metres, CAT IIIB ILS and customs, with twenty-four hours' prior permission. On night departures the operator has clamped down hard: it is not guaranteed.
Bolzano
Bolzano: 1,432 metres, not 1,293 — and in winter it is the right airport for the Dolomites
Bolzano's runway was lengthened in 2021: 1,432 metres, not the 1,293 still quoted. What aircraft get in, which permits you need, which resorts it serves.
Chambéry
Chambéry LFLB: 5 arrivals an hour, 30 stands, zero hangars
Chambéry is the closest airport to the Three Valleys: 70% business aviation, but 5 arrivals an hour at weekends, 30 stands and no hangar at all.
Geneva
Geneva LSGG: almost one movement in four is business aviation
Business aviation is about a quarter of Geneva's movements. From 15 December, PPR both ways and slots only 21 days ahead. Quote in 1 minute.
Grenoble
Grenoble LFLS: 3,050 metres of runway, and the peak is February
Grenoble has 3,050 m of runway, opens 07:00-21:00 and asks no crew qualification. But in February it is the busiest of the two. Quote in 1 minute.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck LOWI: without simulator training you do not go below 3,000 feet
At Innsbruck the crew must have trained in a simulator to fly below 3,000 ft of ceiling or 5 km visibility. Quote in 1 minute.
Lyon
Lyon LFLL: 4,000 metres of runway and no curfew
Lyon has two runways, 4,000 and 2,670 m, and does not close in the evening. It is the airport that holds late returns to the French Alps.
Salzburg
Salzburg LOWS: CAT III and 2,750 metres, but PPR from mid-December
Salzburg has ILS CAT II/III and 2,750 m of runway: it lands when Innsbruck cannot. From mid-December, though, PPR is required. Quote in 1 minute.
Samedan
Samedan LSZS: 1,707 metres up, no ILS, closes at sunset
Europe's highest airport: 1,840 m of runway at 1,707 m altitude, MDA 11,400 ft, no lighting, no night operations. Quote in 1 minute.
Sion
Sion LSGS: the only alpine airport where the aircraft can stay
Sion sets no parking limit and has a hangar, unique among alpine airports. In exchange it demands Type A or B crew qualification. Quote in 1 minute.
Turin
Turin Caselle LIMF: 3,300 metres of runway under the western Alps
Turin Caselle has 3,300 m of runway on flat ground and is the natural airport for Sestriere, Bardonecchia and Courmayeur. Quote in 1 minute.
Treviso
Treviso: twenty minutes closer to Cortina than Venice, but there are no night operations
2,420 metres, CAT II ILS and customs, two hours from Cortina. The real constraint is the tower closing at twenty-two hundred: no night operations.
Venice
Venice: any jet gets in, but there are five stands
3,300 metres and CAT III ILS: any aircraft gets into Venice. The real constraint is five general aviation stands with a maximum stay of seventy-two hours.
Verona
Verona: open twenty-four hours with customs always on duty
3,068 metres, CAT IIIB ILS, open twenty-four hours with customs always there. The right airport when the timing is awkward or the flight is non-Schengen.
Zurich
Zurich LSZH: a slot for every flight, and in WEF week a 2-hour limit on the ground
Zurich by private jet: a slot for every IFR flight, no arrivals between 23:00 and 06:09, and a 2-hour parking limit in WEF week. Quote in 1 minute.