Grenoble LFLS: 3,050 metres of runway, and the peak is February
Grenoble is the easy alpine airport: 3,050 metres of runway on flat ground, no special crew qualification, ordinary ILS and RNAV procedures. It is where the flights Chambéry cannot take end up. With one consequence almost nobody writes down: in February Grenoble is the busier of the two.
By helicopter
By car
By car
Transfer times and distances as published by the airports, the operators and the tourist boards. Where a figure is missing, no public source publishes it.
The resorts this airport serves
| Resort | ICAO | km | By car | By helicopter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courchevel | LFLJ | 180 | 2h 15 | 40′ |
| Val d'Isère | — | 165 | 2h 30 | — |
| Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes, Serre Chevalier | — | — | — | — |
A dash means no public source publishes that figure. We write the dash instead of estimating it.
What constrains the flight Operating notes written in Italian
- Orari invernali 07:00-21:00 locali: non è uno scalo notturno.
- PPR e slot richiesti nei periodi di punta, in particolare a febbraio. Le richieste passano da MyHandling.
- Il livello di protezione antincendio sale dalla categoria 5 alla 7 nel picco invernale: è quello che permette l'accesso ai jet più grandi, ma va verificato per la data.
- Il parcheggio va richiesto in anticipo: nelle settimane di punta non è garantito.
- Lo scalo riceve i dirottamenti di Chambéry: nelle settimane in cui Chambéry è pieno, Grenoble è pieno per riflesso.
Season and peaks Operating notes written in Italian
- Opens
- regime invernale con orari 07:00-21:00
- Closes
- nessuna chiusura stagionale
- Peaks
- febbraio: è il mese di punta dello scalo
- Natale-Capodanno
The last leg, and what it costs
| From | Means | Pax | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grenoble | helicopter | 5 | No public source publishes this figure. |
The airport that asks nothing of the crew
Grenoble Alpes Isère sits on flat ground at 397 metres, with a 3,050-metre runway on 09/27 plus a 900-metre grass strip. It requires no aerodrome qualification, has no unusual approaches and no slope constraints. Across the Alps it is the exception: Sion needs Type A or B, Samedan an exam valid 24 months, Innsbruck simulator training, Chambéry training for a low ceiling. Grenoble none. That widens the list of aircraft available on a given date, and it is often the reason a quote for Grenoble exists when one for Chambéry does not.
The number that decides: February
Grenoble's peak is not Christmas, it is February. Those are the French and British school holiday weeks, and they are also the weeks when Chambéry saturates and diverts. Chambéry's operator, which belongs to the same group, explicitly provides for transferring requests to Grenoble, Lyon Bron and Lyon Saint-Exupéry with no penalty. The result is that in February Grenoble takes its own demand plus the demand Chambéry has turned away. Anyone planning a February trip must request PPR and parking together, and early.
Fire cover: from category 5 to 7
Out of season Grenoble normally operates at fire category 5. In the winter peak it rises to level 7. It is a technical detail with a precise practical consequence: the fire category determines what size of aircraft the airport can accept. Level 7 opens the door to significantly larger jets. But the raised level applies in the periods when the airport activates it, not all year. If your aircraft is large and your date sits outside the peak, this is the first thing to check, before the slot.
When it beats Chambéry
For Courchevel, Grenoble costs about half an hour more driving than Chambéry: 180 kilometres against Chambéry's ninety minutes. For Val d'Isère it is 165 kilometres and two and a half hours, against 135 kilometres and two hours from Chambéry. Half an hour is not much if in exchange you get a certain slot and a certain stand instead of a waiting list. Run the sum on the date, not on the map: on January weekends, when Chambéry caps arrivals at five an hour, Grenoble is often the right answer even for the Three Valleys.
How we work
Alpine Private Jet works with Air-Dynamic, a Swiss company that arranges charter flights and operates helicopter and air ambulance directly. At Grenoble we tell you first whether the fire cover on your date supports the aircraft you want, whether there is parking, and what the last leg costs. The intermediation fee is written into the quote. Quote in 1 minute.
Questions we get
How long is Grenoble's runway?
Runway 09/27 measures 3,050 metres, the longest among the French alpine airports serving ski resorts. There is also a 900-metre grass strip for light aviation.
Does the crew need a special qualification?
No. That is Grenoble's main advantage over Sion, Samedan, Innsbruck and Chambéry.
What are the opening hours?
In the winter season, 07:00 to 21:00 local. It is not a night airport.
Which is the hardest month?
February, because of the school holidays and because Grenoble also absorbs the requests Chambéry cannot satisfy.
Why does fire category 5 and 7 matter?
Out of peak Grenoble runs at level 5, in the winter peak it rises to 7. The category sets the maximum aircraft size admitted: if you fly a large jet out of season, check first.
Grenoble or Chambéry for Courchevel?
Chambéry is about half an hour closer. Grenoble is easier to book. On high-season weekends, when Chambéry takes a maximum of five arrivals an hour, Grenoble is often the sensible choice.
Where people fly in from
Flight time and quote, route by route:
- London → Grenoble
- Paris → Grenoble
- Milan → Grenoble
- Geneva → Grenoble
- Zurich → Grenoble
- Frankfurt → Grenoble
Events here
Tell us the date. We tell you where you land.
Give us the day and how many of you are travelling: we come back with the airport that holds up on that date, the aircraft that fits your luggage and what the last leg costs.
Sources
- ops.group — Grenoble LFLS: pista 3.050 m, orari invernali 07:00-21:00, livello antincendio da 5 a 7 nel picco, PPR e slot nei periodi di punta con febbraio come mese più carico, gestione via MyHandling
- en.wikipedia.org — Grenoble: quota 396,8 m (1.302 ft), pista 09/27 di 3.050 m e pista in erba 09R/27L di 900 m
- chambery-business-airport.com — Chambéry dirotta su Grenoble, Lione Bron e Lione Saint-Exupéry senza penale
- valdisere.com — Distanze e tempi verso Val d'Isère
- seecourchevel.com — Distanze e tempi verso Courchevel
What is not confirmed
This page carries 3 figures that come from our own operating data or from a brief, and that we have not been able to confirm against a public document. They are listed here rather than left where they look like facts.
Open the Italian notes
- Tempi di trasferimento verso Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes e Serre Chevalier: nessuna fonte ufficiale consultabile con km e minuti.
- Numero di piazzole disponibili a Grenoble: non pubblicato.
- Date esatte di attivazione del livello antincendio 7: non pubblicate, vanno chieste allo scalo per la data specifica.