Above Courchevel 1850, a 537m runway climbs between the ski pistes at a gradient of more than 18%. Planes land on it uphill and take off downhill, helicopters come and go all day, and the pistes run right alongside the airfield. Courchevel’s altiport is at once a gateway to the resort, a piece of its history and one of the most talked-about airfields in the Alps. Here is what you need to know, without the folklore.
Courchevel altiport at a glance
- Altitude: 2007m, the highest altiport in France.
- Runway: 537m long and 40m wide, with a gradient of up to 18.5%.
- Codes: LFLJ (ICAO) and CVF (IATA).
- Who lands there: helicopters, which make up 70% of winter movements, and propeller aircraft of 5.7 tonnes at most. No jets.
- When: all year round, in daylight only, in principle from 9am to 7pm.
- Where: 2km south of Courchevel 1850, served by the free shuttle bus in winter.
Born of a gamble, in 1961
In the early 1960s, a handful of pilots led by Michel Ziegler, followers of the pioneers of landing on mountain slopes, went looking for a resort willing to back them. Chamonix and Megève said no. In Courchevel, the resort’s technical director Émile Allais, the director of the tourist office and the ski champion Jean Blanc won over the mayor, Émile Ancenay: in 1961 the town council approved a runway, and the first plane touched down on 31 January 1962. It was groomed with a tracked vehicle brought back from Paul-Émile Victor’s polar expeditions, and passengers arrived on skis to catch their flights, since the road only came later.
The boom years followed: a scheduled Paris-Courchevel service from 1972, twin-engine planes flying guests in every day from Paris or Geneva, and, from the 1970s, a runway kept permanently clear of snow so that planes could land without skis. In 1981 the airline’s new owner ended the scheduled service, and the helicopter gradually took over. For the Albertville Olympics in 1992, the runway was lengthened from 375m to 537m. Since 2023 the airfield has carried its founder’s name: altiport de Courchevel Michel-Ziegler.
A runway that climbs
It all comes down to the slope. A plane always lands in the same direction, uphill, so that the runway slows it down; it always takes off the other way, downhill, to gather speed. And once on short final, the pilot generally cannot go around: the terrain and the gradient rule it out. Hence a technique all of its own, with a pass over the airfield to read the wind and the state of the runway before the approach.
The airfield has no runway lighting, so flying is by day only. Aircraft are limited to propeller planes of 5.7 tonnes at most, and their pilots must hold a mountain flying rating or a specific altiport access authorisation, which the DGAC, France’s civil aviation authority, made more demanding in 2023. Helicopters face no particular restrictions: they account for most of the traffic, using a heliport beside the runway that has been brought up to standard. A jet, on the other hand, has to land down in the valley, at Chambéry, Geneva or Lyon.
Dangerous, really?
In 2010 an American television programme ranked it among the most extreme airports in the world, and the reputation has stuck ever since. The facts are more sober. The Bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses, France’s air accident investigation agency, has looked into around fifteen accidents at the altiport since 2000. Almost all involved planes, often approaches that came in too low over the bank just before the runway, and two were fatal, in 2010 and 2021. Following its recommendations, training for pilots who want to land there has been tightened.
One myth to clear up while we are here: no, the opening of the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies was not shot at Courchevel, but at Peyresourde altiport in the Pyrenees. The mistake still does the rounds online, even in the press. Our article James Bond on skis tells the real story of the shoot.
The day the Tour de France finished on the runway
Courchevel has hosted Tour de France finishes in 1997, 2000, 2005, 2023 and 2025. The most spectacular is still the one on 19 July 2023: at the end of stage 17, which set off from Saint-Gervais and went over the Col de la Loze, the finish line was painted on the altiport, at the top of its 18% ramp. Austria’s Felix Gall won solo, on the evening Tadej Pogačar cracked against Jonas Vingegaard. In 2025 the finish was higher still, at the top of the Col de la Loze.
Watching the planes land
The altiport is not closed off from view. In winter, from 1 December to 30 April, a municipal order allows aviation photography enthusiasts into three areas: below the Altipôle, along the road that runs down from the airfield; at the bend leading to one of the slopeside restaurants; and on the Praméruel piste, behind another restaurant. The finest moment is a plane coming in, when it seems to hurtle towards the slope before settling onto it. If you are watching from afar, the town hall runs a webcam of the runway.
You can also take to the air without leaving the valley: according to the tourist office, the company based at the airfield offers scenic flights of fifteen minutes to an hour over Les 3 Vallées and towards Mont Blanc, and a hot-air balloon flight leaves from the altiport at sunrise.
The altiport and the resort
The airfield is surrounded by ski pistes, and in winter a waymarked footpath links it to the 1850 snow front via Pralong and Bellecôte; a free shuttle bus does the trip in a few minutes. In summer a nine-hole golf course opens nearby at 2000m, on the Jardin Alpin side, the district of large chalets that lies between the altiport and the centre of 1850.
If you are arriving by air, the altiport changes your first day: half an hour by helicopter from Geneva, covered in our guide to the helicopter transfer from Geneva to Courchevel, instead of two hours on the road. The nearest airport is still Chambéry, 1 hour 15 minutes away by road; Geneva and Lyon are 2 hours away.
AEC tip. If you are flying in to the altiport, a chalet in the Jardin Alpin or the upper part of 1850 puts you a few minutes from the runway. And if your children love planes, the Praméruel piste, which runs alongside the airfield, gives them a fine view of the landings between runs.
Where to stay
Our chalets in Courchevel 1850 and across the Courchevel valley are grouped by resort. To choose your village, see our guide to the villages of Courchevel; to plan the journey, our guides to getting to Courchevel and to private jets and helicopters to the ski resorts; and to fill your week, what to do in Courchevel in winter.
The simplest thing is to write to us: tell us your dates and the number of guests, and our agents will put together a selection of chalets for you.
And in the evening, from the Jardin Alpin, you can hear the last helicopter of the day touch down, before the mountain goes quiet again.
How high is Courchevel altiport?
2007m. It is the highest altiport in France, and the town hall, which runs it, describes it as the highest in Europe.
How long is the runway at Courchevel altiport?
537m long and 40m wide, with a gradient of up to 18.5%. Originally 375m long, it was extended for the 1992 Albertville Olympics.
Can a private jet land at Courchevel altiport?
No. The altiport is reserved for helicopters and propeller aircraft of 5.7 tonnes at most. Jets land at Chambéry, Geneva or Lyon, and a helicopter or car takes over from there.
Why is Courchevel altiport considered dangerous?
Because the runway is short and sloping, planes always land uphill, and once on short final the pilot generally cannot go around. Aeroplane pilots must hold a mountain flying rating or a specific altiport access authorisation, which was tightened in 2023.
Was the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies filmed in Courchevel?
No. The opening sequence was shot at Peyresourde altiport, in the Pyrenees. The mistake still does the rounds online, even in the press.
Where can you watch planes land in Courchevel?
From 1 December to 30 April, a municipal order allows aviation photography enthusiasts into three areas around the altiport, including the Praméruel piste. The town hall also runs a webcam of the runway.
What is the nearest airport to Courchevel?
Chambéry: the city is 1 hour 15 minutes by road from Courchevel, while Geneva and Lyon airports are 2 hours away. From Geneva, a helicopter reaches the altiport in about half an hour.
