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%. 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.
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.
Wikipedia
The Resort of Courchevel
Interesting that the towns are identified by their elevation.
Courchevel is a French Alps ski resort. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courchevel 1850, which are named for their altitudes in metres.
Wikipedia
If The Shining were set in France….
You can tell a lot about a town from it’s library….
Status of the neighboring Courchevel Fromagerie: Open!
Won’t Someone Please Think of the Oligarchs?
Shortly after the Russian “special, not really a big thing, nothing to see here” genocidal invasion of Ukraine, many Russian oligarchs fled Courchevel, No word if they carried duty free fromage with them.
[ed. note: this article is from Friday March 4th 2022. The invasion of Ukraine occurred just over a week earlier, on Thursday, February 24th, 2022.]
[Gosia, 44, a Courchevel regular from Poland ] described being infuriated this week after watching some Russian guests continuing to party at Le Tremplin, a lively restaurant where jeroboams of wine cost up to €40,000. “Those who are traveling are absolutely aware of what is happening. They are taking advantage and I think it really is inappropriate for them to be here,” she said.
While many of those Russians who did stay kept a low profile, the wife of one oligarch refused to be cowed. Ilona Kotelyukh, whose billionaire husband Nikolai Sarkisov is the co-owner of Reso-Garantia, one of Russia’s biggest insurance companies, beamed while posing for pictures in designer ski gear on the slopes over the past week.
The Times of London
Within 48 hours of the Ukraine invasion, hospitality staff described Russians frantically trying to make their way home on the private jets and helicopters that service the resort’s mountaintop airport. – The Times of London
Let them eat Бриошь:
Ilona Kotelyukh, wife of the billionaire Nikolai Sarkisov, refused to be cowed by criticism and continued to post photos from the slopes. You go, comrade girl [товарищ девушка]!
Kotelyukh, 29, complained about Russian and Belarusian athletes being banned from the Winter Paralympics. She directly addressed the situation in Ukraine, describing the family as “ordinary people” who do not want war and questioning why she had been subjected to online threats and accusations.
The Times of London
Value add: Ilona is a social media influencer:
The social media influencer lashed out at people criticising her stay at the resort, which she described as “my oasis”.
And with all that’s on her mind! Her husband Nikolai is in a bit of a pickle:
Khlyavich has now been placed on international police organization Interpol’s wanted list for attempting to extort money from the Sarkisovs, Kommersant and Ukrainian media reported. – The Moscow Times
Oligarchs in Love: Ilona and Nikolai
Who are we to question the vagaries, the whims, the fancies of the heart?
And what makes for domestic bliss? Shared interests ... being accepted just for who you are ... a place where you are securely loved, honoured, valued ... constructive problem-solving ... always striving to be better partners for the other ... giving everybody space ... shared love of actuarial science and risk assessment ... spending quality time together ... family movie nights ... hugs ... banning phones at the dinner table ... regular date nights ... a good WiFi ... a lively game of UNO ... making time for silent reflection ... give without intention to get ... never forget about the little things .... complementing each other's eyebrows .... and most importantly, constantly lowering one's expectations
In addition to being a social media influencer and passionate spokeswoman for the 0.01%, she is also a bit of a public health maverick and iconoclast!
An American Connection?
Ms. Kotelyukh appears to have been crafted by the same injection-mold plastics manufacturer as our very own sweetheart-of-the-rodeo, Ivanka.
Back to the fun stuff
The airport at Courchevel made it into several James Bond movies
Landing from the pilot’s perspective
Safe, but nail-biting landing
Snow-assisted braking
One reply on “One of the World’s Most Dangerous Airports: Courchevel”
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