In the summer, the Cote d'Azur has been in the Top 3 most popular destinations for private jet flights for several years in a row. The air gate of this region are two airports - Nice and Cannes. Which of these two airports do you plan to fly to and why?
Nice
Nice airport Cote d'Azur is France’s second largest private airport (after Le Bourge) and is traditionally one of the five busiest airports in Europe. The airport is located directly on the seafront and offers beautiful views when approaching and taking off.
Nice has a separate VIP terminal and three handling companies to choose from. The airport has two runways with a length of 2630 and 2962 meters, which use this airport for all types of private aircraft. Nice also has great opportunities for parking private jets - two long aprons accommodate aircraft from Embraer Phenom to Airbus Corporate Jet.
In Nice, a system of slots is used to regulate traffic, when organizing a flight “on readiness” there may not be a necessary slot and you will have to adjust the departure time. But the great advantage of Nice is that it works around the clock.
Also, if the trip is planned not to Nice, but to Monaco, then Nice Airport is closer to Monaco - about 30 minutes by car without traffic jams.
Cannes
Cannes Mandelieu Airport was originally planned as a small airport exclusively for private jets. So it is at the moment. Recently, the modernization of the runway was completed, the weight limit on it was increased, and it became possible to receive private aircraft weighing up to 35 tons. But the runway is relatively short - 760 and 1541 meters. This imposes restrictions on the types of aircraft accepted that can land in Cannes and directions where you can fly, due to restrictions on the maximum take-off weight and, as a consequence, on the amount of fuel.
Cannes airport can be quite called backstage - parking for passengers is very close to the plane's ramp and this makes it possible to spend an absolute minimum time in the terminal.
What can be said in conclusion? If you want to enjoy a small airport where there are only private aviation flights, then the choice is definitely Cannes. But at the same time, a number of restrictions will have to be taken into account - not all private planes will be able to land there; Cannes is also more dependent on the weather - in comparison with Nice, Cannes often has meteorological conditions below acceptable minimums. Nice in this sense represents all the advantages of a large round-the-clock airport.
