The FBO at Chambéry. Run by the airport, and built around the winter.
Chambéry is the closest useful airfield to the Tarentaise, which makes it the best answer for Courchevel and Méribel on the days it works. It is also a small airport with published hours, a weekend slot ceiling and no hangar, and all three of those decide the day.
The terminal
Chambéry business aviation, at a glance
- AirportChambéry Savoie Mont Blanc (CMF / LFLB)On the Lac du Bourget between Chambéry and Aix les Bains, at the mouth of the Tarentaise valley. Run by Vinci Airports.
- The terminalRun by the airport itselfThere is no chain of competing handlers here. The business aviation terminal, refurbished a decade ago, is the airport's own, and handling is requested through its online system.
- Winter season1 December to 30 AprilThe terminal publishes roughly 07:30 to 21:00 daily through the season, with extensions on request. The control tower opens a little later than the terminal.
- Weekend slotsAbout five arrivals an hourWeekend traffic is formally limited, and prior permission is required for every flight. Unused slots released by the shared area airports come back into the pool about ten days ahead.
Ground transport in the French Alps is arranged through operators we know and brief. Odyssey Connections owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester only.
Planning it
A small airport doing a very large weekend
Chambéry is among the busiest airfields in France for business aviation in winter, and it manages that on one runway of just over two kilometres with an instrument landing system in one direction only. The weekend ceiling of about five arrivals an hour is not bureaucracy for its own sake: it is what the airfield can absorb. Once you understand that, the rest of the airport's rules make sense.
There is no hangarage, and overnight parking across a Friday to Sunday night is restricted and looked at case by case. So the common pattern in February is that the aircraft lands, unloads and leaves, and comes back for you. Your operator arranges it. It matters to you because it makes both ends of the trip firmer than at a large airport, and because it means the car needs to be waiting rather than called.
Weather is the other half of the story, and we would rather say so plainly. Chambéry sits in a valley, the approach is demanding, and operators impose their own crew training requirements for it. On a poor day aircraft divert, most often to Geneva, Grenoble or Lyon, and the drive up to the Three Valleys gets considerably longer. Anyone who promises you Chambéry in any weather is not telling you the truth. What we do instead is plan the alternative in advance, so a diversion is a longer drive rather than a crisis.
How a Chambéry day works
Four things in the right order
- 01
The slot
Your operator requests prior permission and a slot through the airport's handling system. On a February Saturday this is the item that decides the trip.
- 02
The customs notice
Arrivals into France, from inside or outside Schengen, require advance notice with passenger and crew details. The handling request carries it.
- 03
The car
We position the vehicle before the aircraft is on approach, with winter tyres confirmed and chains on board, and with the resort address and the chalet contact already held.
- 04
The road
Everything for the Three Valleys funnels through Moûtiers. We watch it and, where a departure time is still movable, we say so early rather than late.
Onward
Typical drive times from Chambéry
| To | Good conditions | Saturday or snow |
|---|---|---|
| Courchevel 1850 | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | 2 hours 30 to 3 hours 30 |
| Méribel | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 | 2 hours 15 to 3 hours |
| Val Thorens | 1 hour 45 to 2 hours | 3 hours or more |
| Val d'Isère and Tignes | 2 hours to 2 hours 15 | 3 hours to 4 hours |
| La Plagne and Les Arcs | 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 45 | 2 hours 30 to 3 hours 30 |
| Mégève | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours 15 |
| Geneva airport | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours |
Realistic ranges, not promises. Every Three Valleys transfer passes through Moûtiers, which is where a Saturday in February stops moving. The climb above it is where chains earn their keep.
Worth knowing
Winter detail that earns its place
The things an assistant booking a February week needs to have decided.
- A diversion airport agreed before departure, with the drive from it costed in time, so a weather day is an inconvenience rather than a scramble
- Winter tyres and chains confirmed with the operator rather than assumed. On these roads they are not optional
- Skis, boots and boards change the vehicle. A saloon with a V-Class behind it is often the right answer for four people with equipment
- The car waiting from before the wheels touch, not called afterwards. On a five arrivals an hour Saturday that is the whole difference
- Chalet addresses given with a pinned location and a contact. Resort roads are steep, one way in places and closed to unfamiliar drivers at the wrong hour
- Returning on a Saturday, the resort end is the slow end. We build the departure around the road, not around the slot. See ski destinations
Request a quote
Tell us the movement
Date, tail number or operator, passengers, luggage and equipment, and the resort and chalet. Tell us if Geneva is the fallback and we will plan both. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Chambéry handling
Which handler will we be with?
The airport runs its own business aviation terminal, so there is no choice of handler to make. Requests go through the airport's handling system and your operator submits them.
Is Chambéry better than Geneva for Courchevel?
On a good day, considerably. It is roughly an hour closer to the Tarentaise. On a poor weather day or a saturated Saturday, Geneva is the reliable answer. We will tell you which we would choose.
Can the aircraft stay for the week?
Usually not across a weekend. There is no hangarage and Friday to Sunday overnight parking is restricted and considered case by case, so most aircraft reposition and return.
Is the airport open all year?
For business aviation the meaningful season runs from December to the end of April, with published daily hours rather than round the clock cover. Outside the winter the field is much quieter.
Are these your own cars and chauffeurs?
No. Odyssey Connections owns and employs in London and Manchester. In the Alps the car comes from an operator we know and brief, and we stay responsible for the arrangement.
We deal with problems before you know they exist