Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
(French: Principauté de Monaco)
(Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu)
(Italian: Principato di Monaco)
This collection of airfields is © 2010-2013 by RonaldV
(Disclaimer).
As of April 2013 all further updates for Monaco occur at forgottenairfields.com.
Fontvieille Heliport Added 15 Jul 2011
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07°25'00"N043°44'00"E
Overview of the airfield in 2006 (Google Earth)
runway: 11 helipads
Air field Fontvieille Heliport (also known as Monaco International, ICAO: LNMC) is the sole airfield of Monaco/Monte Carlo, one of the smallest countries in the world.
The airfield was built by order of HRH Prince Rainier in 1980, when he recognised that the country's small airline Heli Air Monaco needed its own home base instead of residing in another country (at nearby Nice airport, France)
The airline, which had started out as a small single pilot outfit in 1976, until then had used a temporary field on the Fontvieille area, which had only recently been reclaimed from the sea.
Both the airline (solely flying helicopters) and the airfield have continued to grow considerably ever since.
Having gone from a modest 15,237 passengers per year with three helicopters, the airline grew to nearly 100,000 passengers per year and 8 helicopters.
Additionally the heliport handles private and other commercial helicopters with flights as far as Rome, Italy.
Monaco's Fontvieille Heliport in May 2009 (Panoramio).
Final approach to Monaco's Fontvieille Heliport in November 2009 (Panoramio).
The airport serves Nice Airport every 30 minutes by a 7 minute flight, thus connecting to all arriving and departing flights at Nice airport.
The same flights also provide a reliable parcel service for the Monaco businesses.
The airport continues to expand: currently it has 11 landing spots, two of which on moving platforms that extend over the Mediterranean Sea.
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If you have any information about airfields (listed and unlisted) in Europe, email RonaldV.
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