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%.[1] There is no go-around procedure for landings at Courchevel, due to the surrounding mountainous terrain. De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops served the airport in the past; however, the airfield primarily sees smaller fixed-wing aircraft such as Cessnas as well as helicopters at present. The runway has no instrument approach procedure or lighting aids, thus making landing in fog and low clouds unsafe and almost impossible.[1]
The airport is considered dangerous, as it features a difficult approach, an upslope runway and ski runs in the adjacent area. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranks it as the seventh most dangerous airport in the world.[2]
Don Mueang was an important hub of Asia and the hub of Thai Airways International prior to its closure. At its peak, it served most[clarification needed] air traffic for the entire country, with 80 airlines operating 160,000 flights and handling over 38 million passengers and 700,000 tons of cargo in 2004. It was then the 14th busiest airport in the world and 2nd in Asia by passenger volume. Currently, Don Mueang is the main hub for Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, and Orient Thai Airlines.