Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport: 50 years of service to business aviation

Over the last half-century, Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport has successfully established itself as a leading contributor to the economy of the peninsula with which it shares its name, and has come a very long way from the small country airfield opened on 8 August 1964.

As an essential gateway to its surrounding region, it offers a uniquely fast and comfortable point of access and a strategic alternative to the congested road network for upscale clients visiting one the world's most beautiful peninsulas; a resort destination that attracts more than a million people from all over the world every year.

Located between two valleys 15 km from Saint-Tropez in the hills and forests that typify the rural community of La Mole, Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport luxuriates in a pastoral landscape at the foot of the Massif des Maures mountain range. Its single 1,190-metre runway makes it one of the world's smallest international airports. But the volume of traffic it handles puts it proportionately on the scale of many world-class hubs!

A powerhouse for regional growth

With an average of 8,000 aircraft and helicopter movements every year, Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport has built a loyal client base of regular visitors by providing a bespoke welcome that takes care of every detail immediately after landing, backed by a broad range of premium services. In summer, the airport provides three scheduled commercial services: Nice by helicopter, and Geneva and Sion in Switzerland by fixed-wing aircraft. With an aircraft parking area of 10,500 m² on tarmac and a further 11,300 m² on grass for smaller aircraft and helicopters, the majority of airport clients are private users with homes around the Gulf. In fact, 70% of flights - including helicopter services - every year are private; the remaining 30% being commercial services. As an international airport, it is subject to high levels of security, with regular inspections made by police, customs and the civil aviation authority. This is an airport on the human scale accessible within 15-45 minutes from the majority of the region's leading business centres, making it a valuable regional asset that is highly regarded by business clients.

In July 2013, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur (ACA) acquired a 99.9% equity holding in Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport as part of its accelerated external growth policy. Since that time, Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport has been an integral part of the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur Business Aviation Hub, and features its new airport assistance service: Sky Valet.

Dominique Thillaud, Chairman of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, explains:

"Every part of the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur business aviation hub shares the same commitment to offering our clients all the services they expect on a bespoke and fully confidential basis under a single trusted umbrella brand. One word is common to everything we do: upscale! Sky Valet is the visible guarantee of a truly upscale brand with the ability to deliver bespoke services and serve business passengers seamlessly at every stage of their airport experience. Our entire operation is structured around the client. ACA is committed to going beyond being simply an infrastructure manager; we create services for an aviation sector that powers the growth and influence of our region."

As is the case with Cannes, the Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport management company is also the FBO providing the full range of support services (from pilot services to flight operations and car hire), as well as every aspect of the airport hospitality infrastructure (lounges, business centre, crew rest room, showers, etc.).

Sky Valet has its own distinct identity that delivers the FBO function through a dedicated website - www.skyvalet.com - featuring all the services offered in Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez airports, as well as direct points of contact for personal client relations.

Michel Tohane, Director of the General Aviation Business Unit: "This operation forms an integral part of the Group's development strategy, which is to boost airport capacity for general aviation on the Côte d’Azur and Italian Riviera by building a geographically coherent service offer. Saint-Tropez is a new and prestigious destination in our portfolio, and one that allows us to offer our clients a consistent level of high-quality services and standards of excellence across all our airports."

In joining Nice Côte d’Azur and Cannes Mandelieu, Gulf of Saint-Tropez Airport completes the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur business aviation hub, establishing it as the second-largest business aviation hub in Europe after Paris-Le Bourget, attracting investment of more than €7.28 billion in the economy of south-eastern France, and providing 5,300 direct jobs.

"I am from my childhood as if it were a country"

Its strategic position at the heart of the region is complemented by exceptional historic and literary associations that link the airport with an heroic destiny.

On 8 August 1964, Count François Gazeau officially opened a private airstrip between the Route Nationale main road and the river near the Chateau of the Fonscolombe family, which owned the Château de la Mole. The position of the Château gave it a perfect view overlooking the first light aircraft airstrip, which was used not only for pleasure, but also for business as a kind of private club for keen flyers exclusive to family members and friends . . .

It was from the Château de la Mole that the thoughts of Saint-Exupéry flew around the world. His words "I am from my childhood as if it were a country" forever established the Château de la Mole as an essential milestone in his historic career as a writer. It was here in the Château owned by the parents of his mother Marie de Saint-Exupéry that he learnt to love nature. In those days, the estate's income came from its vines and sheep.

The austere mediaeval fortress of La Mole dominated by a plateau with a dormant volcano was to have a formative influence on his imagination. The young Antoine de Saint-Exupéry spent a lot of time with his maternal grandparents in this 11th century Château, later described by the author in Le Petit Prince. His mother's final resting place is the family vault in the Château chapel. La Mole was visited often and regularly by Saint-Exupéry, and although he never landed here, he flew over it on his final wartime mission on 31 July 1944 shortly before he and the aircraft were lost over the Mediterranean off Marseille.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 25th September 2014 | Issue #289
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