Business airport traffic in the Côte d’Azur, France’s wealthy Mediterranean Riviera, suffered dramatically as a result of the global financial crisis in the second half of 2008 and in the first few months of this year. The two airports in the region–Nice and Cannes–are promoting themselves to two different market segments, and both are upgrading their FBO facilities in anticipation of increased traffic when the economy improves.
Nice Airport, France’s second busiest after the Paris gateways, handled 72 percent of all French Riviera business aviation, reporting a 5-percent year-on-year increase, to 31,227 passengers. Activity generally involves aircraft weighing more than 22 tonnes, which are prohibited at Cannes-Mandelieu, the country’s second-ranking business and private aviation airport, where the number of business aviation passengers fell by 7 percent to 12,409 following three years of strong growth. However, airport clients (mostly businessmen) have enjoyed a smoother flow of traffic and a 70-percent reduction in delays.
