Nice: along the Baie des Anges
A runway built out into the Mediterranean, approached over the sea with the Riviera on your left.
Nice: along the Baie des Anges
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport · RWY 04R
Why it is famous
Nice Côte d’Azur Airport was built largely on land reclaimed from the sea. Arrivals on runway 04 come in over the Mediterranean with the coastline of the Baie des Anges and the Promenade des Anglais to the left.
The jet-set angle
Nice is France’s busiest business-aviation airport after Paris–Le Bourget; in summer, and during the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, its ramps overflow and helicopters shuttle passengers to Monaco in minutes.
What to watch
- Nothing but sea below until the last moment
- The city and the Promenade off the left wing
- The Alps behind the city on clear days
More legendary approaches
St Barts: the drop over the hill
Clear a ridge with a roundabout on top, dive for a runway barely 2,100 feet long and stop before the beach — one of the most famous landings in the world.
St Maarten: low over Maho Beach
The approach that made plane-spotting famous: a three-degree final that crosses Maho Beach moments before touchdown.
London City: the 5.5° dive past Canary Wharf
A glide path almost twice as steep as normal, between skyscrapers and the Thames — only specially approved aircraft may fly it.