Méribel Altiport is one of a handful of altiports in the French Alps — small airfields built on mountain slopes, with steeply inclined runways that use gravity to help aircraft decelerate on landing and accelerate on takeoff. The Méribel Altiport sits at 1,733m, just above the main village, with a runway pitched at a 17% slope and an approach that requires pilots to commit immediately on touchdown with no possibility of a go-around.
The altiport is fascinating to watch, even if you are not flying. Light aircraft come and go throughout the day in season, making steep approaches over the valley before touching down on the uphill slope. Trial flights over the Trois Vallées are available in season — a fifteen-minute scenic flight covers the entire resort network and the surrounding peaks and is worth doing if you can spare the money.
The altiport also serves as a base for local helicopter charter operations, which offer spectacular mountain flight experiences. The area around the altiport runway makes for good photography of the aircraft operations and of the village below.