Monaco Heliport (french: Héliport de Monaco, ), also known as Monte Carlo Heliport, is a heliport situated in the district of Fontvieille in the

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque dialect, Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riv ...

. The

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

is the only

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

facility within Monaco. It was opened with the support of

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

in 1976, with only one helipad, later expanded. The only scheduled destination is

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur) is an international airport located southwest of Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes ''départment'' of France. It is the third busiest airport in France and serves as a fo ...

Nice, France Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. Both arrivals and departures are routed over the water, to minimize noise.

Location

The heliport is located directly on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

coastline in the vicinity of the

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II () is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco. It serves primarily as a venue for football, being the home of AS Monaco and the Monaco national football team. The stadium is most notable for its distinctive ...

Facilities

The heliport has been expanded to eight pads since its opening in 1987, with pads A and B jutted out over the sea. There is a single terminal structure at the heliport, and four hangar facilities, three on the east and one on the west side of the heliport. There is also an underground parking lot, and a drop-off area at the front of the terminal. The heliport is managed by the Direction de l'Aviation Civile and Security is provided the '' Division de Police Maritime et Aéroportuaire'', a subdivision of the '' Direction de la Sûreté Publique''.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines offering scheduled flights to Nice airport are Monacair and Heli Securite

in Nice. Many passengers arrive at NCE by plane and connect via helicopter as this is the fastest (but most costly) option to get to Monaco from further away.

Ground transportation

Shuttle buses provide connections to and from the heliport with major hotels and many other locations within Monaco. '' Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco'' operates two bus routes, which stop in the vicinity of the heliport.

References

Aviation in Monaco Heliports Transport buildings and structures in Monaco 1976 establishments in Monaco Fontvieille, Monaco {{Monaco-stub