Hot on the heels of the news of €10m in improvements to Chambery airport, a second French 'ski-airport' Grenoble-Isère, has announced new flight routes from the UKs along with departure terminal improvements to make it better to travel through for skiers this winter.
Grenoble is particularly well positioned to reach Alpe d'Huez and les 2 Alpes ski resorts (both less than 90 minutes away), and Grenoble's local Olympic ski destination of Grenoble, but also competes with Geneva and other French airports as a fast route to Les Arcs, the 3 Valleys, La Plagne, Saint-Foy, and the Espace Killy, all accessible by tour operator transfer, hire car and regular coach services which run directly from the airport.
There are four new ski routes from the UK to Grenoble Isère airport with weekly flights on a Saturday launching on the 23rd December from Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands airport with Jet2.
The new routes bring the total number of weekly scheduled flights into Grenoble from the UK to 26 during the ski season, with existing services provided on Saturdays and Sundays from London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham and a Saturday flight from Bristol, Edinburgh and Liverpool.
In anticipation of the increased number of British skiers and boarders using the gateway to travel to the pistes of the Alps thanks to the new flights, Grenoble Isère airport has invested to enhance the experience for skiers and snowboarders at the end of their holiday as they make their journey home.
"We know that holidaymakers are sad to leave their ski resort and we want to make the start of their journey home as pleasant as possible for them," said Bassma Jarbouai, Director, for Grenoble Isère airport,
"Everyone travelling through the airport will therefore be able to take advantage of free Wi-Fi as they wait for their flight. Signage has been improved to help them navigate through the airport to enjoy our fantastic shops and restaurants. Finally, to reduce the time customers spend land-side, we have introduced a Fast Track boarding area which allows access to the airside lounge from 90 minutes before their flight so they can wait in comfort."
The airport will also be organising some activities for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy whilst they wait for their flight, including free tastings of some of the delicious local produce from the region and, for children travelling at Easter, an Easter egg hunt.
Other additions to the airport's infrastructure include a new gate to house the extra flights, bringing the total to six. A new boarding hall is under construction, as is a new business aviation terminal.