Nice Airport (NCE)

Nice Airport has the official code of NCE, and is situated just 7km/4 miles from the city of Nice. It is on the Mediterranean coastline, close to the famous Promenade des Anglais boardwalk (La Prom). The airport serves as a major gateway to the Alpes-Maritimes region, and is a popular arrival point during the summer months for holidaymakers.

Cote d’Azur  is noted as the third most important airport in France, with only Charles de Gaulle International and Paris Orly as it’s precedents. Over 10 million passengers pass through the Nice Airport every year. It also boasts a helicopter service that links the city and the site. The busiest operation times are between April and October.

The total land area covered by the site is over 3.70 square kilometers. 1 square kilometer is covered by the two terminal buildings and the freight terminal. The two parallel runways in operation cover 2.70 square kilometers. The South runway and the North runway are both equipped with a full axial Instrumental Landing System. Take-offs during the day, and both landings and take-offs during the night, are handled by the South runway. The North runway is used for landings during the day. The airport does not close at night, but only 2% of flights operate between the hours of 11pm and 6am.

Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 make up the passenger buildings. A free shuttle bus provides transportation between them and to the car parks. Terminal 1 covers and area of 52,000 square meters and has a capacity of 4.5 million passengers. There are 25 gates with National, Schengen and non-Schengen flights.

Terminal 2 is the larger of the terminal buildings, covering an area of 57,800 square meters. This terminal also handles domestic and international flights, and has 27 gates. Terminal 2 is designed for the passing passenger traffic of 8.5 million per year. From this terminal, operate the two most noteworthy airlines, Air France and easyJet.

The freight terminal at the Nice Airport has a capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year.

Nice Cote d’Azur began it’s operations in the late 1920’s. Nice itself has an impressive aviation history dating back to the early 1900’s. In 1910 there was a huge air show that took place at the cities hippodrome. The airport was used by the military and Air Force during World War II. From 1944 onwards began much expansion, starting with a new hard-surface runway. Flights between Nice and Paris quickly become popular, and by 1972 passenger numbers had increased to 2 million. At this time the existing terminal was improved and expanded, and the runway was lengthened. Terminal 2 was built in 1987.

The airport is managed and operated by the Nice Côte d’Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It also aligns it’s quality processes with the EFQM reference frame (European Foundation of Quality Management), as well as the latest version of the ISO 9000.

The terminals are well equipped with all the essential amenities required by passengers. There are the financial services of Bank Crédit Lyonnais and Banque Populaire Cote d’Azur, as well as currency exchange services and ATMs throughout the airport. Facilities include a post office, pharmacies, a vaccination center, business and conference center and many shops and restaurants.

Adequate car parking and transportation options are ready to be used. 28 bus routes to 135 destinations are available, and there are taxi ranks at both terminals.

Passengers arriving at the airport will experience the mild temperate climate of the region, with warm summers. Temperatures average about 26 degrees Celsius between June and August.

You can see below a selection of nonstop flights covered from Nice with approximate times.

Some of the busiest airlines that fly from Nice are Air France, Heli Air Monaco and easyJet between them they cover 39 of the total destination of 93. The busiest which is Air France covers a total of 425 flights per week and goes to 23 destinations. Air France covers 18 % of all the total outbound flights handled by the airport. Air France airline offers flights to Orly, Charles De Gaulle, Amsterdam-Schiphol and Geneve-cointrin among others.

You can see below a selection of nonstop flights covered from Nice Airport with approximate times

When arriving in Nice you may want to rent a car and you can find a selection of the major car hire companies in the Arrivals hall or nearby. Make sure that you have an up to date credit card when hiring your vehicle at Nice Airport. It is wise before arriving to have pre booked your Nice car hire online with our Partner car trawler. For a no obligation quote please visit the link.