Chilliobrieu Airport

Chilliobrieu Airport (French: Aéroport de Chilliobrieu), is an international airport located in the province of Arleans, in the North-West of The Mauritsian Republic. The airport is nestled in the foothills of the Veymont Mountains, and mainly serves the towns of Chilliobrieu, Thigneauran directly to the west, as well as the seasonal Ski resorts located further into the Veymont Mountains.

The airport was originally opened in 1989, and provides a link between Central Arleans & the rest of Maurits. During the winter, activity increases significantly, due to the high number of skiers & holidaymakers travelling to the region from other areas of Maurits, as well as from other countries such as United States, Australia, New Zealand and more.

Located at 581m above sealevel, it is the highest airport in the Mauritsian Republic.

History
The airport was conceived & built by local entrepreneur Apa Tufele during 1978, in order to allow for the easy transport of building supplies for the construction and development of the first ski resort in Maurits to the north-east of Chilliobrieu in the Veymont Mountains. At the time, it was widely the common belief the authority of the local & central governments became weaker the further from the coast you traveled, so with this in mind, Apa Tufele found no reason to potentially sandbank the airport and therefore the development of his ski resort in the mountains by waiting for government bureaucrats to make a decision on if the airport could be built, so he made the decision that the the airport was to be constructed illegally, with no planning permission sought for its development, however when local authorities noticed a steady convoy of airport flying low around the area, they caught on to the airports existence and threatened to close it down, however they never proceeded with such action, and continued to tolerate its existence.

Originally when the airport opened in 1978, it was a mere gravel strip where cargo supplies were unloaded from small aircraft onto trucks heading to the ski resorts, however after the majority of the construction for the new ski resort was completed in 1981, it was proposed by Apa Tufele that the airport should be developed for commercial aviation, by building a passenger terminal, lengthening the runway and paving it with Asphalt and developing an apron area. Upon hearing this proposal, the local authority were uninterested in investing in the project as they believed it would not be a valuable investment, but granted permission for the private development of a commercial airport nontheless.

The commercial airport was officially opened in July 1983, and facilitated the inaugural ski season for the Mauritsian Republic with the arrival of a Mauritsair charter flight from Sydney. The airport has largely been attributed to making the Veymouth Mountains a globally recognized premium ski destination, as the airport make the unique slopes & conditions on the slopes highly accessible. Since its opening, 7 future ski resorts have been built in the Veymouth Mountains, and the industry has blossomed to be worth over 35% of the economy of Arleans and employ significant numbers of people.

In 2002 flights were grounded for 11 days due to an intense snow storm blocking aircraft from operating to or from the airport.

The airport was sold by Mauritsian Ski Company B.V, the company owned by Apa Tufele responsible for its construction to Maurits Airport Group B.V in 2009 for ~ 89mf, ending over 30 years of private ownership.

Operations
The airports runway was originally ~1250m, however was extended to 2,140m during the adaption of the airport for commercial operations in 1982, and regularly handles aircraft such as the Fokker 50, Boeing 737 & Airbus A320, Boeing 787 among many others.

During the winter months of May-September, the airport regularly sees snowfall, so the airport has a fleet of snow plows & cold weather treatment equipment on standby. It is also not uncommon for the airport to experience very dense fog year round, more so during the winter, which results in grounding of aircraft. The airport has the highest flight cancellation rate of any Mauritsian airport, as a result of the often unpredictable & disruptive weather.

The airport features a single story terminal that was inaugurated in 1982, however has been refurbished in 1995 & 2008 and as a result is fairly modern. The terminal features WIFI throughout the terminal. Landside, the airport features 26 check-in desks, a café, a newsagent, rental car facilities, tourist information desks and airport transfer & transport stations, connecting through the 6 lane security zone to airside the airport features another café, a restaurant (open for the Ski season only), a bar, a duty free shop.

The airport also continues to supply fresh food & supplies for the ski resorts in the Veymouth mountains, as well as the town of Chilliobrieu. The airport also serves as a base for medivac services for the area.

Airlines & Destinations
As of June 2020, the following operate from Chilliobrieu Airport