This lovely airfield (LFKO) in Corsica has been closed to visitors since the end of last year as it was deemed unsafe by the DGAC due to a risk of subsidence. The locals were upset as it is popular with visiting pilots and parachutists.
On the initiative of a couple of instructors and founding members of the aeroclub, a 44-ton truck was driven onto the 1400 × 30 m runway. It was driven up and down twice at high speed with hard braking. No damage was noted in the presence of an official bailiff, Me Sophie Nebbia. She made an official report and the airfield is now open to visitors. So local initiatives can win over large administrations.
Simon
Just had a look at my log book which reminded me that I was there (Propriano) 20 years ago, looking at that pic its about time I went back.
Left there for Ajaccio, where it took an hour for someone to open the door to get off of the apron and the same getting out again.
Departed Ajaccio IFR a couple of days later, this was the departure information…..climb straight ahead on runway heading until advised…
Passing through 1500ft I was told to turn left 20 degrees and look out for an aircraft passing down my r/h side….30 seconds later (maybe less) a 737 on the ILS zapped past me, I could see the faces in the windows!
Despite that its a great place to visit.
Since the weather does not invite to fly this weekend, I take the time for a little report about Propriano. After several trips to Corsica in the past years me and my wife recognized the southwestern part of the island as a very attractive region with beautiful beaches and mountains. The airports of Calvi (LFKC) and Figari (LFKF) are well known to GA pilots. The airfield of Propriano (LFKO) is less a target of pilots, which has special reasons. A few years ago we visited the airfield of Propriano by car coming from Figari. We loved the beautiful location right on the beach. However the poor condition of the airfield did not seem very inviting. As a particularly negative we evaluated the fact of missing fuel station, which one needs after a long flight from Germany. Recently, the Figari airport we previously preferred introduced new PPR-regulations regarding parking and refueling. That was about the time we read about a new gas station at the airfield of Propriano. As our planned destination Scotland turned out as a flop again due to rainy weather, we decided to try Propriano. This report is not a typical trip report, it refers specifically to this airfield and it`s beautiful surroundings.
At the beginning of September the weather was severe CAVOK from Germany to Corsica. Following the N850 and M858 via GEN to TORTU at FL 150 ATC kept us high due to terrain. The first picture shows the descend towards AJO
After passing AJO and cancelling IFR we needed two circles to reach the published altitude for the approach to RWY 09.
AD_2_LFKO_pdf
You can see the river Rizzanese ending just before reaching the beach. If you compare to Simons picture you can see that the connection to the sea has vanished. The water builds up and stands higher than before. Therefore it is no longer possible to walk through, swimming is the solution. I will show later how to do.
This is how the Runway looks like at the beginning and at the end. In between the Runway is in better shape:
Some impressions of the airfield:
The landing fee is 10 Euro, the first day parking is included. Every additional day costs 10 Euro.
Parachutists were very active from Monday to Friday, not at the weekend:
The small restaurant was open from 0800 until 1800 on weekdays and was closed on weekend. From 1200 until 1400 they offered simple dishes at reasonable prices:
A big advantage is the nearly new fuelstation where we got Avgas 100 LL for 1,99 Euro on EC card:
Taxi companies advertise for their service:
But be aware that the short taxi ride to the center of Propriano has now risen to 30 Euro one way! That for a distance of only five kilometers.Taxi drivers know that you are sitting in a trap at the remote airfield, since there is no public bus available and car rental is not possible at the airfield.
For us the best way to get into the town is a nice walk parallel to the runway and further along the beach! But you need to be prepared, since you must swim through the river Rizzanese to get to the beach.
This is the the end of the river you have to cross. The water looks shallow but it is more than two meters deep and protects the runway from foreign people.
An air mattress carries your luggage while you swim over with it:
On the other side of the river you will find a beautiful beach with only a few people:
Follow this beach for about 45 minutes to Propriano, a little town with a lot of restaurants.
It`s a good idea to avoid the time of the french School holidays as we do every time when travelling to France. But even after the School holidays is high season! That`s why it was very hard to find an accomodation. Luckily camping is allowed at the airfield:
So you can bridge a night until you have found a hotel room the next day. We think that you need a car rental in any case if you just do not want to stay there. We did not booked in advance, thats why we got the next problem. Propriano has two well known car rental companies. All cars were rented. Luckily we got the tip to ask at a gas station, the name is “VITO”. They gave us their last car:
With a car you have many options. At first we decided to visit the fantastic beach of Roccapina again:
Two days later we wanted to go to the mountains. We found a very nice private accomodation near Cucuruzzu (Chambres d`hotes Riccu):
The mountains invite for hiking and climbing:
After some days in the mountains we went back, stowed our luggage in the plane, returned the rental car and swam back to the airfield for one more night in our tent.
In summary we find that the airfield is suitable and a good alternative to Figari for refueling and relaxing in the area if you do not need an instrument approach.
Great post, thanks!
Thank you for a beautiful report 
I could swear that final approach pic is into Calvi…
Thanks for posting. It is a reminder to fly again to the field, as it has been a long time since we have been there before.
Thanks for this nice report. Glad to hear there is avgas in Propriano now.
Thanks for the great report! Lot’s of good tips to help with planning a future trip, and enticing photos to get the motivation going.
Great idea with the mattress. I tried calling every taxi number on the wall when I was there. No one wanted to pick us up. Must have been Sunday. We walked the road and it was not so nice due to heat and diesel fumes. Will swim like you next time.
Great report thanks. LFKO can be a useful and easy fuel stop in the Mediterranean.
