Airways have always been fastest mode of transportation all around the world. Airports are being developed for operating flights around the world based on technology and access.
Even if an airport is developed, the only problem is that flat stretches of the runway aren’t always available in certain places and for these pilots have to be particularly skilled to land on a runway that is just out from a mountain or one that appears in a narrow valley.
If there is small problem or disturbance then the aircraft can get in an accident.
Here are the list of most dangerous airport in the world to land at.
1. Saba Airport, Netherland
Saba Airport is also called Juancho E Yrausquin Airport. Located on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, Juancho E Yrausquin Airport has the shortest runway in the world available for commercial use.
It is 1,312ft long and only allows regional propeller aircraft flights provided by Winair from nearby islands.
The runway has three cliff edges over the sea, with the fourth side enclosed by high hills.
Services began operating mid-1962 following support from politicians, including the Netherlands Antilles Minister of Finance Juancho Yrausquin, who the airport is named after.
2. Toncontin Airport, Honduras
Toncontin Airport is no different. In order for planes to prepare for the descent, they must make a quick 45-degree bank turn to reach the runway in a valley.
After this bank, planes must rapidly drop in altitude, being careful not to scrape the terrain directly underneath.
High altitude makes flights to this city a real challenge.
3. LaGuardia Airport, New York
This airport seems very beautiful from above. The runway is around 7000 feet long.
But its 196 feets is present on water and often plagued by low-slung clouds and wind shear, which can make landings bumpy enough to get the heart rate going.
4. Courchevel Airport (CVF), France
This airport has only 525 meters (1722 feet). Not only this but the paved runway has a downward gradient of 18.5% which makes taking off even more difficult. To add on top of the already difficult landing, the runway is built right into the Alps where pilots have to fly through a narrow valley even to prepare for descent.
If aircraft do not gain enough speed by the end of the runway, they simply fly off the edge of a cliff, hoping for the best.
5. Wellington International Airport, New Zealand
This airport starts from 6351 feet runway. After this, water surface starts. Even though, Wellington airport seems amazing but it is hard to land the aircraft.
6. Kai Tak Airport, Hongkong
This airport is also considered to be dangerous as it is challenging to land. With numerous skyscrapers and mountains located to the north and its only runway jutting out into Victoria Harbour, landings at the airport were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots.
7. Lukla Airport, Nepal
One end of the very high and very small Lukla Airport in Nepal drops off in a 2000 mile cliff while the other side runs into a stone wall with a walkway to a Buddhist shrine. Yet, the mere 1,729 feet airport is the busiest in the country as you need to go through here if you are visiting Mt Everest. The other option is to go for a five-day trek after an 11-hour bus journey from Kathmandu.
The runways are short and electricity is poor which means pilots often have trouble contacting the air controllers on the ground and need to land the plane without assistance. Nevertheless, coming to this place nestled in the Himalayas is an awe-striking experience.
Also, the airport was built all the way back in the 1940s by Sir Edmund Hillary, though it was only paved in 2001. This gave the airport’s original name ‘Tenzing-Hillary Airport’.
8. McMurdo Air Station, Antarctica
Not many people travel to Antartica, which means that the airport infrastructure there is significantly lacking. This runway isn’t particularly short, but it is made of slick ice which can cause planes to run askew if the landing isn’t perfect. Temperatures here are below freezing on average the entire year. In 1970 there as a bad crash of a C-121 that still sits off to the side buried in snow.
Many months out of the year it is dark continuously, and due to the lack of lights, pilots are trained to land using night vision goggles.
9. Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten
Like some other runways in Careebeen Sea, Princess Juliana Airport which is located in Saint Maarten is perhaps the most famous on the list, most notable for the public beach situated just before the runway. This placement often results in large and loud gusts of wind and sand to those enjoying the crystal blue water. For the pilots, hitting visitors is the least of their worries. The runway is only 2,179 meters long, which is very short considering the large aircraft that land here requires more than 2,500 meters to ensure a safe landing.
