1. Princess Juliana International Airport (St. Maarten International Airport), Eastern Caribbean
It is famous for its short landing strips - only 2,180 mertres which is barely enough for heavy jets. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over Maho Beach.
2. Courchevel Airport, France
The airport has a very short runway of only 525 metres with gradient of 18.5 %. The airport is considered dangerous, having a difficult approach, an upslope runway and a hill with ski runs. The airport's elevation is at 6,588 feet. The pre-credit sequence of the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed at Courchevel.
3. Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport), Nepal
The single runway is 460 m long, 20 m wide and has a 12% gradient. The altitude of the airport is 9,100 feet. The surrounding terrain, thin air, highly changeable weather and the airport's short, sloping runway make it one of the most challenging landings in the world. The airport is popular since Lukla is the place where most people start their climb of Mount Everest.
4. Kai Tak Airport (Hong Kong International Airport), Hong Kong
With numerous skyscrapers and mountains surrounding the airport, landings were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots. Less than 10 km to the north and northeast is a range of hills reaching an altitude of 2,000 ft. To the east of the runway, the hills are fewer than 5 km away. Immediately to the south of the airport is Victoria Harbour, and further south is Hong Kong Island with hills up to 2,100 ft.
Upon reaching a small hill marked with a checkerboard in red and white, used as a visual reference point on the final approach, the pilot needed to make a 47° visual right turn to line up with the runway and complete the final leg. Typically the plane would enter the final right turn at a height of about 650 feet and exit it at a height of 140 feet to line up with the runway. This manoeuver has become widely known in the piloting community as the "Hong Kong Turn" or "Checkerboard Turn".
5. Barra Airport, Scotland
The airport is unique, being the only one in the world where scheduled flights use a beach as the runway. The beach is set out with three runways, marked by wooden poles at their ends. At high tide these runways are under the sea - flight times vary with the tide. Emergency flights occasionally operate at night from the airport, with vehicle lights used to illuminate the runway and reflective strips laid on to the beach.
6. Gustaf III Airport, St. Barthélemy, Caribbean
The short airstrip is at the base of a gentle slope ending directly on the beach. The arrival descent is extremely steep over the hilltop traffic circle and departing planes fly right over the heads of sunbathers (although small signs advise sunbathers not to lie directly at the end of the runway).
7. Telluride Airport, United States
At an elevation of 9,078 feet above sea level, it is the highest commercial airport in North America. The single runway is 2106 m long, 30 m wide Located on a plateau, the airport's single runway dips slightly in the center. The runway can be a very challenging approach for pilots.
8. Madeira Airport, Portugal
The airport was once infamous for its short runway which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a tricky landing for even the most experienced of pilots. The original runway was only 1,600 metres in length, but was extended by 200 metres 8 years after the TAP Portugal Flight TP425 incident of 1977 and subsequently rebuilt in 2000, almost doubling the size of the runway, building it out over the ocean. Instead of using landfill, the extension was built on a series of 180 columns, each being about 70 metres tall. This airport is also considered the Kai Tak of Europe because of its singular approach to runway.
9. Toncontín International Airport, Honduras
The airport received much notoriety as being one of the most dangerous in the world due to its proximity to mountainous terrain, its short runway, and its historically difficult approach to runway. The airport has a single asphalt runway, which sits at an elevation of 3,297 ft.
10. Gibraltar Airport, Gibraltar
Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, so consequently has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs.
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It is famous for its short landing strips - only 2,180 mertres which is barely enough for heavy jets. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over Maho Beach.
2. Courchevel Airport, France
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The airport has a very short runway of only 525 metres with gradient of 18.5 %. The airport is considered dangerous, having a difficult approach, an upslope runway and a hill with ski runs. The airport's elevation is at 6,588 feet. The pre-credit sequence of the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed at Courchevel.
3. Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport), Nepal
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The single runway is 460 m long, 20 m wide and has a 12% gradient. The altitude of the airport is 9,100 feet. The surrounding terrain, thin air, highly changeable weather and the airport's short, sloping runway make it one of the most challenging landings in the world. The airport is popular since Lukla is the place where most people start their climb of Mount Everest.
4. Kai Tak Airport (Hong Kong International Airport), Hong Kong
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With numerous skyscrapers and mountains surrounding the airport, landings were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots. Less than 10 km to the north and northeast is a range of hills reaching an altitude of 2,000 ft. To the east of the runway, the hills are fewer than 5 km away. Immediately to the south of the airport is Victoria Harbour, and further south is Hong Kong Island with hills up to 2,100 ft.
Upon reaching a small hill marked with a checkerboard in red and white, used as a visual reference point on the final approach, the pilot needed to make a 47° visual right turn to line up with the runway and complete the final leg. Typically the plane would enter the final right turn at a height of about 650 feet and exit it at a height of 140 feet to line up with the runway. This manoeuver has become widely known in the piloting community as the "Hong Kong Turn" or "Checkerboard Turn".
5. Barra Airport, Scotland
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The airport is unique, being the only one in the world where scheduled flights use a beach as the runway. The beach is set out with three runways, marked by wooden poles at their ends. At high tide these runways are under the sea - flight times vary with the tide. Emergency flights occasionally operate at night from the airport, with vehicle lights used to illuminate the runway and reflective strips laid on to the beach.
6. Gustaf III Airport, St. Barthélemy, Caribbean
The short airstrip is at the base of a gentle slope ending directly on the beach. The arrival descent is extremely steep over the hilltop traffic circle and departing planes fly right over the heads of sunbathers (although small signs advise sunbathers not to lie directly at the end of the runway).
7. Telluride Airport, United States
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At an elevation of 9,078 feet above sea level, it is the highest commercial airport in North America. The single runway is 2106 m long, 30 m wide Located on a plateau, the airport's single runway dips slightly in the center. The runway can be a very challenging approach for pilots.
8. Madeira Airport, Portugal
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The airport was once infamous for its short runway which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a tricky landing for even the most experienced of pilots. The original runway was only 1,600 metres in length, but was extended by 200 metres 8 years after the TAP Portugal Flight TP425 incident of 1977 and subsequently rebuilt in 2000, almost doubling the size of the runway, building it out over the ocean. Instead of using landfill, the extension was built on a series of 180 columns, each being about 70 metres tall. This airport is also considered the Kai Tak of Europe because of its singular approach to runway.
9. Toncontín International Airport, Honduras
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The airport received much notoriety as being one of the most dangerous in the world due to its proximity to mountainous terrain, its short runway, and its historically difficult approach to runway. The airport has a single asphalt runway, which sits at an elevation of 3,297 ft.
10. Gibraltar Airport, Gibraltar
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Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, so consequently has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs.
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