10 Most Dangerous Airports in the World

Reaching your destination is best achieved if you’ll travel through airplane. Not all runways are made long, some locations are situated in a limited area and labeled as extremely dangerous runway airports. The journey’s end, wherein runways located in the mountains or narrow valleys, are challenging. The following are the world’s dangerous airports to land on:

1. Saba Island’s Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport

Image Credit: Fyodor Borisov

The Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is the shortest commercial runway with 400 meters in length only. It is situated nearly 45 km south from St. Maarten at Saba’s Dutch Caribbean island. In spite of the looks of its incredibly unbelievable landing strips, it is thought-out to be most dangerous runway airport for landing and even a challenge for the much proficient pilots around.

2. Nepal’s Lukla Airport

Settled between two mountains, the runway of this airport is extremely short. It is the airport for those travelers who want to visit Mt. Everest. Occasionally, air traffic controllers are nowhere on-site that’s why the pilots must land the aircraft independently. It is very risky landing on this runway without lights, and electrical powers are limited.

 

3. St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport

Image Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

One more airport situated at the Dutch Caribbean that has an extremely dangerous runway, located in St. Maarten, is the Princess Juliana International Airport. It is possibly the most popular on its list of airports having a beach prior its runway. It creates an immense and loud blast of wind and disruption of the sand to the beachgoers who are trying to relax and enjoy the fascinating blue water. The pilots have no issue on hitting the visitors, and the primary concern is having only a 2,179 m of runway. It may sound as if it’s long, but if you would think about a large aircraft which requires over 2,500 m to guarantee safe landing, it makes the finest pilot to sweat some.

 

4. Greenland’s Narsarsuaq Airport

A place wherein green is not implied literally, actually, this place is icy and white! Much like in Antarctica, Narsarsuaq Airport has ice and cold and possibly among the world’s difficult runway to land. Trying to land here is stressful with the runway covered with slick ice with a length of 1800 m only. There is also continuous stormy weather that creates strong turbulence, and there’s low visibility. Also, there are erupting active volcanoes which send up ash in the sky, often threatening to obstruct and destroy engines!

 

5. Honduras’ Toncontin Airport

Seeing the mountains surrounding the Toncontin Airport is spectacular, they are a hurdle to deal with for safe landing. It is located 1,004 m above the water level in the valley and because of its mountainous terrain, the pilots needed to bank 45 degrees to efficiently reach the airport runway. Because of this, the altitude’s quick drop experienced by the passengers makes stomachs raise and eardrums pop. Constant wind complicates the landing, which results in making their last alteration before landing.

 

6. Antartica’s McMurdo Air Station

Another culprit on the list of dangerous airports in the McMurdo Air Station located in Antarctica. With usually below-freezing condition throughout the year. The runway of U.S. Antarctic Station is long, icy and with variable weather. You might be unfazed by its freezing temperature. But if you know that pilots are landing the airplane using a night vision close-fitting glasses due to the darkness all day, it might change your mind!

7. Portugal’s Madeira Airport

Image Credit: LIAL / Shutterstock.com

The Madeira Airport located in between the cliffs and ocean shores and its short runway is well known for its variable winds although this is not the only stressful aspect! The Airport is extended up to 2780 meters in the year 2000. Although this sounds good, the extension built above the ocean is supported with 180 columns. If by chance your drift afar on a not so good day, your plane might go to the side!

8. Bhutan’s Paro Airport

The Paro airport is situated in Himalayan Mountains 2225 meter above water level and surrounded by mountain peaks of 5486 meter high. The location of this airport is on the river Paro Chu banks. The terrain is ruthless, and its weather is extremely severe that the flights are only allowed under the visual meteorological circumstances and limited on daytime hours only. No doubt, only few pilots around the world are qualified in landing in Bhutan’s Paro Airport.

 

9. Japan’s MCAS in Futenma

Among the most dangerous airport in the world is in Okinawa Japan which is in the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station. With the V-22 Osprey and F/A-18 Hornets continuously landing and taking off, this airport is a sight to behold. Although the view of the jets soaring is stunning, this airport runway is situated in the area of high-density which makes landing difficult.

 

10. Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport

With mountains surrounding the area and strong crosswinds, this makes it among the world’s extremely dangerous airport. With great number of skyscrapers in the airport’s northern part and runway projecting out in Victoria Harbour, the landings were extremely climactic and technically challenging for the pilots. Named as “the mother of all scary airports,” In 1998, it closed due to the opening of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km towards the West.

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