1. Wellington International Airport, New Zealand. Landing at this airport is quite dangerous, because there is only one short runway, ending in the sea. However, this is quite a picturesque place, so the airport is considered not only one of the most dangerous, but also one of the most beautiful.
2. Agatti Airport, Lakshadweep, India. This airport is surrounded from all sides by the Indian Ocean, so the question arises: what happens if something goes wrong during the landing or there is not enough room for braking? The length of the airfield is 1219 m, it is so small that it looks like a fragment of a larger runway, part of which seemed to have gone under the sea. Repeatedly it was suggested to stretch it, but so far the flights continue in normal mode, because this is the only airport in Lakshadweep – Indian territory, which consists of 36 luxury exotic islands.
3. Savannah International Airport / Hilton Head, USA. Compared to other airports in this list, this is quite safe, but there is something creepy about it. On strip 10 there is a pair of graves. They are former owners of the land on which the airport was built – their last wish was to be buried here.
4. Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland. The airport is quite beautiful due to the surrounding nature. Landing in one of the most remote airports on the planet can be either terrific or the most terrible experience – in any case it will be unforgettable. For pilots, landing in this place is a nightmare, because in order to land here, you need to fly along the fjord in constant fear of getting into turbulence, which happens even in seemingly windless days.
5. Kansai International Airport, Japan. The size of the artificial island of Kansai is 4 km in length and 2.5 km in width – they say, it is even visible from space. From an engineering point of view, the local airport is one of the most impressive in the world, but, unfortunately, frequent earthquakes, powerful cyclones and unstable seabed make this masterpiece of engineering one of the most dangerous airports in the world.
6. Donmiang International Airport, Thailand. At first glance, there is nothing unusual about this airport, but if you look closely, you will see a rather strange thing: someone in the center of two runways placed a golf course with 18 holes. This makes this airport not only one of the most dangerous, but also one of the strangest.
7. Paro Airport, Bhutan. In the world, only 8 pilots have sufficient qualifications to land there. Paro Airport is 2.4 km above sea level and is surrounded by sharp peaks of 5,000 meters, and the length of the runway is 1980 meters long. There are rumors that passengers who venture to land at this tiny airport in the Himalayas are usually showered with soothing pills to survive the landing.
8. Kaitak Airport, Hong Kong. Many pilots believed that this is the most terrible airport in the world, so in 1998 it was closed. Strong side winds and surrounding mountains only added complications during the landing, and at one time this place was the most unpopular for the locals. No wonder this airport is called “the father of all the worst airports”.
9. Barra International Airport, Scotland. Many believe that this is the most original airport on the planet, because there is a beach instead of a runway. On the beach, three runways were installed in the form of a triangle, and they were marked with wooden poles at the ends.
10. Congonhas Airport, Brazil. The most dangerous and most unusual at this airport is the fact that it is located only 8 km from the city center. For security reasons, the densely populated and large cities in the world are building their airports on the outskirts or even a few kilometers from the city’s borders, but apparently the residents of São Paulo have not heard about this. Each landing of the aircraft at this airport becomes a real test not only for the passengers of the plane, but also for the residents of the city.
11. Gisborne Airport, New Zealand. This airport is considered the most insane in the world. Straight across the main runway there is the railway. Dispatchers have to coordinate the take-offs and landings of aircraft taking into account the arrival of trains. Not so recently, the railway shut down after the damage caused by the hurricane, but the airport is still operating, although it has only carried out cargo flights since 2001.
12. Tenzing and Hilary Airport, Nepal. In 2010, the History Channel called this airport the most dangerous in the world. It is located at an altitude of 2900 meters, and its runway is framed by a high mountain on one side and a deep abyss on the other. Comfortable conditions for landing, is not it?
13. Los Angeles International Airport, USA. Los Angeles Airport was repeatedly called the most dangerous in the US. It hosts an “intensive training program” for pilots, dispatchers and vehicle operators on situational hazards and other aspects of safety on the runway.
14. Airport of Courchevel, France. Despite the fact that this airport serves wealthy people who flew to ski in the French Alps, it is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. To enjoy your vacation you must first experience an exciting landing at the airport. The runway is only 518 m in length, but the best “surprise” is the hill somewhere in the middle of the runway.
15. International Airport Old Mariscal Sucre, Ecuador. It was a real nightmare even for the most highly skilled pilots. The airport was located at a high altitude, in the heart of the densely populated capital of Ecuador, which greatly increased the risk factor. The mountainous terrain, active volcanoes and the valley, which was constantly tightened by fog, made it difficult to land and take off at this airport. But that’s not all: the runway was uneven, it had a large number of bumps. Fortunately, the airport was closed last year and rebuilt.
16. Tonkotin International Airport, Honduras. In the list of the most dangerous airports in the world of the channel History Channel, this airport took second place. Its runway is located in a valley surrounded by mountains, with the “entrance” and “exit” for the aircraft in one place, which, of course, increases the risk of tragedy. Surprisingly, despite this, even Boeing 757 land on this airport daily and fly out of it.
17. Gibraltar Airport. At first glance it may seem that the airport is quite ordinary, but it’s worth looking closely, and you will understand that this is not so. Undoubtedly, the most exceptional fact is that the main runway passes through the main street of the city. Every time the plane needs to land, the cars must stop.
18. Madeira Airport, Portugal. This small international airport on the beautiful island of Madeira has a fairly short runway. And this despite the fact that in 2003 its length was doubled. From the one side it is surrounded by the ocean, and mountains – from another. The airport is not in vain considered one of the most dangerous in the world.
19. The airport of Princess Juliana, St. Martin’s Island. In order to land in one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean, pilots need to fly over the beach, cross the fence, fly over the road, and only then land.
20. Ice airport, Antarctica. This is one of the three main runways that are used to deliver provisions and researchers to the McMurdo station in Antarctica. It is designed with the expectation of even a Boeing 757 and heavy cargo aircraft. At the moment, the main dangers of the airport are the weather conditions, and not the location of the airport itself.
21. International Airport King Fahd, Saudi Arabia. This is the largest airport in the world in terms of land area – it extends to 300 square miles of desert. The airport there is so huge that even the pilots are at a loss to say where it starts and where it ends, because from a great distance it merges with the desert.
22. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, USA. Technically, the location or plan of this airport is not terrifying, but the most irresponsible personnel in the world work there. One night the air traffic controller was accused of watching the film instead of directing the aircraft. And on another occasion, the administrators complained that the night shift supervisors sleep in breaks or play electronic games.
23. Gastaf III Airport, St. Barthélemy. This airport has a horribly short runway, which usually serves small aircraft with a capacity of no more than 20 passengers. There is the runway at the base of the slope, which ends at the beach. Because of the hilly terrain, planes are dangerous already on approach, and take-off occurs almost above the heads of holidaymakers on the beach.
24. Bamda Airport, Tibet. Tibet is located in the highest mountains of the world – the Himalayas, so it is not surprising that Bamda airport is one of the highest located in the world, it is located at an altitude of more than 4000 meters. The most interesting thing is that the length of the runway is almost 5 km, i.е. this is the longest runway in the world. Low oxygen content at such altitudes can cause discomfort in beginners in this area, and also reduces the performance of aircraft engines, which is why landing there is a real test.
25. Airport on the island of Saba. The path to this beautiful Caribbean island can be a real nightmare for you, because the airport represents one runway with a length of only 396 m. Surrounded by high cliffs, this short strip practically breaks off in the ocean. Large aircraft can not land there at all.