Sunning Views To Shocking Whews!
At Bhutan’s Paro Airport, you can enjoy the stunning views over the Himalayas and the Paro River as long as you overlook the severe turbulence and the sharp peaks that rise upto 18,000 ft. These are just some of the most terrifying runways in the world. Let’s take a look at what makes these and some more, just so unapproachable and scary:
· Gustaf III airport, St Barts: This place is the playground for the wealthy and famous, but these well-heeled jet setters get the jitters while landing at the tiny strip that is more like a wannabe runway. Pilots have to be specially trained to land at this airport.
· Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal: This is also known as the Lukla Airport and is perched precariously on a high mountain ridge. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous runways in the world and a fall of 9,200ft awaits planes at the end of this runaway. This sloped runway is only 20 mtrs wide & 460 mtrs long. The added thrill factor is that there are no navigation or radar devices.
· Barra Airport, Scotland: This very tiny airport is one of only 2 in the world where a beach doubles up as a runway. Thus, the sea dictates the flight times as the runway becomes an underwater zone at high tide.
· Madeira Airport, Funchal: Pilots have to undergo special training to land on this amazingly short runway that is wedged firmly between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. Numerous accidents later, this runway was extended 2 times. The extension is quite a sight as it sits on very thin concrete pillars and extends into the sea.
· Gibraltar International Airport: This airport’s runway is hardly 2,000 mtrs in length and, here is the shocker- it’s intersected by a busy main road. Somewhat like a railway crossing, every time a plane has to take off, the traffic on this road that leads towards the Spanish border has to be halted. This is considered to be one of Europe’s most dangerous airports.
· Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, in Saba: Don’t blink, or you will surely miss this tiny Caribbean island runway. It sits pretty on the edge of a cliff and is only 400mtrs in length. It is believed to the world’s shortest commercial air strip.
It goes without saying that passengers who travel to these places should have a heart of steel. And if they don’t, they should simply avoid trying to steal a glance out of their aircraft windows at takeoff or landing.