Rating of the most dangerous and extreme airports in the world. The most dangerous airports in the world The highest airport in the world
The highest airport in the world is Daocheng Yading, located in Sichuan province. It is built at an altitude of 4411 meters above sea level. Prior to this, the title of champion belonged to Kuamdo Bamdo, built in Tibet. The latter is lower than the current record holder by 77 meters.
Surprisingly, the highest airport was built in just two years. Its construction cost $255,000,000. Currently, Air China planes fly exclusively to Chengdu, the provincial capital where Daocheng Yading is located. Nevertheless, it can be called a major breakthrough for the local Chinese. It used to take people two days to get to Chengdu. Today, 800 kilometers are overcome in 65 minutes. Chengdu Daochen Yadin flights operate daily, and the cost of the flight is only 1,600 yuan, which ranges from 262 dollars.
The highest airport is located 159 kilometers from the world-famous attraction. Jaazhin Reserve, also called Shangri-La, is the unofficial "last clean place on Earth." The local landscapes are striking in their beauty. It can be assumed that after the construction of the airport, the flow of curious tourists will increase here. This forecast is also obvious because in the near future flights from Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi'an and Shanghai will be sent here. According to experts, the flow of passengers to the region will be increased to half a million people.
Many pilots believe that the most dangerous phases of a flight are takeoff and landing. But there are airports in the world where it can be scary even for highly professional pilots to lift an airplane into the air and land it - they are forced to show real miracles of maneuvering! Below is a selection in which the most dangerous airports in the world are marked.
13. Airport on the island of Madeira in Portugal
It was classified as a dangerous air harbor in the world in 1977, after a terrible plane crash that claimed the lives of 131 people. The runway (RWY) was too short, and the pilot began to land 300 m further than the designated point, which caused the plane to crash into a mountain.
Work to increase the runway lasted 8 years, and now it has a length of 2777 m. Most of it is a flyover, located on pillars made of reinforced concrete. There are 180 such pillars, all have a diameter of 3 m, some reach a height of 50 m.
Thanks to this engineering solution, to some extent, it was possible to reduce the danger of landing in the air harbor on the island of Madeira. Although the airfield still continues to be one of the most extreme on the planet, taking the last, 13th place among them.
On the 12th place in this list is Narsarsuaq Airport, which is north of the city of Narsaka. This is the most important transport interchange in South Greenland and the only international airfield in Greenland.
In addition, Narsarsuaq is also a real historical landmark: it appeared in 1941 as an American-owned military base, Blue West One. Currently, flights are made from this airfield across Greenland, to Copenhagen, and in the summer also to Reykjavik, that is, the path of combat aircraft flown during the Second World War is repeated.
The airfield has one runway, laid out of concrete slabs - its length is 1830 m, and its width is 45 m.
The small length of the runway and the many fjords located very close by are not the whole danger. In this area, increased turbulence, and even when there is no usual strong and gusty wind. Only well-trained and experienced professionals are allowed to fly in this region with such extreme climatic conditions.
Bamda is the highest airfield in the world, it is located among the mountains of Tibet, at an altitude of 4334 m above sea level.
No less shocking than the height is the runway: it is the longest in the world among civil airports - 5500 m. This length of the runway may seem excessive, but with increased rarefaction of the air, this indicator is extremely important. Due to the increased rarefaction of the air, which is observed high in the mountains, the operation of the engines becomes much more complicated and the thrust force decreases, and this, in turn, does not allow the aircraft to quickly rise into the air. This is the main reason why Bamda is ranked as the 11th most difficult airport in the world to land and take off.
10. Ice runway at the station "Novolazarevskaya" in Antarctica
In 1961, on the coast of Queen Maud Land, about 80 km from the Lazarev Sea, the Soviet Antarctic station "Novolazarevskaya" was established.
In 1979, 12 km south of it, an airfield was built to receive the Il-76. The airfield is one of the largest in Antarctica, it is equipped with concrete parking lots and routes for takeoffs and landings.
It is the 10th most dangerous and scary on our planet. Of particular danger are mainly extreme climatic conditions, and not the location of the airport. The real and really terrible problem can be the weight of the aircraft - a huge machine is able to break through the ice or load in soft snow.
9. Princess Juliana Airport on the island of St. Martin in the Netherlands
Another of the most terrible airfields in the world is the international airport Princess Juliana. The end of its runway is located close to Maho Beach, which is popular among vacationers.
Departing for landing, the planes fly low over the beach (10-20 m), almost touching the tourists resting there. Magnificent photos of one of the most dangerous airports in the world and vivid impressions from the view of huge machines flying overhead are guaranteed.
The take-offs here are just as extreme and difficult: the pilot is forced to make a sharp U-turn in order to avoid a collision with a rock standing on the course.
The shock wave from the engines has such a terrible force that it literally knocks down many curious thrill-seekers watching flights from Maho Beach.
The next, 8th on the list, of the most terrible airports in the world is Toncontin, operating in Honduras, in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
The airfield was built in a valley surrounded by mountains. The runways are equipped at an altitude of 1005 m above sea level, their length does not exceed 2163 m. Since these routes are very short and are laid close to the mountains, the aircraft have to overcome the mountains at an angle of 45 °. Additional complexity is created by winds, forcing amendments literally at the last moments.
In the spring of 2008, a TACA air carrier plane could not stay on the runway and crashed into cars parked on the embankment, destroying several of them. At the same time, 65 people were injured, 5 died. And this is not the first terrible disaster at the Toncontin airport: in the fall of 1989, a TAN-SAHSA Boeing hit a rock during landing. There were a lot of victims in this disaster - out of 146 people on board, 131 died.
Despite such terrible risk factors, this extreme airfield receives many flights every day.
7. Kansai Airport in Japan
Kansai International Airport is an ensemble of buildings erected directly into the sea, on an artificially constructed island in the Osaka Bay near the city of Osaka. The island is 4 km long and 2.5 km wide.
Unfortunately, even the engineers of Japan failed to calculate at what terrible rate Kansai would sink under water: in 1994 alone, the island sank by 50 cm. Now this speed has significantly decreased, but for this it was necessary to resort to active measures and spend billions of dollars additionally .
Kansai, this real masterpiece of engineering, ranks 7th among the most dangerous air harbors in the world.
Gustaf III Airport, also known as Saint Barthelemy, is located in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, on the island of Saint Barthélemy.
The runway has a length of only 650 m, in addition, it is built in an incredibly narrow corridor, bounded on the sides by rocks. During landing, aircraft approach extremely close to the mountain slopes, because of which there is a threat of falling directly into the ocean.
Gustaf III is a well-deserved 6th place among airports with terrible landing conditions.
5. Courchevel Airport in France
The next of the airports, recognized throughout the world as scary and dangerous, is Courchevel, which serves the French resort of the same name.
The airport is located among the mountains, at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. This air harbor has an extremely short runway - its length is 525 m, and the slope is 18.5 °.
The functionality of the airport is also limited by the technical conditions due to the lack of a landing approach using navigation instruments. This leads to the fact that landing during fogs or low clouds is completely impossible here.
By the way, extreme Courchevel became famous all over the world thanks to the film "Tomorrow Never Dies". There is an episode in the picture when James Bond lands the plane on the dangerous and even scary runway of this small airport in France.
4. Tenzing and Hillary Airport in Nepal
In eastern Nepal, there is a dangerous and extreme airport, which occupies the 4th position in the ranking - this is the airport named after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, who gained world fame as the first conquerors of Everest. Until 2008, the airfield was known as Lukla Airport.
The runway, which is only 527 m long, has a slope of 12° - because of this, its ends have a 60 m difference in height. The difficult terrain has led to the fact that one end of the runway is used for landings, located on the edge of a cliff with a depth of 700 m, and for take-offs - the other, located at the foot of the ridge 4000 m high.
An additional and very terrible danger here is created by thick clouds and strong winds.
The title of "the most extreme airport in the world" this air port has earned for another reason: takeoffs and landings are carried out only by VFR, since only a radio station is used here from all known navigation systems.
The Matekane airstrip is an airport in the Kingdom of Lesotho. In principle, this is not an airport at all in the sense familiar to people all over the world: on a mountain plateau there is a runway 400 m long, ending in a cliff 600 m deep.
It is rare that a flying machine can accelerate and rise in height before this streak ends. During the development of the project, the engineers assumed that in order to gain the required height during takeoff, the aircraft would go into free fall.
In 2009, this extreme airport was banned from domestic and international air travel. But this dangerous and extreme airport continues to be used to carry out private flights of small aircraft.
Its place among the world's airports with the most terrible conditions for flights is 3.
2. Juancho-Irauskin Airport on the island of Saba in the Netherlands
Juancho-Irauskin, designed for international flights, is the most dangerous airport in the world near the sea and the 2nd in the ranking of the most extreme. It is located among the waters of the Caribbean Sea, on the island of Saba, and is designed to land only three types of aircraft.
Windward Islands Airways This airfield is equipped with the shortest runway in the world (about 400 m), surrounded by sheer cliffs and the sea. Adds complexity to the very strong wind, which also constantly changes its direction.
Flights are carried out only by the crews of the local airline Windward Islands Airways, who have undergone special training. Juancho-Irauskin is closed for private flights, because the slightest mistake during takeoff or landing will lead to dire consequences!
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1. Paro Airport in the Kingdom of Bhutan
Paro Airport is located 6 km from the city of Paro, in a small valley of the Paro River, surrounded by mountain peaks of the Himalayas 5 km high.
It was the location that caused this air harbor to be recognized as the most extreme in the world for landing, because the crew has to make incredible turns among the mountains. Takeoff is no less scary and dangerous: the plane flies in a spiral right above the airport, gradually gaining altitude and rising over the Himalayas. Such tricks are possible only during the day and only under good weather conditions.
Around the world, only a few pilots (8 to 25 professionals according to various sources) are licensed and authorized to perform such fast and extreme maneuvers in dangerous conditions.
Paro Airport in Bhutan holds the position of leader in the list of "the most dangerous airports in the world."
And what does landing at the most terrible airports in the world look like through the eyes of a pilot? Watch the video if you are not afraid to shake the nervous system.
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According to most pilots, takeoff and landing are the most dangerous moments in a flight. However, some conditions are riskier than others, yet no amount of mountain peaks, cliff sides, crowded beaches, and main roads seem to stop the brave pilots on this list who work in these conditions every day.
In this list, we will describe the most extreme and dangerous airports from around the world. So, fasten your seat belts:
10. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Saba Island
Getting to this amazingly beautiful Caribbean island is not easy, and all because of the runway, which is only 396 meters long - which is quite a bit longer than most runways on aircraft carriers. The impossibly short airstrip is surrounded by high cliffs and dangerously close to a steep slope that leads straight into the ocean.
For these reasons, this airport is considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world. A pilot's misjudgment during takeoff can send the plane straight into the abyss. Large planes avoid this airport for obvious reasons, but even for very small planes like the Cessna, landing is a difficult task, especially in bad weather. Well, at least everyone knows what is to blame for the constant decline in tourism on the island.
9. Chandu Banda Airport (Qamdo Bamda Airport)
Tibet
Chandu Banda Airport is the highest airport in the world, at over 4,330 meters above sea level. In addition to the height of the location of this airport, it also impresses with an almost 5.5-kilometer runway.
A runway sixty football fields long may seem like overkill, but obviously the length of the runway is critical to making safe landings at high altitudes. When an airplane starts descending into an area at sea level at a speed of 241 kilometers per hour, in order for it to come to a complete stop, it needs a runway that is at least 1524 meters long. But when it lands on terrain more than 4,330 meters above sea level, the length of the runway needed to bring it to a complete stop must be twice as long.
Traveling at high altitudes can actually be extremely dangerous and travelers should be aware of the danger before they even fly to such places.
8. Gustaf III Airport
Saint Barthélemy
The small airport Gustav III, on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy, exposes both pilots and passengers to quite serious dangers. The runway on which the runway was built is incredibly narrow, and planes approach landing frighteningly close to the hillsides of the surrounding area, putting the plane at risk of crashing into the ocean every time they land.
This YouTube video is a great illustration of what you have to go through if something goes wrong on landing. It is good that at least in this case no one received even minor injuries.
7 Ice Runway
Antarctica
The dangers of the Ice Runway have more to do with the extreme weather that the pilot has to contend with than with the layout or location of the airport itself. The ice airstrip is one of the three largest airstrips used to transport scientists and supplies to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. As its name suggests, there are no tarmac roads here - just long stretches of carefully cleared ice and snow.
There is no shortage of space on the Ice Runway, so even a huge aircraft can land relatively easily here. The difficulty lies in landing the plane so that its weight, combined with the weight of its cargo, does not break through the ice and so that the plane does not get stuck in soft snow. As soon as the ice on this runway begins to crack, planes are diverted to Pegasus Field and Williams Field, two other runways serving the station.
6. Courchevel Airport
France
The city of Courchevel in the French Alps is one of the most famous ski resorts in Europe, but the city seems to owe much of its fame to its mountainous airport. Not only is Courchevel Airport famous for its impossibly tall and bizarre location, but it also played an important role in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, in which Mr. Bond successfully landed a plane at a highly dangerous airport.
5. Barra International Airport
Scotland
This is quite possibly the only airport in the world that also serves as a beach. Takeoffs and landings at Barra Airport take place on the same sand that people walk on after hours for the airport. And that's not all: at high tide in the evening, the headlights of all passing cars help the pilot to land the plane. For those who just want to enjoy a romantic stroll along the beach, there are warning signs informing people of all upcoming aircraft landings.
Believe it or not, Barra is still an officially recognized international airport by the Air Traffic Organization, and it seems that any logical or rational proposals are not taken into account by the authorities. We can only hope that they are better informed than we are about all the intricacies of this airport location!
4. Toncontin International Airport
Honduras
In Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, you can land at one of the most dangerous and infamous airports in the world. It has been the subject of several accidents, including a plane crash in 2008 that killed five passengers. This airport was opened back in 1934, when the planes were less powerful and did not need such long runways.
The Tonkotin airstrip is a little over 2133 meters long and is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. And what is even more incredible - at the moment the danger of this airport is that it has only one runway and one runway for aircraft, which greatly increases the risk of accidents. Despite all these high-risk factors, large aircraft such as the Boeing 757 land at this airport on a daily basis.
3. Tenzing-Hillary Airport
Nepal
The airport was originally called Lukla Airport, but was later renamed Tenzing and Hillary Airport to commemorate the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Located in the city of Lukla, Nepal, the airport serves thousands of rock climbers hoping to "conquer" Everest, as well as amateur climbers looking to explore the Everest region.
Among the dangers of this airport, you can list strong winds and heavy clouds - but these are not the worst factors at all. As with Gustav III Airport, one end of the runway at Tenzing and Hillary Airport ends in high terrain, only instead of a beautiful sandy beach at the other end, you will experience a 609-meter drop.
There have already been several accidents at this airport, and the last one happened on October 12, 2010.
2. Madeira International Airport
Portugal
When Madeira International Airport was first opened in 1964, the length of each of its two main runways did not exceed 1600 meters.
After a horrific accident in 1977, during which a Boeing 727 on its way to land crashed on a stone bridge and ended up on the beach, one of the runways was extended by 200 meters. In the early 2000s, the runway was extended even further, and now runs across the beach, supported by columns.
Even with the extended runway, the most casual landing is still not an easy task for even the most experienced pilots. Against all their instincts, and in order to set the aircraft on the right landing course, pilots must first steer the aircraft towards the vague outline of a mountaintop, and then swerve quickly to the left to avoid hitting the mountain.
1. Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar
Gibraltar Airport is not only one of the most dangerous airports in the world, but also one of the busiest (especially when compared to the other dangerous airports included in this list). No matter how incredible it may sound, the route of this airport actually passes through the main street of the city.
Vehicles are forced to stop every time the plane lands or takes off. Even more surprising is that there has never been a single major accident here - and we hope that there will not be any.
India's 100th airport opens Himalayas, in the northeastern state of Sikkim. Due to the most difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions, the runway alone took 9 years to build. But the result met all expectations - the airport is already called the most beautiful and picturesque in the world.
Sikkim is a former kingdom in the Himalayas, connected by eight high mountain passes to Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. Now Sikkim is an Indian state that has never had an airport. But the authorities decided that it was time to correct the situation.
The airport was built on a mountainside in Pakyong County, 30 kilometers from the state capital Gangtok. The construction was so complex that it is already being called an engineering marvel.
By the way, Mount Kanchenjunga is located in Sikkim, which occupies the third line in the ranking of the highest peaks in the world. And because of the extremely difficult landscape, there is no rail link in the state.
If we talk about roads, they often suffer from landslides and floods, and there are no roads at all north of the Miang region.
The airport is built on top of a hill 1371 meters above sea level, 60 kilometers from the border with China. From all sides the structure is surrounded by mountain valleys.
As for the runway, its length is only 1.75 kilometers, but it still took 9 years to build.
In addition to the weather and landscape, construction was further complicated by the fact that engineering equipment had to be delivered through narrow mountain roads. Also, Sikkim is characterized by high seismicity, and from April to September there is a rainy season.
The land for the airport was literally cut out of the mountain - special geotechnical engineering installations were used. Specialists also built a supporting wall 80 meters high to protect the airport building - this is one of the highest such structures in the world.
The airport terminal can serve about 100 passengers at the same time, the building is also equipped with parking for 50 cars.
The airport will start operations on October 4, which is expected to increase the number of tourists visiting Sikkim. Moreover, this Indian state boasts the real beauties of the Himalayas: picturesque mountain peaks, ancient monasteries, high-altitude lakes and glaciers.
A large number of people are sincerely afraid of air travel, and everyone has their own reasons for this. People who understand air transport and the features of managing it are well aware that the most dangerous during flights is takeoff and landing operations. Of course, we must not forget about natural factors that affect calmness during the trip, including rocky terrain, mountains, sandy coasts and other features of the natural landscape that must be taken into account by the crew of airliners. Further, the most dangerous airports in the world will be considered, on which takeoff and landing maneuvers require special skill and utmost concentration from the crew.
Juancho E. Yrausquin
The first air gate on our list is located on one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean - Saba. Perhaps this is the most dangerous airport in the world, topping the list because of its disastrously short runway. Its length is equal to approximately 396 meters. However, if this fact can still be somehow reconciled, then the picture is complemented by high cliffs surrounding the landing zone, and a nearby steep slope leading directly to the ocean.
Landing here requires absolute concentration from the crew - incorrect calculations can cost the lives of all passengers, since there is a high probability that the ship will fall into the abyss. Most pilots try to avoid this airport. Even professionals do not risk flying here. Takeoff and landing maneuvers are often quite difficult even for small aircraft. Weather conditions on the island are also sometimes unpredictable. Of course, this situation leads to a significant decrease in the flow of tourists who want to relax on this island, even despite the beauty and solitude of this paradise.
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Qamdo Bamda
The Tibetan air complex Qamdo Bamda became the record holder in height. Its location at 4250 meters exceeds sea level. Taking off and landing at such an altitude is very dangerous, so the airport is equipped with a fairly large runway area, the duration of which is 3500 meters. But here it is still allowed to serve both large and small aircraft.
Even at sea level, approach speed is 241 km/h. To ensure a safe landing and a complete stop, an average aircraft may need about 1520 meters, but at the altitude at which the Tibetan airfield is located, this distance is at least doubled.
Qamdo Bamda airport
Gustaf III
The next air hub is located on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy. For pilots, there are quite tough conditions here:
- firstly, the runway here has a very narrow corridor, which threatens catastrophically close approach of aircraft to the slopes of the elevation of the local landscape during landing;
- secondly, the length of the airport runway is only 640 meters, which is suitable only for small aircraft (up to 20 passengers);
- thirdly, the strip begins at the road junction, and ends right at the local beach, which is why the planes fly right over the heads of vacationers.
Air Gate Gustaf III
ice runway
You can guess the features of the next runway by its name alone. She made it to our list of the 10 most dangerous airports in the world because of her ice cover, and also due to unpredictable weather conditions reigning in this area. This strip, located in Antarctica, is used primarily for the needs of McMurdo Station. In order to somehow facilitate the task facing the crew, the runway is carefully looked after, turning it into a well-groomed landing area of ice and snow. Landing here is complicated by the fact that the pilot needs to calculate whether the ice will break under the weight of the aircraft, and whether the ship will get stuck in the snow. If suddenly the ice here begins to melt a little, the planes are immediately redirected to other Antarctic air hubs.
Ice Runway
Courchevel
Probably everyone has heard of one of the the best ski resorts Europe - Courchevel. It is located in the town of the same name in the French Alps. But this place has become famous not only for its excellent conditions for first-class sports recreation. The popular resort has its own airport, located right in the middle of the mountains.
The Courchevel airfield has become the main location in one of the films of the legendary Bondiana "Tomorrow Never Dies", in which the main character manages to masterfully land the plane on the most dangerous runway.
The aerocomplex was forced to be built on a mountain slope, the slope of which is 18 degrees. But there are other difficulties for pilots:
- hump on the territory of the runway;
- the length of the local landing zone is about 530 meters.
Needless to say, but air travel to Courchevel turns into a very exciting journey. Quite often, flights are canceled here due to bad weather conditions.
Courchevel Airport - famous and dangerous
barra
The unique beach-airport is located in Barra Island (Scotland). This is a unique aerocomplex, the runway of which is beach. It is noteworthy that at high tide it is completely flooded with water, so flights have to be planned taking into account these natural factors.
The only help for pilots during landings during night tides is the light from the headlights of passing cars.
In order for vacationers to know about the arrival of aircraft, special warning signs. Landing here is breathtaking not only for the crew, but also for the locals.
Barra's unique beach-airport
Toncontin
The Honduran airport is notorious around the world due to several accidents. The airfield began to serve aircraft in 1934. In those days, aircraft were not as powerful, and they did not need much space for acceleration and takeoff. The runway area of the complex has a length of 2133 meters and is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. It is also worth noting that Toncontin has only one way for aircraft to take off and land.
Toncontin airport
Tenzing Hillary
Tenzing Hillary Airfield is located in eastern Nepal. Mostly climbers are served here: someone dreams of conquering Everest, and someone is simply interested in the region. All guests traveling by plane already understand the danger of flying and landing in these places already on the approach. The region often rages strong wind currents and dominate thick cloud cover. It is quite difficult to perform any maneuvers here. In addition, one end of the local runway ends in a sharp drop.
Tenzing-Hillary Airfield
Madeira
The danger of the Portuguese air hub Madeira lies in the relatively small length of its runways. Rocks and ocean literally squeezed between an air complex. The crew of any aircraft during landing is faced with a very difficult task - first direct the car towards the mountains, and then make sharp turn before completing the maneuver.
The runway of the air hub is erected on high pillars, and the structure itself resembles a bridge.
The famous Madeira airport
Gibraltar
The Gibraltar air hub deservedly appeared in our top. It is considered not only one of the most dangerous, but also an extremely busy air complex in the world. The feature of this airfield was the location of its runway - it crosses one of the main streets of the city! Every time an airliner takes off or lands, all urban transport has to be completely shut down.