There are over 40,000 airports in the world in nearly every location you can think of. Some, however, aren’t the easiest for taking off or landing planes. Whether the runway is too short, the elevation is too high, or the weather is always bad, there are certain airports that you’re better off not experiencing:
There are airports near beaches and then there are airports that are beaches. At the Barra Airport in Scotland, planes take off and land on the beach – when the tide hasn’t washed it away. In between departures and landings, the beach is open to the public and if you’re scheduled for a flight in late afternoon or evening, you’ll find out that the runway is only illuminated by car headlights.
The Courchevel Airport is literally located in the French Alps and has a runway so short, planes have to land on an inclined strip in order to slow down and take off on a declined strip in order to build up enough speed to get airborne. Only private planes, helicopters, and charter planes are allowed to land at this tiny airport.
Otherwise known as “Lukla Airport,” the Tenzing-Hillary Airport is located at the place where most people start their journey up Mount Everest. Because it’s located at such a high altitude, pilots often have to deal with high winds, extreme clouds, and a runway that is short and situated between a huge mountain and a 3,000-foot cliff.
There’s not much room for an airport on the Caribbean island of St. Barthelemy, so the narrow runway of Gustaf III Airport was constructed in between the ocean and a naturally elevated main road. When planes approach, they must fly directly over traffic and after they land, slow down enough to not run into the ocean.
Unlike most of the other airports on this list, the Ice Runway is very long and wide, so planes have room to land – but they must land on ice in the middle of the ocean. Not only are weather conditions bad in the area, but pilots have to make sure they don’t carry too much weight in their planes, or else they’ll break the ice.
*Photo courtesy of YouTube.com
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