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Not every airport promises a smooth landing, with planes having to battle with treacherous conditions and terrain to get their passengers to their destination.
Not every airport promises a smooth landing, with planes having to battle with treacherous conditions and terrain to get their passengers to their destination.
(Image: Getty)
With an average of over 9,700 planes carrying nearly 1.3 million passengers in the sky at any given time, taking off and landing at different locations, airports are some the most important structures in the world.
They provide the necessary infrastructure for efficient air travel, but not all airports promise to be as safe as others.
Some of them are considered to be very dangerous and not for the faint-hearted, whether it is because of rugged terrain or treacherous weather conditions.
Revealed below are the top ten most dangerous airports in the world.
Located on the Caribbean island of Saba, belonging to the Netherlands, this airport is known for its very short and narrow runway of just over 400 metres. Only a portion of this is actually useable, meaning the runway is not that much longer than an aircraft carrier.
The runway is surrounded by steep cliffs and pilots must be highly skilled to take off and land safely. It is actually built on Saba’s only section of flat land. There are sheer drops into the sea at either end.
A souvenir shop in the village of Windwardside sells T-shirts adorned with the slogan: “I survived the Saba landing!”
(Image: Getty)
- The McMurdo Ice Runway is located on the Ross Ice Shelf and is the only airstrip on theAntarctic continent. The airport is considered to be one of the most dangerous airports in the world due to its icy conditions and short runway at just 557 metres.
It is the principal runway for the US Antarctic Program during the summer Antarctic field season due to its proximity to the McMurdo Research Station.
The annual sea-ice runway for wheeled aircraft is constructed at the start of each season and is used until early December when the sea ice begins to break up.
(Image: Getty)
Queen Beatrix International Airport is located in the south of the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. It is known for its narrow runway and turbulent winds, which make it difficult for pilots to land and take off.
It has flight services to the US, Canada and several countries in the Caribbean, the northern coastal countries of South America and some parts of Europe, notably the Netherlands.
It is named after Beatrix of the Netherlands, who was Queen from 1980 to 2013.
(Image: Getty)
Located in the French Alps, Courchevel Airport is known for its precise landing approaches that require pilots to make sharp turns at the ends of the runway. There is no go-around procedure for the landings due to the surrounding mountainous terrain.
The runway is only about 537 metres long, making it one of the shortest runways in the world. It also has a gradient of 18.6 percent.
The runway has no instrument approach procedure or lighting aids, making landing in fog or low clouds unsafe and almost impossible. The airfield primarily sees use by smaller fixed-wing aircraft including Cessnas, as well as helicopters.
(Image: Getty)
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