HAZARDOUS AIRPORTS

JUANCHO E. YRAUSQUIN AIRPORT, SABA

The only airport of Saba, a little Caribbean island belonging to the

Netherlands, the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is famous for its

runway that “boasts” the title of the shortest commercial

runway in the world. With a length of just 396m (1,300ft), the

runway is only used by small planes but even these

have problems while landing on it.

GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, GIBRALTAR

With just about 380,000 passengers handled annually the Gibraltar

airport is one of the smallest on the list but the fact its runway

cuts through a local major road makes it one of the most bizarre

and dangerous airports in the world. In fact, the History Channel

 program Most Extreme Airports ranked this airport as the

world´s fifth most extreme.

GISBORNE AIRPORT, NEW ZEALAND

But a main road is not the only thing that can cross an airport´s

runway. Located on the east coast of the North Island of 

New Zealand, the Gisborne Airport is famous for having a railway

line crossing the runway. While managing air traffic alone is

usually very demanding, we can only guess what coordinating

airplanes and trains together can be like.

WELLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NEW ZEALAND

Landing in the New Zealand capital´s airport can also turn into an

unintentional adrenaline experience. Frequent gusty winds and

the channelling effect of the Cook Straight often cause rough

take-offs and landings here. Moreover, this airport´s runway is

very short, bordering with the ocean coast on each side.

MATEKANE AIR STRIP, LESOTHO

Perched at the edge of a 600 metre (2,000ft) cliff, the Matekane Air

Strip is a regional airport in Lesotho. Used mostly by charity

organizations and medical staff to access local remote villages,

this airport´s runway ranks among the scariest in the world.

Measuring just 400 metres (1,300ft), it runs right off the cliff.

IBRAHIM NASIR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, MALDIVES

Also known as Malé International Airport, the Ibrahim Nasir

International Airport is the main airport in Maldives, a popular

tourist destination in the Indian Ocean. Permanently threatened

by floods, the airport´s main runway is also infamous for

its little manoeuvring space.

ICE RUNWAY, ANTARCTICA

Used to deliver supplies to the McMurdo station, the Ice Runway

is an airport in Antarctica. Considering the extreme location of

the airport, the main threat is obvious – the severe Antarctic weather.

In 1960, a US Navy Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star from

Oceanographic Development Squadron Eight crashed

while attempting to land on the Ice Runway.

CONGONHAS AIRPORT, BRAZIL

Named after the neighbourhood where it is located, the Congonhas

Airport in Brazil is another airport that sits right in a city downtown.

When the airport was built in the 1930’s, it was outside the

built-up area but over the years urban sprawl has crept up on

the airport and gradually taken it over, leaving little space

for planes to land.