Choose one of those exciting airports to fly those dangerous approaches
Courchevel Airport is an airport that serves the ski area in the French Alps. It has an upslope runway that is adjacent to a popular area for ski runs. Aircraft cannot make landings during fogs or low clouds because of the airport’s lack of instrument approach procedures. Its runway measures only 525 meters long. It primarily serves only small fixed winged aircraft and helicopters. The airfield itself has an elevation of 6,588 meters.
Barra International Airport is also known as the Barra Eoligarry Airport. It is located in Barra Island in Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It is the only airport in the world that actually uses a beach as a runway. When high tide comes, the runways actually go under the sea. Thus, flights are scheduled based on the tide. The airport has short runways, with three runways forming a triangle marked by permanent wooden poles at the ends. Small aircraft like Twin Otters can land into the wind.
Toncontin International Airport is also known as the Teniente Coronel Hernan Acosta Mejia Airport. It is located in Tegucigalpa in Honduras and serves both civilian and military aircraft. It has a short runway and is extremely close to mountain terrains. Its runways are significantly shorter than other international airports, despite recent efforts to extend its length. The single asphalt runway measures only 2,163 meters and sits at an elevation of 1,005 meters.
Tenzing Hillary Airport is also known as Lukia Airport. It is named after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the peak of Mount Everest. It is located in the place where hikers begin their climb to the base camp of Mount Everest. It is almost always beset with high winds and cloud cover, making visibility unpredictable even though the skies may be clear and the sun is shining in the capital of Kathmandu. The runway measures only 460 meters and can only accommodate small planes and helicopters. Due to the terrain, arriving planes can use only one runway. Departing aircraft use another.
Madeira Airport is also known as Santa Catarina Airport or Funchal Airport. It is located in Madeira Island in Portugal. The ocean and high mountains surround the runway. Once infamous for its short runway, Portuguese authorities were able to double it through outstanding engineering. Instead of reclaiming land from the sea, they decided to build a series of 180 columns measuring 70 meters tall. The ingenuity shown in extending the runway earned the airport recognition from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.
Gibraltar International Airport is a civilian airport in the British territory of Gibraltar. The airport’s runway intersects with Winston Churchill Avenue, the main road leading to the border with Spain. Traffic therefore has to be stopped every time a plane lands or departs. The terminal features the scenic Rock of Gibraltar in its background. Though considered a British territory in which the ownership is disputed by Spain, the airport is also widely used by people going to or coming from the nearby Spanish areas of Costa del Sol and Campo de Gibraltar.