20 airports difficult to land and take off (20 photos)

There are airports that not only passengers fear, but also pilots themselves. Professionals talked about runways, airports and even cities that they don’t like.





Bhutan's Paro airport is one of the most dangerous in the world. The air harbor is located in the Himalayas at an altitude of more than 2 km. Only 7 pilots have certificates giving them the right to land at this airport.

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The runway of Lukla Airport in Nepal is located at a slope of 12% at an elevation of 2860 meters above sea level. The length of the strip is only 527 meters, there is a cliff on one side and a rock on the other. It won't be possible to leave for the second run.

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"LaGuardia in New York. It is inherently dangerous when landings alternate with takeoffs on an intersecting runway. In the early 90s, I narrowly avoided a collision due to a mistake by the controllers, which they still did not want to admit."

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Gibraltar Airport. Its runway, which ends at the sea, is crossed in the middle by a road. In addition, strong winds blow here.

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Madeira International Airport, Portugal.

"I'm not a pilot, but I've worked for an airline for many years. I love the island of Madeira, but my first landing experience there was on a rainy, foggy day in mid-February 1989, when the only runway was much shorter and less wide than now. On windy days (which is most days), planes fly like hawks, balancing left and right, sometimes narrowly avoiding a collision with the runway. In conditions of limited or no visibility, if you overshoot the runway or get caught in a spiral downward wind, you are finished."

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Innsbruck International Airport, Austria. The runway is only two kilometers long, surrounded by mountains.

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"As an older and experienced pilot (85 years old), I can say that landing and taking off at Catalina Island Airport is both challenging and exciting. The runway is on a plateau, so the approach is over water. Although you are very high above the ocean, you much lower in relation to the runway. And when you take off, it seems to end just a few hundred feet away from you, you just can't see it."

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"Kai Tak Airport, specifically Runway 13, in Hong Kong. Many pilot friends and relatives have talked about what a nightmare it used to be to land at this airport. Landing took place in the center of a densely populated city surrounded by mountains. Not the best idea. Landing was so complex that only aces were allowed to carry it out, but accidents still happened..."

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"Have you ever heard of the Brazilian airports Santos Dumont in Rio de Janeiro and Congonhas in Sao Paulo? I'm not a pilot, but I hate these places. Landings and takeoffs are simply terrifying. In Sao Paulo you can see people who sitting and watching TV in the apartment buildings surrounding the airport. In Rio, one mistake and your plane will float like the picture above."



Skiathos International Airport in Greece. A short runway with nothing but the Aegean Sea at either end and hills on either side.

eleven.



"My least favorite is Narita International Airport in Greater Tokyo. Not because of the terrain or the length of the runway, but because of the dangerous, unstable winds. Wind gusts of 25-40 m/s suddenly appear out of nowhere and can cause damage landing planes. Often have to go to land in neighboring airharbors."

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"Sandane, Norway. It's an 800 meter long airstrip, sandwiched between fjords and mountains. You get very close to almost vertical mountain slopes and the turbulence can be very strong. I've only landed here in good weather in a light aircraft."

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"Not the worst airport in the world. But San Diego International Airport in Southern California is the kind of airport that will make pilots wake up on approach. There are 200-foot hills a mile from either end of the only runway." .

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"Flurø, Norway. Until 2001, the runway was 800 meters long with a slope angle of 5.4 degrees. Today the runway is 1200 meters long. There are mountains in the immediate vicinity of the airport. After landing late in the evening, it is difficult to sleep in the rain and strong winds , because the adrenaline is still flowing through the veins."

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"Telluride comes to mind. It's a box canyon, tilted 3 degrees, with a huge dip in the middle of the runway."

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"Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Most of the vehicle drivers at the airport are extremely incompetent. They are insufficiently trained and slow. A few months ago, the flap fairing of one of our A320 aircraft was torn off by a forklift. And I was almost hit by a baggage handler, when I was making my rounds."

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"JFK International Airport. Flight delays are normal. Being number 29 for takeoff is also normal."

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"It's pretty scary in Juneau, Alaska. There's a big mountain at the end of the runway."

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"The Lake Tahoe airport is pretty bad. There's a much safer Douglas County airport nearby. Flying into Lake Tahoe is like flying into a toilet. Flying out is like getting out of it. There may be some pilots who like challenging airports."

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"Alton Bay in January/February. You land on a frozen lake and try to control an aircraft that is already difficult to maneuver on the ground, let alone difficult on ice."