

And oh yes, residential buildings, civilian traffic, and the Rock of Gibraltar to the sides. This runway, located in the British territory of Gibraltar, is surrounded by water at both ends.

Yrausquin Airport has the shortest commercial runway in the world, checking in at just 1,299 feet. Tucked away in the Caribbean island of Saba, the Juancho E. Needless to say, there’s not much room for error when landing here. Not only does the runway slope upwards with a gradient of 18.6%, it’s also extremely short, measuring in at just 1,762 feet. Qamdo Bamda Airport in China has the longest paved runway in the world at 18,045 feet.

Nestled in the French Alps, the runway here is built into the side of a mountain and is assuredly not for the faint of heart. Only 1,300 feet long, the runway at the Saba Airport is the shortest commercial runway in the world. At the same time, hitting the runway too late might leave your plane in the water.Īnd here’s what it looks like from the pilot’s perspective. Barts Island is not only narrow, but planes coming in for a landing have to be careful as to not hit a sloping hillside upon approaching. Jean Airport, the runway at this airport on St. And as if that weren’t terrifying enough, the entire runway is only 1,729 ft long.Īlso known as the St. Everest, the Lukla Airport runway is nestled between a mountain on one end and a 1,000 foot drop into a valley on the other. Known more widely as the airport one flies into before trekking up Mt. Located in Nepal, the Lukla Airport was once voted by the History Channel as the most extreme airport in the world. Imagine catching a few rays on the beach and being greeted by this monster steadily approaching from off in the distance. This airport runway lies eerily close to a tourist friendly beach and is practically famous for planes approaching at altitudes so low that beachgoers either want to run for cover or stay put and experience the rush of being abnormally close to a plane flying overhead. Without question, have to start with Princess Juliana International Airport in St. At just a quarter of a mile, the runway is only slightly longer than the average aircraft carrier, and that’s the reason why jet aircrafts are banned from using the runway.DON’T MISS: 10 of the best iPhone widgets in the worldġ) Princess Juliana International Airport The Carribean island of Saba is home to the world’s shortest commercial runway, i.e., the Juancho Yrausquin Airport. Sure, anyone can land at big, impressive airports, but wedging one on a tiny island plateau is impressive too. Which Greek Island has the shortest runway? The shortest commercial runway in the world is too short for all but the tiniest planes.

It's so short that it is not unheard of for passengers to be removed from flights because planes are occasionally too heavy to take off.
