Engineers tasked with building an airport are faced with countless challenges. The ideal spot needs ample space, endless flat ground, favorable winds and great visibility. But locations in the real world are rarely ideal, and engineers are forced to work with what they have, making sure that the end product is the safest possible structure for pilots.
Consequently, there are some crazy airports out there, which go to make hurtling at them at hundreds of miles an hour even more exciting. So here then, is our gallery of the top 10 world’s wackiest airports, in no particular order…
#1 Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan
Background…
Land is a scarce resource in Japan, so engineers headed roughly 3 miles offshore into Osaka Bay to build this colossal structure. Work on the manmade island started in 1987, and by 1994 jumbo jets were touching down. Travelers can get from the airport to the main island of Honshu via car, railroad or even a high-speed ferry.
Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan
Why it’s unique…
Kansai’s artificial island is 2.5 miles long and 1.6 miles wide – so large that it’s visible from space. Earthquakes, dangerous cyclones, an unstable seabed, and sabotage attempts from protestors are just some of the variables engineers were forced to account for. As impressive as the airport is, Stewart Schreckengast, a professor of aviation technology at Purdue University and a former aviation consultant, cautions that climate change and rising sea levels pose a very real threat to the airport’s existence. “When this was built, [engineers] probably didn’t account for global warming,” he told Popular Mechanics magazine. “In 50 years or so, this might be underwater.”
#2 Gibraltar Airport
Background…
Between Morocco and Spain sits the tiny British territory of Gibraltar. Construction of the airport dates back to World War II, and it continues to serve as a base for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, though commercial flights land on a daily basis.
Gibraltar Airport on the island between Spain and Morocco
Why it’s unique…
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar’s busiest road, cuts directly across the runway. Railroad-style crossing gates hold cars back every time a plane lands or departs. There’s essentially a mountain on one side of the island and a town on the other. The runway goes from side to side on the island because it’s the only flat space there, so it’s the best they can do. It’s a fairly safe operation as far as keeping people away, it just happens to be the best place to land…so sometimes it’s a road and sometimes it’s a runway.
#3 Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Background…
From a distance Don Mueang International looks like any other mid-size airport. However, smack in the middle of the two runways is an 18-hole golf course.
Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Why it’s unique…
Schreckengast, who has worked on consulting projects at this airport, says one of the major problems is that the only taxiways were located at the end of the runways. “We recommended that they build an additional taxiway in the middle, from side to side, and they said ‘absolutely not, that will take out a green and one fairway.’” The airport and the course were originally an all-military operation, but have since opened up to commercial traffic. Security threats, naturally, have limited the public’s access to the greens.
#4 Princess Juliana International Airport, Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Background…
This one is almost infamous amongst fans of the bizarre. Nothing says fun in the sun like roaring engines and the smell of jet exhaust. Landing on this Caribbean island forces pilots to fly over a small strip of beach, clear a decent-size fence and pass over a road just before hitting the runway.
Princess Juliana International Airport, Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten
Why it’s unique…
Not many airports are flanked by oceanfront property filled with tourists standing under incoming aircraft. While the tourists are not really in harm’s way – with the exception of their ear drums. Apparently however, trucks driving on the small road between the beach and the runway could be at risk. The challenge is to make sure there’s not a big semi truck coming through when the plane is landing. It becomes a vertical obstacle, and, if the truck is light, the jet blast could blow it over.
#5 Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba, Netherlands Antilles
Background…
Getting to this paradise-like island can be a bit distressing thanks to a 1300-foot-long runway, slightly longer than most aircraft carrier runways.
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba, Netherlands Antilles
Why it’s unique…
Large planes aren’t landing here, but the small runway is difficult even for Cessnas and similar aircraft. The little X means don’t land there. This little airport is a vital supply line to the island, without it the people here don’t get things they routinely need, like mail. Given the limited amount of land and rolling topography of the island, not many other options exist.
Pages: 1 2
