Melanie has been interested in cultures, languages, and travel since her youth.

Airports serve a significant purpose: to get people and goods from one place to another. Unfortunately, many areas throughout the world don't have the best conditions for an airport.



Engineers work countless hours to create landing strips in places where airports were not thought possible. The marvels of modern engineering have allowed us to build airports where they really shouldn't be. The unique locations of these landing strips and airports cause problems when conditions are less than perfect.



These airports often present difficulties because of their geographic location or because of their design, because of these issues, maneuvering planes can be problematic for many of the pilots who fly to these locations. Because of the challenges of taking off and landing, these are considered to be the most dangerous airports in the world.

The runway at Lukla airport has a gradient of 12 percent and when planes take off, they plunge downhill off a 2,000-foot cliff!

These are the most dangerous airports:

Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten

Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Barra Airport on the Scottish Island of Barra

Gibralter Airport

Gustaf III Airport on the island of St. Barts

Tenzing-Hillary Airport (aka Lukla airport) near Mount Everest

Paro Airport in the Himalayas, Bhutan

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport serving the island of Saba in the Netherland Antilles

Madeira International Airport on the Portuguese island of Madeira

Courchevel Airport at the Courchevel ski resort in France

Ice Runway in Antarctica

Svalbard Airport serving the Svalbard archipelago in Norway

Don Mueang International Airport serving Bangkok, Thailand

A sign posted at Princess Juliana International Airport warning tourists of jet blasts. Jj04, CC-BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Princess Juliana International Airport

Princess Juliana International Airport, also called Sint Maarten International Airport, services the Dutch side of the island of Saint Martin (Sint Maarten in Dutch.) This airport is considered dangerous because of its touristy beach location in regards to the low-flying planes. Jet blasts from planes have been known to knock beach-goers into the water as the runway starts just off the beach.



The design of this airport makes Sint Maarten a favorite locale for plane spotters as it is one of the few places left in the world where people can be in such close contact to a plane landing or taking off. However, due to the popularity of plane spotting here, additional fencing was added to the end of the runway to protect tourists who purposefully cling to the fences to be blown into the water by landing aircraft.

Slippery when wet! (Congonhas Airport) Jorge Andrade, CC-BY, via Flickr

2. Congonhas Airport

Congonhas Airport (sometimes referred to as Sao Paulo Airport) serves the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Because of the design of the runway, rainwater proves to be dangerous at this airport. The slippery runways at Congonhas Airport have been the cause of several accidents. To reduce the effects of rainwater, new runways have been put in. There are grooves in the new runways to collect excess water.



The safety concerns at this airport do not end there. Because the area surrounding the airport is highly populated, the airport reduced the number of incoming flights. Another safety precaution put in place was to reduce the maximum weight for aircraft.



The Congonhas Airport is one of three airports that serves Sao Paulo (and is the 2nd busiest in all of Brazil.) With the new precautions in place, there is a demand for yet another airport to serve the city.

The hard sand beach on the island of Barra makes for the perfect runway James Gray, CC-BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons

3. Barra Airport

Barra Airport (sometimes called Barra Eoligarry Airport) is located at Traigh Mhòr, a beach on the Scottish island of Barra. This is the only airport in the world that uses a sandy beach as a runway.



There are three runways on this beach, each marked with wooden poles (very sophisticated technology.) While there are three runways, only one is used at any given time. The working runway is chosen based on which direction the wind is blowing. An interesting fact about this "airport" is that during high tide, all three runways are entirely underwater (and unusable.)



While this airport typically isn't used at night, sometimes emergency flights come in and out during the evening. To allow safe passage for these planes, the lights of vehicles are used to mark out the runway.

All traffic on Winston Churchill Avenue must stop when planes are taking off and landing at Gibraltar Airport. intophotos, CC-BY, via Flickr

4. Gibraltar Airport

The Gibraltar Airport, sometimes called North Front Airport, is considered the most dangerous airport in Europe. Located only 500 meters from the Gibraltar city center, the runway for this airport cuts right through the city. One of the scarier aspects of this airport is that a busy street, Winston Churchill Avenue, intersects the runway. Because of this, when a plane lands or takes off, the road has to be closed.



Gibraltar Airport was originally an emergency airfield for the British Navy. Today, the airport is used to haul cargo to the area and to bring in tourists.

The runway at Tenzing-Hillary Airport Simon Deutsch, CC-BY, via Flickr

5. Gustaf III Airport

Gustaf III Airport goes by several names: St. Jean Airport, St. Jean, Saint Barthélemy Airport, and even Aérodrome de St Jean. Located in the village of St. Jean on the island of Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts), this airport is considered to be the third most dangerous airport in the world.



The airstrip is at the foot of a slope and ends right on the beach. Planes taking off and fly directly overhead beach-goers. Incoming flights coming from the opposite direction have a steep descent due to the hilltop. The danger presented at this airport is because of the tricky maneuvering pilots must perform when landing.

6. Tenzing-Hillary Airport

Tenzing-Hillary Airport was originally called Lukla Airport but was renamed to honor the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest: Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. This airport, located in Lukla, Nepal, serves those wishing to climb Mount Everest as well as those wanting to explore the Everest region.

Dangers at this airport include high winds (affecting maneuverability) and cloud cover (affecting visibility), but these aren't the scariest aspects of this airport. Like Gustaf III Airport, one end of the runway is preceded by high terrain, however, instead of a gorgeous sandy beach on the other end, there is a 2000 foot drop! The high winds, cloud cover, steep terrain, and the considerable drop make this the most dangerous airport in the world.



There have been several accidents at this airport, including the most recent which occurred on October 12, 2010. In this accident, a Dornier Do 228 aircraft operated by Sita Air lost control while landing and crashed into the wall-end of the runway. Remarkably, everyone survived!

The island of Saba Richie Diesterheft, cc-by-sa, via Flickr

7. Paro Airport

Paro Airport in Bhutan is sandwiched between two 18,000+ foot Himalayan mountains. This airport is one of the most dangerous places to land as planes must be maneuvered between mountains (with, of course, powerful mountain winds) to land on a tiny runway.



Planes are only allowed to land during the day when visibility is at its best. Doesn't sound quite as bad as Lukla, right? Consider this: This airport is so dangerous that only eight pilots in the entire world are qualified enough to land here. That's some scary stuff!



Pilots need to maneuver between mountains, fly within feet of houses, and land on a narrow, 6,500-foot runway. Planes are only allowed to take off and land during the day since any flying at night has been deemed far too dangerous.

Quick Poll

8. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport serves the tiny island of Saba located in the Netherlands Antilles. This airport is unique as both ends of the extremely short runway end with a cliff. Because of the short runway ending with a cliff on either side, any mistakes in taking off or landing can have a disastrous outcome. As this airport is officially closed, those wishing to land at this airport must obtain a waiver to land.

A view of Madeira Airport and its columns Madeira Islands Tourism, CC-BY, via Flickr

Endangered Airport? Kansai International Airport

Serving the city of Osaka, Japan, Kansai International Airport is located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay. This airport is extremely busy as it is one of the most heavily-used airports in Japan. One problem that threatens this airport is earthquakes, which are common in Japan.



The low elevation of this airport makes it very susceptible to a tsunami should one hit. If that's not enough to scare you out of traveling through this airport, cyclones also put passengers at risk.



Perhaps one of the most significant risks to the airport itself is the rising sea level caused by global warming. While this does not put passengers at risk, the airport may have to be rebuilt on higher ground.

9. Madeira International Airport

Madeira Airport is located near the city of Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira. This airport was initially known for being dangerous because of its short runway (at only 1600 meters in length.)



Shortly after the TAP Portugal Flight 425 accident in 1977 (the deadliest airline accident in Portugal at the time), the runway was scheduled for lengthening. Because the airport was built on the side of a cliff, there was no land on which to extend the runway. To account for this, pillars were used to support the extension.



The difficult task of designing and engineering the new runway was done a Brazilian company known as Andrade Gutierrez. The work done at the Madeira Airport won the company awards including the Outstanding Structures Award given by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. However, even after the construction of the runway extension, this airport is known for being one of the most dangerous in the world.

The airplane scene featured before the credits in the film "GoldenEye" was filmed at Courchevel SagerHead, CC-BY, via Flickr

10. Courchevel Airport

Courchevel Airport, which serves the popular Courchevel ski resort in France, is known for having many conditions which make it a dangerous airport. This airport is tucked in the French Alps and has a high elevation at over 6500 feet above sea-level. With its complicated approach and an extremely short (only 1722 feet in length) runway that slopes upward, it's no wonder that this airport is ranked as the world's 7th most dangerous airport.

Courchevel Airport in the French Alps - he airplane scene featured before the credits in the film "GoldenEye" was filmed at Courchevel

11. Ice Runway

Ice Runway is the name of the runway/airport that services the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The Ice Runway is just that: a runway that is constructed annually when the ocean's ice freezes near the McMurdo Station. Because of this, the runway is only usable in the coldest months of the year. Each plane that lands on the runway is measured with a laser to determine how deeply it is sinking into the ice. Once an aircraft sinks ten inches, it must be moved to a safer location on the ice.

A view of the frozen Svalbard Airport Marius Fiskum, CC-BY, via Wikimedia Commons

12. Svalbard Airport, Longyear

Svalbard Airport, Longyear (Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear) serves the archipelago of Svalbard in Norway. The extremely northerly location of Svalbard made it very difficult to construct this airport. Structural work has been done using ice such as the hangar which is frozen into the ground by massive pillars of ice. Because the airport is built on permafrost, if the land thaws, the airport will be rendered useless. However, much engineering has been done to prevent this from happening. For example, the runway is insulated so that the runway stays colder than the ground.



The runway is reasonably safe, but there have been some accidents here including the worst plane accident in Norwegian history. In 1996, a flight bound for this airport crashed into a mountain just under 10 miles from the airport. All 141 passengers were killed in this accident.

13. Don Mueang International Airport

Servicing Bangkok, Thailand, there is nothing particularly special about Don Mueang International Airport except that there is a golf course in between two of the airport's runways.



Despite the reasonably conventional design of the airport, a large number of flights both landing here and originating here have crashed. While there are different reasons for each crash, the fact that many of these flights are tied to this airport is a scary one.



Does this make the airport suspect? Not necessarily. There has to be an airport that has a higher crash-to-successful landing ratio, this airport just happens to be it!

Quick Poll

© 2011 Melanie

Liz Westwood from UK on October 22, 2018:

I still recall flying from Gibraltar. Two attempts at landing and then flights switch to Malaga I was told. Our plane out landed in bad weather at the second attempt. The cabin crew kept their life jackets on as the plane took off (just in case).

Jake Romulo on August 21, 2018:

Naga, Airport is a worst airport in Naga, Philippines

Claus Anderseb on April 28, 2018:

Madeira Airport has not been considered a dangerous airport since the runway was extended in 2000. It still has the crosswinds yes. But since airplanes are not allowed to land when the wind comes from certain directions, there is no danger in flying to and from the airport any longer. There has been no fatalities at the airport since 1977.

Veronika Prull-Elnrieder on February 28, 2017:

Pretty good list... From the description and stories I heard I go for Tenzing-Hillary as the probably most dangerous one.

Myself I have experienced 5 of the 13 airports, but as an adventure-minded person this has never really scared me. Once in the Caribbean I wondered what the older local women praying intently seated close to me knew what I didn't...

Artemis on August 27, 2016:

Congonhas airport is not just on a highly populated area - it is LITERALLY inside the city. You can actually look inside some apartments when you land there. You can actually see what they are watching on tv.

FreezeFrame34 from Charleston SC on September 05, 2014:

Very interesting read indeed!

Sam Deal from Earth on September 04, 2014:

I'll never look at JFK airport the same way again.

Audrey Selig from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 03, 2014:

This hub is so scary that I cannot believe such airports exist, Melbel. The worst of all is the one with a runway through the city that stops traffic. Why would an airport ever undergo such construction?. What engineer takes responsibility for such insanity? This truly deserved to achieve hub of the day status. You picked an unusual topic, and I will share it. Blessings, Audrey

Helen on July 05, 2014:

I landed in lapland in dec 2013. Really Felt like the plane was never going to stop on the snow and ice. Was Scary.

theBAT on April 14, 2014:

Great hub. As I was reading this, I was wondering if the airport here would be included in your list. Nice information about Barra Airport. Thanks for sharing.

Chad Young from Corona, CA on April 12, 2014:

Once your off the plane which airport is the most dangerous?

Ed Palumbo from Tualatin, OR on April 12, 2014:

Within the U.S.A., I'd say Catalina's "Airport in the Sky" is an interesting airfield, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on a warm day will provide so pucker-power. I enjoyed this interesting Hub!

CraftytotheCore on April 12, 2014:

This is an excellent Hub. Congrats on your HOTD!

Carlo Giovannetti from Puerto Rico on April 12, 2014:

Cool and interesting article. I've also read that the airport here in Culebra, Puerto Rico is pretty dangerous because of its narrow location between some mountains and next to the beach.

Congrats on HOTD also!

SpaceShanty from United Kingdom on April 12, 2014:

Wow, Second HOTD if I remember correctly?

Hady Chahine from Manhattan Beach on April 12, 2014:

Scary! I just love Princess Juliana International Airport's danger sign warning of jet blasts. It is these kinds of airports that make me appreciate the training and years of experience that pilots endure to command such a huge responsibility.

Thelma Alberts from Germany and Philippines on April 12, 2014:

Awesome! Congratulations for the HOTD award!

Natasha Pelati from South Africa on April 02, 2014:

Interesting and scary! Hopefully will never have to go to one of those!

Avinesh Prahladi from Chandigarh on October 22, 2013:

I am very much aware about Princess Juliana International Airport. I must say that it is one of the scariest airports in the world.

prasetio30 from malang-indonesia on September 16, 2013:

I agree that these are as the most dangerous airport. I really enjoy reading this hub, including the pictures as well. Thanks for sharing with us. Voted up :-)

Prasetio

Thelma Alberts from Germany and Philippines on September 15, 2013:

Scary! Flying is a scary thing to do for me, but I have to fly. I hope I will not fly to those airports mentioned above. Thanks for the information.

JR Krishna from India on September 15, 2013:

Very interesting hub. Mangalore airport in South India also had an accident because of its short runway. But I think now it is renovated.

Marie Hurt from New Orleans, LA on September 14, 2013:

Very interesting read. I must say I don't like see low flying planes coming straight at me. That Madeira Airport runaway does seem kindof short. I guess if I had a choice I would prefer the longest runaway in history.

Jiwan on July 11, 2013:

Very informative hub. But, you forgot to mention the "AIRPORT" in World's highest location which is in Nepal, Lukla Airport. Here, the weather condition can dramatically transforms within minutes and the landscape is also very dangerous. However, you can google earth it!!

ghost1seeker on July 08, 2013:

The title grabbed me, then the information held me here. Interesting Hub.

Yorja Rahmani from India on June 19, 2013:

Have landed in Nepal's airport. Totally scary experience, but again, flying within the Himalayas is extraordinary.

Mic on June 14, 2013:

Truly one of the most dangerous airports in the world is Djibouti Africa, where the controllers caused so many near misses and runway incursions that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has put Djibouti in a special scrutiny status.

mio cid from Uruguay on August 19, 2012:

great hub, I would add Toncontin international Airport in tegucigalpa honduras to the list, and I would never take any flight that has to land at that airport.

sundar adhikari on June 11, 2012:

Lukla airport is dangerous besause the decision of landing should be taken very carefully. Once the plane gets ready for landing, there is no chance of taking back off.

Clayton Hartford from Alger WA on May 25, 2012:

Beautiful hub, the history Channel did a show on the 10 most extreme airports, and most of these were on that show. If you search YouTube you can find some of the segments of that show, pretty scary stuff.

rajan on May 12, 2012:

most deatly is lukla of nepal because of height. short runway bad weather

AfricaResource from Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom on May 11, 2012:

Tenzing/Hillary (Lukla) certainly gets my vote, there's certainly no room whatsoever for ever there.

Sparty2009 on April 09, 2012:

I was surprised to not see the airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the list. It's always a wonderful experience that passengers gave the pilot an ovation for landing without incident. Your article on Michigan accent was great.

Suzie from Carson City on February 20, 2012:

Mel....I'm happy to say that the chances of ever finding myself in any of the Airports on your list, are slim to zero. This is extra great news for me, since whatever Airport I enter, I begin to hyperventilate, feel panic and anxiety and want to leave!...I wasn't nearly this bad before 911....but now it's ridiculous. I have tried everything to get over this reaction. What I find works best for me....is deciding to DRIVE to where ever I'm going!!

Susan Holland from Southwest Missouri on February 19, 2012:

Mel, what shocks me about these airports is where the engineers located them. Maybe there were no other alternatives, but when faced with a short runway, I would be praying that the pilot was the BEST at the skill it would take to land the plane. I voted for the Ice Runway because I think it would be the scariest - thinking of the icy water would terrify me. Thanks for SHARING!!

A great hub! Votes and shares!! :-)

Aurelio Locsin from Orange County, CA on February 19, 2012:

Yikes. I'll make it a point to skip these places. Hong Kong would've probably made this list once, but their new facility is quite safe. Voting this Up and Interesting.

Marcy Goodfleisch from Planet Earth on February 19, 2012:

We should all print this out and review it before planning our vacations. Excellent hub - voted up, interesting and useful.

iamaudraleigh on February 19, 2012:

Great hub!!! Have you been to all those places...cool!

mj2991 from Pehawar on January 11, 2012:

Paro airport is also in "Just cause 2" game . Am i right ?

Sophia Angelique on January 11, 2012:

You forgot San Diego airport. It's an accident waiting to happen.

roosterbob from Atlanta, Georgia on January 11, 2012:

The only airpost listed on here I've been to is the one on Saint Martin. Look up youtube videos of it, its pretty wicked. People on the beach getting blown over lol.

rishweby on January 11, 2012:

Really impressed with the "Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport". Hats off to the engineers who made this possible.

rob_allen from MNL, PH on January 10, 2012:

Wow, for the first time, no Manila on the list of worst/bad airports in the world. :)

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on January 10, 2012:

I always enjoy reading about places I probably will never visit; now that I have read your article there is a very good chance I won't be flying into these ten. Nice job and thanks for the info.

Ruchi Urvashi from Singapore on January 10, 2012:

Very informative and interesting hub. I need to visit the airports mentioned here. Great work.

LoriSoard from Henryville, Indiana on January 09, 2012:

What a truly interesting hub. Pretty sure I wasn't going to visit the Antarctic, but I enjoyed reading about the airport there. Voted up and interesting :)

GClark from United States on January 09, 2012:

Interesting and well-written Hub. Voted Up. Am glad to find that others think about this subject also and to find that doesn't make me paranoid for avoiding flying into or out of certain airports over the years. There are some airports with runways too short for the types of planes and traffic in the modern world and are just accidents waiting to happen; especially, when you have a large body of water at the end. GClark

Chad Young from Corona, CA on January 09, 2012:

Well, let me mark those destinations off my list. Thank you for the heads up. :)

chelseacharleston on January 09, 2012:

Airports are crazy! Especially the ones operating under such extreme conditions. Excellent hub!

crosby123 from Georgetown on January 09, 2012:

It is dangerous for airport to build near the crowded place.

Myrtle Beach Golf from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on January 09, 2012:

Wow, to be knocked back by a jet blast, that would be thrilling!

jenubouka on January 07, 2012:

Wonderful and awesome Melbel! Thanks to this savvy and informative hub, if I ever want to visit these places I will have a better chance and will take my risks parachuting in an ice storm while it is raining flying cows.....

Ana Teixeira from Oporto, Porto, Portugal on January 07, 2012:

I landed loads of time in Madeira's airport.. never felt like it could be dangerous. I guess it depends on the skill of the pilot. to be fair, the alterations had been done already so.. can't compare it.

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on January 07, 2012:

Well Dang, Y'all. I keep seeing where Hartsville-Jackson in Atlanta is like the busiest airport in the world. I wonder if that is true? But the element of fear is not there, yet, unless I am really stupid. But will watch out.

Deborah Neyens from Iowa on January 07, 2012:

Gosh, I thought Vail was bad. Tenzing-Hillary looks like a death trap!

Justin W Price from Juneau, Alaska on January 07, 2012:

what an interesting, awesome and well researched hub. I shared this and voted up!

bloggernotjogger from La Cala de Mijas, Spain on December 29, 2011:

I have to go with Gibraltar, because it´s the only airport I´ve been to from your list.

Vinaya Ghimire from Nepal on December 21, 2011:

Yes Tenzing-Hillary Airport airport is very dangerous. But there are other airports in Nepal as dangerous as Tenzing-Hillary Airport. This gets attention because it is just below the Everest.

againsttheodds on December 21, 2011:

Some conspiracy theorists might add Denver International to the list. I don't know, but the murals are ominous at least.

Ravi Singh from India on December 21, 2011:

Wow.. nice info.Now I do know which is the dangerous airport in state.thnks.. voted up!

Kelly Umphenour from St. Louis, MO on December 21, 2011:

Pretty cool! I love to travel but hate flying! I just had the scariest flight in my life coming home from Vegas last month......it was storming and the plane landed - lots of turbulence and shot back up into the sky to 3000 feet - we landed again and everyone on the plane burst into applause!

I for sure - am not getting on any plane that lands on a beach strip or ice or a cliff! I can't imagine landing in those places without having complete heart failure first! Excellent hub!

eventsbuz from MD, U.S.A on December 21, 2011:

Wow ...Great topic and scary information.

theskibug from France on December 13, 2011:

We live in Courchevel (well just down the valley) and often ski by the airport and see planes landing and taking off. I have written a hub on Courchevel airport as it recently celebrated its 50th birthday.

imkd on December 01, 2011:

WOW! glad to know about these interesting things. but i suggest you to look once on some Indian airports too. they are also very dangerous ;)

Better Yourself from North Carolina on November 26, 2011:

Very interesting - You definitely did your research! Fun hub to read!

Chad Taylor from Somewhere in Seattle... on November 26, 2011:

San Diego should be on this list :)

Melanie (author) from Midwest, USA on November 08, 2011:

So many fantastic comments! I am so glad that the airport that I frequent the most isn't on this list! However, I think I could deal with a scary plane ride in order to go somewhere cool!

Hezekiah from Japan on October 20, 2011:

Nice info, although I had lived in Japan for a decade and no issues at Kansai !!

MrsShelleyAnne on October 19, 2011:

Amazing information for world travelers to have! Some of these really shocked me as I am known as a "safety monitor".

You have a good flow with your writing style. This was very easy to read and follow.

gajanis from Pakistan on October 18, 2011:

Very informative and interesting.....really enjoyed this hub.Thanks.

cjcarter on October 18, 2011:

This article reminded me of the airport in Grand Cayman! It is right next to a grocery store haha! Great topic!

wamwea on October 16, 2011:

After reading all these great information i can conclude jomo kenyatta international airport as the most safe and enjoyable airport to land

India Arnold from Northern, California on September 23, 2011:

Wow. Super interesting hub on the most dangerous airports in the world! I will be bookmarking this hub and sending a copy to my travel agent with a note attached stating, "NEVER book me flights landing (or departing) from these airports!"

As for the Don Mueang International Airport having the highest crash-to-successful landing ratio;...scratching this one off the list all together, no one needs to know this airport even exists!

Nice work!

Cheers~

K9

Brent Stone on September 22, 2011:

One of the old runways at Hong Kong Airport used to be scary as you descend in between high rise apartments. It was so close you could see people in their apartments going about their daily life. This post reminds to drive to these destinations....

David Sproull from Toronto on September 20, 2011:

Yikes! Some of those LOOK scary!!

Anastasia Kingsley from Croatia, Europe on September 20, 2011:

Great read - voted up and useful! And the number 13, how ominous. :) I'll be sure to avoid these airports in the future.

andrewwilliams63 on September 19, 2011:

Interesting, i hope i dont have to land at any of those airports...thanks!!

lonesomeshaggy from Lahore, Pakistan on September 19, 2011:

We must travel to these types of airport.

wedmed from US on September 18, 2011:

thanks for sharing. very useful info!!!

Web Addict on September 18, 2011:

I was hoping I'd see my country's national flag carrier airline on the list. XD Kidding. I'm sure they'd made improvements by now.

WesternHistory from California on September 18, 2011:

This is very interesting. In many cases these airports were built in areas where there really wasn't much choice for a site. Mountains usually were the problem. The most safest airports are considered the ones that offer suitable approach and take off distance. Unfortunately some geography prohibits that and you have to rely on a skillful pilot.

bjornborgboxers from The Netherlands on September 18, 2011:

I've landed at Lukla Airport before. Truly sizzling!

And Perpetua, I've had the same. I wanted to land in HK airport and watch people through the skyscraper windows. Alas....

Perpeptua on September 18, 2011:

I always wanted to land at the old Hong Kong airport before it was closed. Apparently you flew so close to the high-rise buildings you could see in through the windows and watch people eating their dinner!

SportsAgencyblog from Los Angeles, California on September 17, 2011:

I think no airport personnel would want to harm visitors visiting their place but we can't really avoid unexpected happenings sometimes.

ChilliWilly from Kaunas, Lithuania on September 17, 2011:

Very informative and useful hub. Thanks for sharing!

mountainmike1 on September 15, 2011:

Well it still wouldn't stop me going to some of these places.

Paul Cronin from Winnipeg on September 14, 2011:

Remind me never to visit those locations, I don't mind flying, but my ears hurt for weeks after taking a plane that has to desend quickly for a short runway. These airport runways look almost unapproachable! Nice pics! Thanks for sharing, voted Up and Interesting!

talfonso from Tampa Bay, FL on September 11, 2011:

Man, those airports are SCARY! I wouldn't bother to fly to one where the runway ends on a cliff! I'd rather stick with a filthy one than one with such a dangerous layout!

Michelle Simtoco from Cebu, Philippines on September 11, 2011:

Scary. Wouldn't want to land in any one of those airports.

wba108@yahoo.com from upstate, NY on September 10, 2011:

Melbel- I think Courchevel Airport in France, where Golden Eye was filmed is the scariest although the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal probably has a very high elevation, making takeoff's very dangerous. Nice work!-WBA

Melanie (author) from Midwest, USA on May 09, 2011:

Wow, puter_dr, that is a really scary airport! There have been a lot of problems at that one! Thanks for mentioning it.

nicolerkilpatrick on May 09, 2011:

Thanks for sharing.

Mitch Bolen from Midwest USA on May 08, 2011:

I would like to nominate this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toncont%C3%ADn_Intern... in Tegucigalpa Honduras. For a while a broken off tail of a plane set by the runway, which is a bit spooky if you were flying in.

Jane Simmons from Niigata on May 07, 2011:

Well .. Don Meuang International airport in Bangkok closed down in 2006. The new airport now is called Suvarnabhumi Airport. I hope it's much safer now! :)

Samuel E. Richardson from Salt Lake City, Utah on April 28, 2011:

Felicidades on your award. Interesting hub! My brother - a million-mile member, spoke of one airport nestled into the mountains which required that the airplane had to bank steeply in order to line up with the strip. He said he thought he saw - or felt - the wing tip scrape the earth when the pilot did that. I can't remember the place. I'll have to ask him.

Yena Williams from California on April 20, 2011:

Very interesting! I have never even heard of some of these dangerous airports!

Hillary from Atlanta, GA on April 02, 2011:

Congrats on your honorable mention! This is quite interesting. I've only been to Funchal and happily I arrived by ship. I've also heard that New York's La Guardia is dangerous, but it's nothing compared to those here!

LeisureLife from USA on April 01, 2011:

very interesting hub ! Thanks

Simone Haruko Smith from San Francisco on April 01, 2011:

Hahaa, as soon as I read your title, I wondered if Tenzing-Hillary Airport would be on the list. Glad to see it there! I've heard some excellent stories from friends who have encountered it firsthand. Great Hub!

Hello, hello, from London, UK on April 01, 2011:

Very useful information