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Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong -

Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Surrounded by high-rise buildings and requiring a technically demanding approach by pilots, Kai Tak was one of the most dangerous airports in the world. Its closure was welcomed by many. But there are many airports still in operation around the globe that are equally challenging to fly into...and just as scary for passengers to experience.

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Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal -

Also known as Lukla Airport, Nepal's Tenzing-Hillary Airport is cited by aviation experts as the most dangerous in the world. Set at an altitude of 2,842 m (9,325 ft), the small airfield is often plagued by high winds and obscured by heavy rain and low cloud cover. The short runway is at a 12% incline and abruptly drops off 609 m (2,000 ft) to a river valley below. Not surprisingly, accidents and mishaps, some of them fatal, are alarmingly frequent.

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Gibraltar International Airport -

Gibraltar International Airport is one of the most dangerous airports in Europe. The famous Rock of Gibraltar creates all sorts of problematic weather effects, including turbulence and wind shear, which can make the final approach hazardous. Furthermore, the airport runway has to extend into the sea and passes through Gibraltar's main road (Winston Churchill Avenue), meaning it has to be closed every time an aircraft lands or departs.

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Courchevel Altiport , France -

Only the most experienced pilots can fly into Courchevel Altiport, which serves a ski resort in the French Alps. The runway has no instrument approach procedure or lighting aids, and there is no go-around procedure for landings due to the surrounding mountainous terrain. Winter brings with it the additional threat of snow, wind, and ice.

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Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba -

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on the Caribbean island of Saba is endowed with the shortest commercial runway in the world, a mere 400 m (1,312 ft) in length.

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São Paulo-Congonhas Airport, Brazil -

The second busiest airport in Brazil by passenger traffic after São Paulo–Guarulhos, Congonhas is notorious for its built-up locale and slippery runways. In July 2007, a TAM Airlines Airbus A320 overran the runway in heavy rain and slammed into a warehouse, killing all 187 passengers and crew. Hydroplaning was a contributory factor in the accident, which was caught on airport CCTV.

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Toncontín International Airport, Honduras -

Facilitating both military and commercial airline traffic, Toncontín International Airport near Tegucigalpa has the dubious honor of being the second-most dangerous airport in the world after Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal, according to the History Channel. The airport and its environs have witnessed numerous fatal accidents, the most recent being in 2011 when all 14 people on board died when Central American Airways Flight 731 crashed on approach to Toncontin.

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Paro Airport, Bhutan -

Very few pilots are certified to land at Bhutan's Paro International Airport, and for good reason. Landing a plane here requires a manual by-daylight-only approach through a long, winding valley hemmed in by 5,000-m (16,000 ft) mountains and onto a runway that is only 2,264 m (7,431 ft) long.

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Princess Juliana Airport, Saint Martin -

The Caribbean island of Saint Martin is served by an airport considered one of the most dangerous in the world. The extremely short runway requires aircraft to approach the threshold at just 18 m (60 ft) off the ground and over a crowded beach area.

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Matekane Air Strip, Lesotho -

The African nation of Lesotho is home to one of the scariest runways in the world, a remote air strip serving the town of Matekane that extends to the edge of a 500 m (1,600 ft) cliff. The runway is so short that planes don’t have enough time to start flying, and therefore have to drop down the face of a sheer cliff until they become airborne.

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Alberto Carnevalli Airport, Venezuela -

Located high in the Andes southwest of downtown Mérida, Alberto Carnevalli Airport is forever associated with the 2008 crash of Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, which killed all 46 on board. Commercial airline service resumed in 2014, after being suspended for five years. Night operations are prohibited.

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Madeira Airport, Portugal -

Officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, Madeira's airport is at the best of times especially perilous due to the mountainous terrain and close proximity to the ocean. These factors call for exceptional piloting skills in order to line up with the runway. Frequent crosswinds further add to the challenge.

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Kansai Airport, Japan -

Passengers traveling to Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe land at Kansai Airport, more specifically an artificial island anchored 5 km (3 mi) off Honshu Island. The airport is at constant risk from cyclones, earthquakes, and an unstable seabed.

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Gustaf III Airport, Saint Barthélemy -

Gustaf III Airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy is the third most dangerous airport in the world, according to the History Channel. Its ridiculously short runway set at the foot of a hill that runs onto a beach at one end and a highway at the other makes taking off and landing a very dangerous maneuver, procedures that require pilots to have a special license to carry out.

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Svalbard Airport, Norway -

Norway's Svalbard Airport set northwest of Longyearbyen on the country's west coast is the world's northernmost airport operating scheduled commercial flights. Unfortunately, Svalbard is associated with Norway's worst aviation disaster to date. On August 29, 1996, Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 from Moscow crashed into a mountain less than 16 km (10 mi) from the airport. All 141 on board perished.

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Skiathos Airport, Greece -

Serving the Greek holiday island of Skiathos, this airport is also famed for its short and narrow runway, which necessitates pilots to approach it in a manner similar to that of Princess Juliana Airport on Saint Martin, thus providing spectators and planespotters with equally dramatic views of landing aircraft.

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Barra Airport, Scotland -

Barra Airport at the northern tip of the island of Barra in Scotland's Outer Hebrides is the only airport in the world where scheduled flights use a beach as the runway. Departures and arrivals are scheduled according to low tide times.

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Queenstown Airport, New Zealand -

While it certainly enjoys one of the world's most idyllic airport locations, Queenstown's inherent dangers include a series of mountain ranges and powerful downdrafts that make landing a challenging proposition. And weather here can turn on a dime.

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Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland -

This is a pilot's-eye-view of the runway (bottom left) at Narsarsuaq Airport in southern Greenland. To reach it, a plane must fly through a valley-like fjord before making a 90-degree turn to line up on the correct approach. Severe turbulence and even the threat of drifting icebergs can make landing hazardous.

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Tioman Island Airport, Malaysia -

The airport serving Tioman Island in the South China Sea requires pilots to fly directly towards a mountain range before making a sharp, 90degree turn towards the runway, which is only accessible from the north.

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San Diego Airport, USA -

San Diego International Airport is the the busiest single-runway airport in the world after Mumbai in India. The airport's landing approach takes airliners through the city's downtown district and a forest of skyscrapers. Strong shifting tailwinds further test a pilot's skill and nerve.

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Humberto Delgado Airport, Portugal -

Flying into Lisbon is not for the fainthearted. While it's not a particularly difficult approach, the westerly flightpath takes aircraft over the Portuguese capital's bustling city center and rooftops that appear ominously within arm's length.

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LaGuardia Airport, USA -

New York's LaGuardia Airport has been the site of several aviation accidents and incidents dating back to the mid-1940s. Crowded airspace and the presence of birdlife are daily hazards. In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 famously ditched in the Hudson River shortly after departing LaGuardia after losing both engines as a result of multiple bird strikes. All passengers and crew survived the emergency.

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Wellington Airport, New Zealand -

Another picturesque New Zealand airport, Wellington also has a runway that starts and ends in the sea, and suffers from strong winds, often making landings rough and turbulent affairs.

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Telluride Regional Airport, USA -

One of the highest airports in the United States at 2,764 m (9,070 ft), Telluride Regional Airport in Colorado is set on a narrow plateau hemmed in by 300-m (1,000-ft) sheer cliffs. In winter, the approach is often plagued by solid vertical turbulence.

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Nelspruit Airport, South Africa -

Before the inauguration of Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in 2001, Nelspruit was the only airfield providing air passengers with access to the world-renowned safari park. Its runway was so short that locals dubbed it "HMS Nelspruit" and indeed it wasn't much longer than the deck of an aircraft carrier. 

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Ice Runway, Antarctica -

Arguably the most remote airport on the planet, the sea-ice runway (officially known as the Phoenix Runway) serving the United States Antarctic Program at the McMurdo Station is made of snow that's been compacted by heavy rollers, making it nearly as hard as concrete. It's a seasonal facility, used until early December when the sea ice begins to break up.

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Catalina Airport, USA -

Catalina Airport is located in the middle of Catalina Island off the coast of southern California. Besides the steep drop at both ends of the runway, Catalina is infamous for the often severe turbulence created as a result of the facility's lofty elevation. Not for nothing is the airfield known as the "Catalina Island Airport in the Sky."

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Akureyri Airport, Iceland -

The remote location of Iceland's regional Akureyri Airport requires pilots to navigate round mountainous volcanic terrain and a need to descend at a faster rate than they are used to. It's one of Europe's most challenging airports, necessitating a thorough prior knowledge of the airport's layout.

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Innsbruck Airport, Austria -

Arriving at Innsbruck Airport in winter is akin to landing on a vast frozen valley. Aircraft follow a flightpath through the Alps while very often dealing with vicious winds and currents that only pilots with special authorization are allowed to attempt.

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Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport, USA -

Serving the city of Sitka in Alaska, Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport is totally surrounded by water. As such, safety hazards include ocean waves washing onto the runway during storms, high winds because of its exposed location, and huge flocks of birds that gather very close to the facility.  Image: Federal Aviation Administration

Sources: (History Channel) (CNN Travel) (Aviation for Aviators) (Britannica) (National Science Foundation)

See also: Secrets that airports don't want you to know

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