Top 10 Most Dangerous Airports in the World 2023

Are you planning a trip to your dream destination this year? Have you already started making arrangements and booking plane tickets? If yes, then wait before you know what places you should avoid that can make your dream vacation end in tragedy.

There are lots of beautiful places in the world located in remote regions. But to access such places, governments and authorities make airports to get tourism and earn revenue. But sometimes, instead of assuring an easy and safe journey, the airports they make can prove to be life-threatening.

Here, I present the top 10 most dangerous airports in 2023 that you should avoid at any cost:

10. Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, Portugal

Runway Length: initially 1599 m , later made 2773 m

Elevation: 70 m (above sea level)

Are you a Ronaldo fan? Then it’s about time that you join the Messi fan club.

The airport which is named after one of the greatest football players, Cristiano Ronaldo, has witnessed countless disasters. This airport was made on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and initially, its runway was much shorter than most of the international Airports.

In 1977, a tragedy happened when a pilot mistimed the landing, fell off the runway, and crashed into a beach right below it. Over 160 people died in this crash. After this incident, the airport authorities tried to make the runway safer and longer, but they made it even more dangerous than before. They extended the runway of the airport over the ocean by supporting the platform with 180 columns. This made landing even more difficult as the pilots must steer and cut through the strong air currents coming from the ocean.

9. Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland

Runway Length: 1830 m

Elevation: 37 m (above sea level)

Build by the US department of defense in 1941, the Narsarsuaq airport is located in Southern Greenland.

Do you know why Greenland is called the most inaccessible country

(right after North Korea)? It’s because of this airport which is one of the

only two international Airports working in the country.

It is built around a fjord. As a result, there are severe cross-winds and turbulence that a pilot must overcome while landing. Also due to the surrounding mountain ranges, the incoming planes must navigate the runway location before getting a sight of the airport.

On top of that, there is an active volcano near the airport which erupts regularly, sending silica particles in the air which damages the engines of the planes and might result in engine failure.

8. Juancho Yrausquin Airport, Saba Island

Runway length: 400 m

Elevation: 870 m (above sea level)

Most of us have seen the movie King Kong, but do you know that the airport located on the home island of King Kong is not any less dangerous than him?

Juancho airport, Saba island has the world’s shortest runway with a length of roughly 400 meters. Pilots need to have high concentration during landing because even a sneeze could possibly make the plane fall off the runway from the other side into the open sea.

Due to its dangerous location, only propellers are allowed to land here and the pilots need a minimum of 10000 flying hours of experience to opt for a landing here.

7. Blue Ice Airport, Antarctica

Runway length: 3000 m

Elevation: 2500 m (above sea level)

Ever wondered how people and scientists access the laboratories in the country of ice? It’s made possible by the construction of the Blue Ice runway.

This runway is made on a moving glacier. Also, the radar and several cockpit equipment stop working in such cold weather so the pilots must rely on their vision to make a safe landing on ice. Moreover,

snowstorms and thunder are quite common in Antarctica which increases the chances of a plane crash in this airport.

Also check: best airports in the world

6. Barra Airport, Scotland

Runway length: 799 m

Elevation: 2 m (above sea level)

What do you call an airport? A place where there is a runway for airplanes to land and take off. But the Barra airport redefines the definition of an airport. Here, there is no runway, all you can see is a tall building overlooking the sea.

Where do the planes land then? Well, they land on the open beach. During high tides, the beach is totally submerged in water and the planes have to skid through water in order to land.

This has caused several accidents in recent years. Also, the Scottish weather is not so ideal for airplanes. Low altitude clouds, fog, and poor visibility of the airport building often result in plane crashes here.

5. Princess Juliana International Airport

Runway Length: 2300 m Elevation: 5 m (above sea level)

Have you recently seen the viral video of a plane flying very close to the ground and landing on an airport situated right beside a beach? Well, it’s probably from Princess Juliana International Airport at Saint Martin.

As this airport is located beside Maho beach, pilots need to carefully land because even a small fault can result in the plane getting crashed into the beach.

Also, the air turbulence from the sea makes the plane vulnerable to balance loss. In 2017, a woman came very close to a landing plane and got sucked up by the engine, and finally passed away on spot.

4. Courchevel Airport, France

Runway length: 537 m

Elevation: 2010 m (above sea level)

France is a beautiful country and every year, over 80 million tourists visit this country. But what happens when you bargain your life with visiting beautiful places? Such is the case of Courchevel Airport, which is located in the beautiful mountains of the French Alps.

It has a very short runway with a slope of 18.5° which often results in fatal accidents and plane crashes.

This airport has witnessed over 40 different crashes in the last ten

years. The locals describe the airport as, “the beautiful death”.

3. Tenzing Hillary Airport, Nepal

Runway Length: 527 m

Elevation: 2846 m (above sea level)

Situated in the high valleys of the Himalayas, the Tenzing Hillary airport has a very narrow and uneven runway. On top of that, the runway has a 12% curve which results in loss of required momentum during takeoff and builds up speed during the landing of the airplanes. The pilots also have to face air turbulence and loss of visibility while landing in this airport due to its high altitude. This results in regular crashes and disasters at this airport.

Tenzing Hillary airport is so dangerous that the Nepal government has banned commercial flight landings here. Only small propeller planes and helicopters are allowed to operate here.

2. Paro Airport, Bhutan

Runway Length:  1200 m

Elevation: 2235 m (above sea level)

Located in the high altitude of the Himalayas, and covered by chains of mountains, Paro Airport stands as the only international airport in Bhutan. The Airport is concealed by jagged mountain edges and peaks so the pilot has to rely on bare sight for navigating through the mountains.

Due to the heavy turbulence provided by the air currents, pilots have to descend quickly after taking a final, super-sharp 45° turn for landing.

This move is so difficult that only a few pilots have managed to pull it off safely, while others ended in tragedy.

As of yet, only eight highly skilled pilots are allowed to land a plane at this Airport. The airport is closed at night as pilots have to totally rely on their eyesight for a proper landing.

1.Toncontin Airport, Honduras

Runway Length: 2163 m

Elevation: 1005 m (above sea level)

If you are planning your next vacation to Honduras, then think again as it comes in the list of nightmares for pilots all over the globe. Almost 277 pilots have refused to fly in and out of Honduras because of its airport location.

Covered with steep mountain ranges, the runway of the Toncontin airport is placed so oddly that pilots need to have extraordinary

maneuver skills to avoid any disaster. Planes can’t land head-on to the runway, instead, pilots need to perform a quick descent accompanied by equally sharp and quick turns to get aligned with the runway and land safely.

Unfortunately, many pilots and passengers have lost their lives here and the first tragedy happened in 1989 when a plane crashed into a mountainside, trying to perform a sharp descent. About 130 people died on board. Since then, the airport has witnessed over 5 plane crashes.