(CNN) — When an airport was built on the mid-Atlantic island of St. Helena (above), it was initially dubbed the “world’s most useless” airport. That’s because wind shear on the cliffside runway initially made it dangerous to land.
Today the airport is up and running, but it’s a category C, meaning that pilots have to be specially trained to land there. It’s not the only one — here are some of the most breathtaking (but also fear-inducing) airports around the world.
Madeira, Portugal
Madeira is notorious for bumpy landings — which avgeeks love to watch.
Octavio Passos/Getty Images
Those who go on vacation to Madeira know that the island is notorious for difficult landings — and sometimes even no landings at all. The airport’s proximity to high terrain means turbulence and wind shear — sometimes severe — on final approach. The runway finishes at the cliff edge on either side — but thankfully it’s a low one, with a road below it. Avgeeks are so fond of Madeira that the airport has built a platform beside the runway to watch pilots give it their best shot.
Leh, India
Flights to Leh are only scheduled for the mornings.
Alamy
The 23rd highest airport in the world doesn’t sound too high… until you realize Leh airport sits at 10,682 feet above sea level. Surrounded by mountains, with a short runway, it’s beset by strong winds in the afternoon, meaning flights are restricted to mornings only. Widebody and heavy planes are not allowed, and all pilots landing here receive special training.
Sint Maarten
Beachgoers get a fantastic view of planes landing at Sint Maarten.
Philipp Laage/picture alliance/Getty Images
You don’t have to be an avgeek to have watched videos of planes landing at Sint Maarten — social media is full of footage of jets landing at the Caribbean airport. That’s because the runway backs straight onto a beach, meaning that planes come in to land right overhead. Although it seems fun, it’s dangerous stuff — in 2017, a woman was killed by a jet engine blast as she was hanging onto the airport fence with other swimsuit-clad tourists. For those on board, taking off is slightly more scary than landing — since you head straight for the mountain rearing up behind the airport.
Paro, Bhutan
Planes can only land during the day at Paro.
Andrew Bain/Alamy
Cantilevered 7,364 feet above sea level, Paro is Bhutan’s only international airport — yet few pilots are cleared to land there, so tricky is the approach. Landings are only allowed in good visibility…
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