On the waterfront
© Getty
July 2024

On the waterfront

By Volker Paulun
The airport on Barra, a small island of the Outer Hebrides in front of the Scottish coast, has three runways – more than London Heathrow. But that’s by far not the most remarkable thing to be reported about this landing site. Read more about the world's most unusual airports.

When the tide is low the Barra bay transforms into the world’s only airport on a beach – until high tide interrupts air traffic again. Due to the changing water levels, even a stranded shark once had to be collected off the runway – besides the almost daily accumulation of flotsam. Tourists, too, regularly have to be run off the runway. In spite of these unusual circumstances Barra is a regular airport for scheduled flights with two daily connections to Glasgow. However, it’s up to the tide to decide when the DHC-6 Twin Otter propeller plane can take off or land.

​​To invent an airplane is nothing. To build an airplane is something. But to fly an airplane is everything

Ferdinand Ferber (1862–1909),
French aviation pioneer
Other unusual airports
On the waterfront
Saba Airport – the airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, with its 400 meter long runway, is a nervous challenge – for pilots and passengers alike. It is the shortest commercial runway in the world. For comparison: the landing strips in Frankfurt are between 2,800 and 4,000 meters long.© Wikimedia
On the waterfront
St. Maarten – on the approach to the Caribbean island the jets fly so low over Maho Beach that it seems like you could touch them.© Getty
On the waterfront
Jumbolair Airport – Hollywood star and hobby pilot John Travolta, like a few other multi-millionaires, has built his mansion directly next to one of the two runways of the private airport. Whereas normal citizens drive their cars to their doorstep Travolta arrives in a Boeing 707.© architecturendesign.net
On the waterfront
Gibraltar – when a passenger jet approaches or takes off there the British colony is cut off from the Spanish mainland because cars or pedestrians have to cross the runway in order to enter or leave the enclave.© Simon Alborz/Wikipedia
On the waterfront
Will Rogers Airport – passengers landing here may be serious perps: one of the gates of Oklahoma City’s airport leads directly into the cell block of the local prison.© Google Maps
On the waterfront
Lukla Airport – Nepal’s Lukla Airport is one of the most dangerous in the world. The only runway for take-off and landing ends at a 600 meter deep abyss with a Himalayan cliff on the other side. The first take-off or landing attempt has to be a success; it is impossible to take off through the runway. That’s truly awe-inspiring.© Rajan Dahal/Unsplash
On the waterfront
Kansai International Airport – the airport in Osaka, Japan, was built on an artificial island in 1994. Noise complaints and possible protests due to land expropriation were to be prevented. The location in the sea also has the advantage that it was possible to introduce 24-hour operations here undisturbed. However, the airport has one flaw. The island sinks a few centimeters every year due to the nature of the ground.© Wikimedia