The Ten Most “Thrilling” Airports

by McLean Robbins on


One of our favorite travel sites, Airfarewatchdog, today released their list of the world’s ten most “thrilling” airports. From hairpin turns to to landings over sunbathers to runways accessible only at low tide, these landings and takeoffs aren’t for the faint of heart.

“Globe-trotting frequent flyers probably have their own favorite ‘thrilling’ airports that might not be on this list. Anyone who once flew into the old Hong Kong airport remembers literally being able to see what people in adjacent apartment buildings were watching on their TV sets. And let’s not forget the amusement park ride that is St. Barts’ tiny airport. How fun is that!” Airfarewatchdog president George Hobica said.

The picks include:

  • Toncontin International Airport, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: To line up with the runway, planes must make a last-second 45-degree turn.
  • Princess Juliana International Airport, Philipsburg, St. Maarten: Planes fly mere feet over sunbathers.
  • Queenstown Airport, Queenstown, New Zealand: On descent, passengers may feel a sudden drop in altitude caused by downdrafts.
  • Gustaf III Airport, St. Jean, St. Barts: “Small airports, short runways, and terrain are the three whammies of flying,” says Pilot Anonymous. Gustaf III Airport has all three.
  • Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport, Sitka, Alaska: Unpredictable weather means that pilots need to take caution of boulders and other debris that can wash onto the runway.
  • Courcheval Airport, Courcheval, France: A short 1,722-foot runway, and Courcheval has a steep incline (which slows planes down on landing and speeds them up on takeoff).
  • Catalina Airport (Airport in the Sky), Avalon, California: The sole runway is raised in the middle, so much so that pilots can’t see where it ends.
  • LaGuardia Airport, New York, New York: Before landing, pilots make a number of white-knuckle turns, one of which is 180-degrees around Citi Field.
  • Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport), Lukla, Nepal: This is 9,000 feet high in the Himalayas, and pilots have one shot to land, as the terrain rules out a fly-around.
  • Barra Airport, Barra, Scotland: It’s always a beach landing, and runways form when the tide goes out.

    • But we want to hear from you – what did they miss?

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    TSA to run trial “Trusted Traveler” program

    by Libby Zay on

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may have actually been listening to all the complaints about invasive pat-downs and “naked” body scanners. Administrator John Pistol announced earlier today that the agency expects to launch a trial “Trusted Traveler” program for some passengers to opt into later this year.

    Spearheaded by the U.S. Travel Association, the Trusted Traveler program is kind of like an EZPass for flyers, allowing travelers to speed through security checks by keeping their shoes on, leaving laptops in bags, and avoiding body scanners altogether. They still have to send their bags through security, but will be able to go through an expedited line.

    Travelers enrolled in frequent-flier programs will likely be the first potential candidates for the fast pass. In order to qualify for trusted traveler status, fliers must undergo a background check in advance. Their special status would be indicated with a bar code on a boarding pass that will be processed by computers that are to be rolled out at select airport checkpoints later this year.

    [Photo by zieak, Flickr]

    What’s for dinner? NYC airport geese soon to be served on a platter

    by Libby Zay on

    Take a gander at this: In an effort to control airport bird population, New York City plans to start collecting unwanted geese and ship them off to Pennsylvania, where they will be cooked for meals.

    But before you get your feathers in a ruffle, know that the plan will actually benefit those in need. The birds, which were previously rounded up and gassed, will be donated to food banks to help feed hungry Pennsylvanians. Apparently, the birds will be shipped out of state because New York has not established safety protocols for processing and consuming wild goose meat.

    The Department of Environmental Protection calls the roundup of geese a “sensitive topic,” but is in favor of the plan. We’ll just have to wait and see what all the animal activists have to say about it. Last summer, there was a huge public outcry over the roundup of hundreds of geese in Prospect Park, Brooklyn in the name of airline safety. The topic has been a huge issue since January 2009, when a flock of geese disabled US Airways Flight 1549, forcing it to ditch in the Hudson River.

    [Photo by Dendroica Cerulea, Flickr]

    Video: STUCK in the Dallas airport

    by Elizabeth Seward on

    STUCK from Joe Ayala on Vimeo.

    If you’ve ever been stuck in any airport overnight, you’ll appreciate this video titled STUCK. When Larry Chen and Joe Ayala found themselves stranded overnight in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, they decided to have a little bit of fun with their predicament. The two filmed themselves at the airport, making the best of the overnight stay. I was once stuck overnight in the Detroit airport. I wish I’d had the wherewithal to conjure up the fun-having skills these guys had.

    If you’ve been stuck in an airport overnight, tell us about it! I want to read your gruesome stories in the comments on this piece.

    Grab a magazine, charge your phone, have a nice flight

    by Chris Owen on

    Hudson News is the largest airport retailer in the United States. Over 1.7 billion passengers walk by Hudson News stores annually and a good number of those have cell phones that need a charge. Now, Hudson News has partnered with KeoConnect to bring us KEO, a new place-based interactive media platform targeting the traveling consumer that provides information, entertainment and a secure, free charge for mobile devices.

    KEO are interactive kiosks rolling out in airports around the US, and they offer free charges to mobile phones, as well as news, weather, and more through interactive touch screens. Users can drop their phone off in one of KEO‘s password-protected locked bins, then go shop or grab a bite to eat and return to their newly-charged phone, all for free.KEO’s exclusive “lock and charge” system gives a free charge to almost any mobile device. Leave your charger packed away; with KEO, users lock their phones in one of KEO‘s charging lockers then go shop, relax, eat, barter with gate people for an upgrade on that next flight or simply forget about someone stealing their phone while it charges.

    I’m reminded of many times being focused, alert and on-guard close to a gate where a possible upgrade/flight change might happen while a traveling companion “watched the phones” being charged. This could end that game.

    For those not quite comfortable about straying too far from their mobile device, KEO presents entertaining content like travel tips, book and magazine reviews. A few taps on KEO‘s touch screen gets users flight information, news, weather, stock information, sports and probably an advertisement or two while they wait.

    Coming up soon for KEO will be high-speed transfer of movies, music, magazines, audio books, newspapers and more (porn/revealing photos of politicians?) direct to your phone, SD card or USB.

    The only drawbacks I can see are putting my phone in one of the secure charging lockers then either forgetting all about it until boarding time or slowing down the process by forgetting my secret passcode, forcing a manic run through the terminal at the last minute. That or fighting with the other 1.7 billion people in the airport for one of the four secure charging lockers it looks like each machine has.

    Flickr photo by ishane