Bhutan:
Did you know that there is an airport in the world where only 8 pilots in the world are qualified to land? In the midst of mountains and houses, the runway is just 2 km long and only day-time landings are possible. The views are breathtaking though. Amazing, right?
It is indeed Bhutan airport. A bit more about it:
Passengers flying to this remote region may have to take something to steady their nerves.
The tiny airport nestled among the steep mountains of the Himalayas is said to be the most dangerous in the world.
Paro Airport in Bhutan is 1.5 miles above sea level and surrounded by sharp peaks of up to 18,000ft tall.
So treacherous is the landing that only eight pilots in the world are qualified to land there. Until July 2011, just one airline, Druk Air, was allowed to use the
facility.
The runway is just 6,500 feet long – one of the few in the world shorter than their elevation above sea level.
Planes have to weave through the dozens of houses that are scattered across the mountainside – coming within feet of clipping the roofs.
Strong winds whip through the valleys, often resulting in severe turbulence. Passengers who have been on flights to the airport have described the landing as ‘terrifying’. Boeing has said that Paro airport is ‘one of the world’s most difficult for takeoffs and landings’.
Flights are only allowed during the daytime and under visual meteorological conditions – strict light allowances in which the pilot must make his judgements by eye rather than rely on instruments as is the case in nighttime flights.
Despite the perilous conditions, the views over the clear blue waters over the Paro river and the lush green foliage of the Himalayas are breathtaking.
An estimated 30,000 tourists use the airport each year, often for holidays in Bhutan.
Buddha Air is the only international airline to use the airport. Anybody flying to Paro must first land in neighbouring countries then catch a connecting flight.
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