9 of the most unique Airport in the World you must know
Did your flight get delayed again? And you have to sit for another 4/5 hours at the airport? Bored of checking out the fellow passengers nearby? Getting angry now? Let me tell you what to do. Here are some very interesting facts about airports which can keep you busy wondering and you can easily pass time.
1. The Barra International Airport is the only airport in the world where scheduled flights use a beach as a runway. Located in the wide shallow bay of Traigh Mhœr at the northern tip of the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland the airport has three runways in a triangle, marked by permanent wooden poles at their ends. At high tide, these runways are under the sea. Flight times vary with the tide.
2. The Gisborne Airport in New Zealand is the only airport in the world where there’s a rail track, the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line, run through the middle of the runway, regular freight train rolls through every day.
3. Ever wondered which is the busiest airport in the world? Well, this is actually a very tough question because statistics can be made on the basis of the normal crowd, tourists, and also import/export goods. The O’Hare in Chicago has the most number of passengers and Dubai has the most number of international tourists. Hong Kong International Airport has the most cargo traffic annually.
4. The Ice Runway in Antarctica is the only airport that does not have a paved runway. It has a long stretch of snow and ice as a runway.
5. Gibraltar International Airport in British Overseas Territory is unique because there the main landing strip of the airport passes through the main street of the city. Traffic has to stop for every plane that lands and takes off.
6. The Kansai International Airport in Japan is large enough to be viewed from space. The artificial island is 4 km (2.5 mi) long and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide.10 000 workers and 10 million work hours over three years, using eighty ships, were needed to complete the 30-meter (98 ft) layer of earth over the seafloor and inside the sea wall. A three-kilometer bridge was completed to connect the island to the mainland. It faces frequent earthquakes, cyclones, and unstable seabed.
7. The Princess Juliana International Airport located on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin is best known for very low altitude flyover landing approaches due to one end of its runway being extremely close to the shore and Maho Beach. It is named after Juliana of the Netherlands, who as crown princess landed here in 1944, the year after the airport opened.
8. The world’s tallest air traffic control tower is at Thailand’s New Bangkok International Airport. It is 434 feet in height, almost as tall as a 40 storeyed skyscraper.
9. Singapore’s Changi Airport shows nature at its best. It has a butterfly garden with over 1000 butterflies.
That’s all folks !!