Top 11 Strangest Airports in the World Today

Top 11 Strangest Airports in the World Today

Most of the time, airports are nothing impressive – runways, terminals, baggage carousels, and all the usual jazz. But in some parts of the world, engineers had to think outside the box to make a functional airport possible.

This can make your waiting time in these airports not dull anymore!

Top 11 Most Unusual Airports Around the World Today

1.Kansai International Airport – Osaka, Japan

Photo: Inside Kyoto

Background:

The land is a scarce resource in Japan, so engineers headed roughly 3 miles offshore into Osaka Bay to build this colossal structure. Work on the manmade island started in 1987, and by 1994 jumbo jets were touching down. Travelers can get from the airport to the main island of Honshu via car, railroad, or even a high-speed ferry.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Kansai's artificial island is 2.5 miles long and 1.6 miles wide—so large that it's visible from space. Earthquakes, dangerous cyclones, an unstable seabed, and sabotage attempts from protestors are just some of the variables engineers were forced to account for. As impressive as the airport is, Stewart Schreckengast, a professor of aviation technology at Purdue University and a former aviation consultant with MITRE, cautions that climate change and rising sea levels pose a genuine threat to the airport's existence. "When this was built, [engineers] probably didn't account for global warming," he says. "In 50 years or so, this might be underwater." This is also one of the world's top 10 best airports for 2021 and 2022.

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2.Agatti Airport – Lakshadweep, India

Photo: The Hans India

Background:

The Agatti Airport lies at the southern end of the island, which is located in the union territory of Lakshadweep, India. This is the only airstrip in the entire archipelago that is situated off the west coast of the country.

The airport was developed in 1987 – 88 for the operations of the Dornier 228 kind of aircraft. It was inaugurated in April 1988 and the initial terminal was located within a small temporary structure. The modern terminal construction commenced in 2006 and the project reached completion in November 2010.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Surrounded by nothing but the Indian Ocean, the 4,000-foot-long Agatti Airport is so random and petite that it could pass off as a piece of a larger runway lost at sea. The airport is the only one in Lakshadweep- an Indian Union Territory consisting of 36 exotic islands located off of the southwestern coast of India- and sits on the island of Agatti. Because of the danger the short runway presents, there have been proposals to extend it, but in the meantime, flights continue to operate to the island six times a week from the Cochin International Airport in Kerala.

3.Courchevel Airport – France

Photo: Twitter

Background:

Originally constructed during World War Two, Courchevel airport has evolved into one of the most unique airfields in existence. Though it can’t claim to be the highest, or the shortest, or the most rugged - it wades among all of those superlatives with a casual nonchalance that is very - well, French.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

For such an upscale, posh ski resort town, Courchevel has quite the understated (but not necessarily uncomplicated) airport. A 1,700-foot strip of tarmac, located 6,000 feet above sea level on a slope in the French Alps, serves as the only airport in the ski-happy town of Courchevel, it's one of the shortest runways in the world, with a length of 525 meters (1,722 ft) and a gradient of 18.5% in order to help slow landing aircraft.

Built-in 1961, the runway, which bizarrely rises uphill and then dangerously dips downhill, is not only notorious for its dodgy setup, but also for its appearance in the James Bond movie, "Tomorrow Never Dies."

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4.Barra International Airport – Scotland

Photo: Daily Mail

Background:

Planes bound for the island of Barra, located off Scotland's west coast, have used the beach as a makeshift runway since the 1930s. Despite the lack of paved runways on the island, the airport still boasts a modern control tower that's responsible for handling more than 1000 incoming and departing flights per year.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

This unusual airport is one of the only places in the world to use a beach as a landing strip and of all places it’s in Scotland! Barra Airport is an extremely unique airport located in the Outer Hebrides and flights are dependent on tidal times. As planes arrive here from the mainland of Scotland, they use one of three sand runways in the shape of a triangle that help pilots land and take off in any winds. When the beach is open to the public it is popular for cockle picking.

5.Princess Juliana International Airport – Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

Photo: The Weather Channel

Background:

Nothing says fun in the sun like roaring engines and the smell of jet exhaust. Landing on this Caribbean island forces pilots to fly over a small strip of beach, clear a decent-size fence, and pass over a road just before hitting the runway.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Not many airports are flanked by oceanfront property filled with tourists standing under incoming aircraft. While the tourists are not really in harm's way – with the exception of their hearing – trucks driving on the small road between the beach and the runway could be at risk. "The challenge is to make sure there's not a big semi-truck coming through when the plane is landing. It becomes a vertical obstacle, and, if the truck is light, the jet blast could blow it over."

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6.Gisborne Airport – Gisborne, New Zealand

Photo: Charismatic Planet

Background:

The Gisborne airport is a regional airport located in the suburb of Elgin 4.2 km from the city center of Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Remember that adorable little girl from the Old El Paso add who asked “why can’t we have both?” Well swap out hard and soft shell tacos for an airport runway and a functional train line and you’ll have the configuration of this airport. We can only imagine some weary traveler who’s been in transit for 30 hours plus rubbing their eyes in disbelief on landing. Gisborne Airport is one of the few airports in the world that has a railway line, the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line, crossing the main runway!

7.Cristiano Ronaldo Airport – Santa Cruz, Madeira, Portugal

Photo: Amusing Planet

Background:

Cristiano Ronaldo Airport (Madeira Airport) was opened on July 8, 1964, with a runway of 1600 meters long. The Madeira archipelago won new connections to the Portuguese mainland, that until then were made by boat. The first landing of an aircraft on Madeira Island was in 1957 on an experimental track in Santa Catarina.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

For many years, a combination of high mountains, ocean, and a short runway meant limited air traffic to an island that depends on tourism for much of its income. The solution lay in constructing 180 columns off the edge of Madeira, popping a runway on top, and recently renaming the whole shebang as the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport. Because if there's one bloke, you can depend on to hit the target every time... The name change at the airport, known as one of the windiest in the world. It attracted a lot of attention locally, with some politicians opposing it and saying that the footballer's name should be added to a stadium or another sporting venue.

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8.Vancouver International Airport – Canada

Photo: Stantec

Background:

The airport served as a military training ground during the war, as well as a centre for air defense and munitions manufacturing. In 1947, the city of Vancouver resumes control of the airport and begins serving a number of airlines. In 1948, the airport is officially named Vancouver International Airport.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

There are not many airports where you can enjoy viewing ocean creatures before jetting off to the skies! Vancouver International boasts the largest airport aquarium in the world with it’s 114,000 liter tank full of marine plants and animals. Inside the award-winning aquatic museum lives a number of sea creatures: including eels, urchins and tiger-fish, whilst the smaller 1,800 litre tank is home to jellyfish. They were added to the terminal in 2007 and were designed to showcase British Columbia’s underwater ecosystems.

9.Gibraltar Airport – Gibraltar

Photo: Daily Sabah

Background:

Between Morocco and Spain sits the tiny British territory of Gibraltar. Construction of the airport dates back to World War II, and it continues to serve as a base for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, though commercial flights land on a daily basis.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Chances are you’ve never driven a car across an airport runway because well-- it’s unnecessary and usually illegal. But if you frequently travel to a little place called Gibraltar, located off the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, and aren’t flying to/from the UK, you don’t have much choice. This is because 1) the Gibraltar International Airport only services flights to and from the UK and 2) the only road that connects Gibraltar to the mainland crosses through Gibraltar’s airport runway. To prevent a nasty collision between car and plane, gates stop cars from crossing the runway during plane takeoffs and landings.

10.Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport – US

Photo: Pinterest

Background:

Back in the day, a family by the name of Dotson owned the land on which the airport is located. Not only did they live here but some died here too – as evidenced by graves dating back to 1857 found by airport planners.

Local law states that the moving of graves can only be carried out with the approval of the next of kin. When none could be found, engineers built the graves into the tarmac and the Dotson clan has been welcoming travelers to runway 10 ever since.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

Engineers used the region's brutally cold climate to their favor during construction and built the runway on a layer of permafrost. The airport was completed in 1975, but slight seasonal changes caused sections of the runway to become uneven, forcing the need to repave the runway on several occasions. A project was launched in 1989 aimed at insulating troublesome sections of the runway from the ground, which proved relatively successful. However, a 2002 study indicates that rising temperatures in the area may increase the need and frequency of maintenance efforts and repaving.

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11.Don Mueang Airport – Thailand

Photo: Bangkok Post

Background:

From a distance Don Mueang International looks like any other midsize airport. However, smack-dab in the middle of the two runways is an 18-hole golf course.

Why It's Unusual Airport:

How would you feel hitting a golf ball with just 20 yards to a runway? Don Mueang Airport is a commercial and military airbase in Bangkok with an extremely unique feature right in the middle of its runways… A golf course! Combining plane spotting and golfing, the Kantarat Golf Course is the only place in the world to get a fix for both. Photos and videos are strictly banned here and every player is escorted by a caddie. You even have to go through a metal security gate to get through to the course. Don’t forget your earplugs if you ever end up teeing off here!

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