The World’s Strangest Airports

8 May 2010 by Wes Bredenhof

Here’s an interesting compilation.  Of the eighteen, I’ve only been to Denver.  Runway 34L/16R is  16,000′ — that’s incredibly long.  When I was growing up in Edmonton, we had CFB Namao nearby and it had a 14,000′ runway.  If I remember correctly it was made of concrete and was 10 feet thick to withstand potential Soviet bombardment.  It was also an emergency Space Shuttle landing strip, but only for launches into polar orbit.

So, which airport on the list would you want most to fly into? Mine would definitely be Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in Saba, the Netherlands Antilles.  There’s nothing like a STOL landing and take-off in a Twin Otter.  The bonus is that a flight to Saba may also require a trip into another airport on the list, Princess Juliana International Airport on St. Maarten.

2 responses to “The World’s Strangest Airports”

  1. Mrs. Bob says:

    very cool!
    I’d like to see the plane landing across the highway. 🙂

  2. The only one of these I’ve been to is Denver, but I never really got a look at the interesting features. While most people by now are aware of the deleterious effects of mass commercial aviation on the global climate, one less obvious direct effect of airport construction is the quantity of concrete used, as the manfacture of concrete is a surprisingly large source of carbon dioxide. Improvements are on the way – ses my post: http://personalclimatechange.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/concrete-potential/
    Nevertheless, these are some very cool places. Thanks for sharing.

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