The excitement truly begins while you're still en route to these unique holiday destinations with the world's most unique airports, as MyFlyRight noted the top six spots for blood-pumping landing experiences. Starting with a vital stop for anyone looking to tackle Mount Everest.
Also known as the Tenzing-Hillary Airport, reaching this airstrip involves travelling into the heart of the Himalayas. With stunning views, you then land on an alarmingly short runway, bordered by a cliff on one side and a solid rock face on the other.
The slim margin for error, further reduced by harsh and unpredictable weather, also makes this airport one of the most dangerous. However, for the continuous flow of adventurers tackling Mount Everest, this airport is an essential part of their journey.
Situated in the French Alps, this distinctive airport features a rare uphill runway that is also very short and often surrounded by snow. This makes for a landing so challenging that pilots need special training and certifications.
This airport, located in the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, has repeatedly gone viral due to its astonishing location; the short runway nearly borders the tourist hotspot Maho Beach.
Aircraft frequently have to fly remarkably low over the crowded beach for landing.
This spectacle draws plane enthusiasts who gather on the sandy shores to watch, with a local beach bar even providing flight times but beachgoers are warned to 'brace' and secure their belongings when larger planes arrive or depart.
The runway of Gibraltar's airport intersects with a major road, Winston Churchill Avenue, so whenever a plane is taking off or landing, traffic must be halted across the entire road.
This used to cause significant traffic disruptions, but a new road and tunnel were introduced last March, officially ending vehicular use of the runway-road, however, pedestrians and cyclists using Winston Churchill Avenue may still need to keep an eye on the departure board.
This Scottish airport has landing zones on actual beaches of Barra island in the Outer Hebrides.
The flight schedule is determined by the tides as the runways become submerged twice a day but despite this, the airport still manages to transport up to 14,000 passengers annually.
Heading back to the Caribbean, this airport boasts one of the world's shortest runways, a mere 400 meters in length, terminating at a cliff that plunges into the sea.
However, only a few accidents have been documented since it opened in 1959. According to the New Zealand Herald, the sole fatality was a goat transported in an aircraft's cargo hold in 1971.
