Airports like no other

You don’t always realize it when you’re in the passenger seat, but some airports require more technical maneuvers or have surprising peculiarities. After testing the new flight simulator open to the public by AviaSim, we wondered which ones. The pilot Alexandre Drone tells us about these tracks off the beaten track.

Between peaks, gusts and slaloms

No need to draw a picture to understand that approaches in mountainous environments impose more technical challenges on pilots. “We often fly there between the mountains, where there is always naturally more turbulence with the winds which descend or ascend them”, indicates Mr. Drone, pilot in training and instructor for AviaSim. Among those capable of accommodating airliners, he cites the airport of Innsbruck, in Austria, where the proximity of the Alps makes things more difficult, or that of Wellington, in New Zealand. “We slalom between the mountains to pass over a body of water, then over a mountain just before the track. A passenger will see them up close,” he says.

There is also the somewhat extreme example of Paro, in Bhutan; only about twenty pilots are certified to land there. The challenge is met: not only does the terrain prevent early alignment on the runway, but in addition, guidance by instrument is impossible. “It’s an entirely manual approach, which is very rare for an airliner, and you’ll have to slalom until you can line up with the runway at the last moment,” explains Alexandre Drone.

Other airports where late turns and strong winds spice up the maneuvers: that of Madeira, in Portugal, called Cristiano-Ronaldo, which requires piloting his plane as well as the footballer pilots his ball; as well as that of Tivat, in Montenegro. “It’s at the bottom of the mountains, just before a body of water. As a result, the winds come down from the mountain and hit the plane head-on. We call it the European Kai Tak,” says the pilot. What is Kai Tak? Hold the line.

Cities apart

Kai Tak, therefore, is the old airport of Hong Kong, closed in 1998. On the menu, a very tight bend and nearby buildings. “He had one of the most unique approaches in the world, very technical, where you had to make a 90 degree turn just before the runway, 300-400 ft from the houses. On the right side, 20 seconds before landing, a passenger could still see the runway”, recalls Mr. Drone.

Among the city airports still in service, it evokes that of Washington-Reagan, where you no longer slalom between the mountain peaks… but between the many secure areas (no fly zones), related to the presence of various US government authorities.

Also, that of London City, near the business district of the British capital, requires special training; the approach slope being very steep and the track relatively short (approximately 1500 m). Only certain planes are allowed there.

Finally, even if it does not pose a particular challenge, Gibraltar airport is worth mentioning. “It’s the only one in the world crossed by a road, with a level crossing to cross the tracks. Except that instead of waiting for a train to pass, we wait for a plane to pass…”, launches the pilot.

Play short track

The Caribbean has a number of atypical airports, notes Alexandre Drone, including Saint-Martin, well known for air passages in near-low-clods near the beach.

The one on the Caribbean island of Saba, on the other hand, only accommodates small aircraft, and for good reason: its runway is very short (1300 ft, or around 400 m, whereas the runways for large aircraft are usually spread over several kilometres) . “Not only is it very short, but the beginning and the end of the track lead to cliffs. The approach is very intriguing, as much for the pilot as for the passenger”, indicates the instructor.

In France, at the Courchevel altiport, the runway is also short (1,700 ft), but above all, it has a slope of 18.5%, a very high degree. “When you land, you’re uphill, when you take off, you’re downhill and you feel like you’re falling into a void. It is very impressive ! In the same style, the Nepalese airport of Lukla, perched at more than 9325 ft (more than 2840 m), promises thrills to its guests (the author of these lines can attest to this). “At this height, we are between half and a third of the altitude of an airliner”, specifies Mr. Drone.