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October 11, 2008 7:32:47 AM CDT

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World's Diciest Landing Strips

Posted Jun 29, 08 2:02 PM CDT in World,  Arts & Living,  Glossies 

(Newser) – The scenery is spectacular, but lofty mountaintops, stiff trade winds, and abbreviated tarmacs make for teeth-clenching landings at the world’s most harrowing runways, per Travel and Leisure:

  • Paro Airport, Bhutan: Surrounded by 16,000-foot-high Himalayan peaks, what could possibly go wrong?
  • Barra Airport, Scotland: Hold on tight. The roughness of your sandy landing is determined by the outgoing tide.

  • Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten: Landing on a 6,000-foot runway is easy—immediately hit brakes. Repeat as necessary.
  • JFK, New York: If you thought the subway was crowded, try squeezing between LaGuardia- and Newark-bound traffic—and there's the inhospitable waters of Jamaica Bay if your plane overshoots.
For the rest of the nail-biting list, click below.

Source Travel Leisure

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It's not quite a day at the beach for those landing at Scotland's Barra Airport.   (Flickr © Wynwhite)
A plane takes off from the airport in Paro, Bhutan. Surrounded by Himalayan peaks, this airport requires specially trained pilots for landing through a narrow channel of tree-covered hillsides.   (AFP/Getty Images)
Sandwiched by the Mediterranean and the Bay of Algeciras, Gibraltar airport's truncated runway stretches just 6,000 feet and requires pinpoint precision.   (AFP/Getty Images)
A plane is shown in Barra, Scotland. Local residents steer clear of the hardened sand used as a landing strip when a fluttering windsock indicates the arrival of airborne guests.   (Flickr © Veronicaward)
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