Engineers
tasked with building an airport are faced with countless challenges:
The ideal location needs ample space, endless flat ground, favorable
winds and great visibility. But spots in the real world are rarely
ideal, and engineers are forced to work with what they have, making sure
that the end product is the safest possible structure for pilots. A
survey of airports around the world turns up a mixed bag, ranging from
dangerous and rugged landing strips to mega-size facilities that operate
like small cities. Here, 7CL explores the world's most remarkable
airports and why they stand out.
7. Courchevel International Airport (Courchevel, France) Background: Getting
to the iconic ski resort of Courchevel requires navigating the
formidable French Alps before making a hair-raising landing at
Courchevel International Airport. The runway is about 1700 feet long,
but the real surprise is the large hill toward the middle of the strip. Why It's Unique: "You
take off downhill and you land going uphill," Schreckengast says. He
adds that the hill, which has an 18.5 percent grade, is so steep that
small planes could probably gain enough momentum rolling down it with no
engines to safely glide off the edge. Landing at Courchevel is
obviously no easy task, so pilots are required to obtain certification
before attempting to conquer the dangerous runway. 6. Congonhas Airport (Sao Paulo, Brazil) Background: Most
major cities have an airport, but rarely are they built just 5 miles
from the city center, especially in metropolises like Sao Paulo.
Congonhas' close proximity to downtown can be attributed in part to the
fact that it was completed in 1936, with the city experiencing rapid
development in the following decades. Why It's Unique: While
having an airport only 5 miles from the city center may be a
convenience for commuters, it places a strain on both pilots and air
traffic control crews. "It becomes a challenge in terms of safety to
just get the plane in there," Schreckengast says. "Then you throw on
noise restrictions and these terribly awkward arrival and departure
routes that are needed to minimize your noise-print and it becomes quite
challenging for pilots." Fortunately, Sao Paulo's many high-rise
buildings are far enough away from the airport that they aren't an
immediate obstacle for pilots landing or taking off. 5. Ice Runway (Antarctica) Background: The
Ice Runway is one of three major airstrips used to haul supplies and
researchers to Antarctica's McMurdo Station. As its name implies, there
are no paved runways here—just long stretches of ice and snow that are
meticulously groomed. Why It's Unique: There
is no shortage of space on the Ice Runway, so super-size aircraft like
the C-130 Hercules and the C-17 Globemaster III can land with relative
ease. The real challenge is making sure that the weight of the aircraft
and cargo doesn't bust the ice or get the plane stuck in soft snow. As
the ice of the runway begins to break up, planes are redirected to
Pegasus Field or Williams Field, the two other airstrips servicing the
continent. 4. Don Mueang International Airport (Bangkok, Thailand) 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 Unique: Schreckengast,
who has worked on consulting projects at this airport, says one of the
major problems is that the only taxiways were located at the end of the
runways. "We recommended that they build an additional taxiway in the
middle, from side to side, and they said ‘absolutely not, that will take
out a green and one fairway.'" The airport and the course were
originally an all-military operation, but have since opened up to
commercial traffic. Security threats, however, have limited the public's
access to the greens. 3. Madeira International Airport (Madeira, Portugal) Background: Madeira
is a small island far off the coast of Portugal, which makes an airport
that is capable of landing commercial-size aircraft vital to its
development. This airport's original runway was only about 5000 feet
long, posing a huge risk to even the most experienced pilots and
limiting imports and tourism. Why It's Unique: Engineers
extended the runway to more than 9000 feet by building a massive girder
bridge atop about 200 pillars. The bridge, which itself is over 3000
feet long and 590 feet wide, is strong enough to handle the weight of
747s and similar jets. In 2004, the International Association for Bridge
and Structural Engineering selected the expansion project for its
Outstanding Structure Award, noting that the design and construction was
both "sensitive to environmental and aesthetic considerations." 2. Gibraltar Airport (Gibraltar) 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 Unique: Winston
Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar's busiest road, cuts directly across the
runway. Railroad-style crossing gates hold cars back every time a plane
lands or departs. "There's essentially a mountain on one side of the
island and a town on the other," Schreckengast says. "The runway goes
from side to side on the island because it's the only flat space there,
so it's the best they can do. It's a fairly safe operation as far as
keeping people away," he says, "It just happens to be the best place to
land, so sometimes it's a road and sometimes it's a runway." 1. Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan) Background: 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 Unique: 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 very real 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."
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