The 10 largest airports in the world
Discover the top 10 largest airports in the world - see which impress most for size, facilities and connectivity.
What are the world’s scariest airports? Check out the top 10
Thanks to advances in technology and specialised crew training, flying has become extremely safe, but there are still the world’s scariest airports that serve up challenges worthy of an action movie.
For those who love travelling and collecting unusual stories, visiting them is an adventure in itself. See below for the top 10, what makes them so feared, and why, despite everything, they continue to receive flights every year.
What is the scariest airport in the world?
Paro International Airport in Bhutan is the scariest airport in the world, according to the ranking by The Luxury Travel Expert website1.
Located in a deep valley and surrounded by mountains reaching 5,500 metres in altitude, it offers one of the most challenging approaches in global aviation—undeniably hair-raising. On top of that, unpredictable weather, with strong winds and turbulence, demands extreme skill from pilots.
Landings can only take place during the day and in full visual conditions, since the final approach is flown visually. To heighten the tension, the runway only becomes visible in the final moments, after the aircraft performs 45-degree manoeuvres between the mountains.
What makes Paro International Airport the scariest in the world? How was this ranking determined?
The specialist website The Luxury Travel Expert, known for creating rankings and analyses of destinations and travel experiences, compiled the list of the world’s scariest airports based on criteria that go beyond “dangerous landings”. After all, what counts as scary can vary from person to person.
With that in mind, they assessed aspects that ramp up the tension of take-offs and landings, such as:
- Location in mountainous areas or surrounded by natural obstacles
- Extremely short runways, under 800 metres long
- Adverse weather conditions, such as strong winds and intense turbulence
- The need for complex visual approaches that require risky manoeuvres
- A limited number of pilots authorised to operate at the airport due to the high level of difficulty
- Proximity to oceans, cliffs or urban areas
- Limited infrastructure, with narrow runways, inadequate lighting or minimal navigation equipment
- History of accidents or a remote location
However, it’s important to remember that despite these airports’ reputations, the aeroplane is the safest mode of transport in the world. Commercial aviation has one of the lowest accident rates, and the chance of a flight experiencing a fatal accident is approximately 1 in 11 million2.
Moreover, even when incidents do occur, most do not result in fatalities, thanks to advanced safety systems, rigorous crew training, and technologies that enable emergency landings and controlled manoeuvres.
Top 10 scariest airports in the world
Each of these airports has its own quirks—whether due to geography, unpredictable weather, or even a lack of the infrastructure we’re used to.
On top of the challenges each runway presents, these airports are spread across different countries and territories, each with its own official currency. Below, we’ve compiled the 10 scariest airports in the world, their locations, and the currency used in each destination.
| Airport | Country | Official currency |
|---|---|---|
| Paro International Airport | Bhutan | Bhutanese ngultrum (BTN) |
| Gustaf III Airport (St. Barts) | Saint Barthélemy (French West Indies) | Euro (EUR) |
| Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport | Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
| Courchevel Airport | France | Euro (EUR) |
| Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla) | Nepal | Nepalese rupee (NPR) |
| Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (formerly Funchal) | Portugal | Euro (EUR) |
| Toncontín Airport | Honduras | Honduran lempira (HNL) |
| Innsbruck Airport | Austria | Euro (EUR) |
| Princess Juliana Airport | Sint Maarten | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
| Gibraltar International Airport | Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory) | Gibraltar pound (GIP) |
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Sources consulted in this article:
- Airport rankings
- AirHelp - safest means of transport
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Sources last checked on 11 August 2025
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