We’re lucky to live an age where air travel is so accessible. For most of us, being on a plane has become as banal as taking a bus or taxi … well almost. But there’s one airport out there that could probably grip even the most seasoned flyers with fear.
Perched on the side of a Khumbu valley next to the tiny Himalayan town of Lukla, Tenzing-Hillary Airport is widely considered to be the world’s most dangerous airport. The short and relatively recently paved airstrip is accessible only to small fixed-wing aeroplanes and helicopters.
Flights to and from Kathmandu – run regularly by six Nepali operators – promise a thrilling take-off and landing. The 1,500-foot airstrip has a 12 per cent gradient – that’s steeper than some mountain roads. On approach, the aircraft must descend quickly from the high surrounding landscape before using the gradient to decelerate upon touchdown. Meanwhile, on departure, the aircraft accelerates downhill, lifting off a short distance shy of runway’s end, which sits at the precipice of a sharp drop to the valley bottom hundreds of feet below.
Named after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the airport’s benefactors and famously the first people to successfully summit Everest and return to tell the tale, Lukla is the traditional gateway for hikers and climbers in the Everest region.
Capture a sense of this take-off and landings at this incredible airport with the videos below.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: nucksfan604)
