The world’s shortest commercial runway on Saba Island offers a “scary” yet exhilarating take-off/landing experience.
Saba Island , Netherlands has a very small area, only about 13km 2 , in which most of it is hilly, there is not much space to take off and land planes.
The island’s Juancho E. Yrausquin airport , built on a meager flat land, has just enough runway for the length of an aircraft carrier.
The two ends of the runway are the edge of the island, below is the sea, making taking off and landing at the world’s shortest commercial runway extremely challenging, requiring skilled pilots. That’s why it’s called one of the scariest airplane take-off/landing experiences in the world.
The runway at the airport on Saba island is only about 400m long. (Photo – CNN).
Completing a flight over Saba is so memorable that a souvenir shop in the village of Windwardside on the island even sells T-shirts with the words “I survived the flight that landed in Saba”.
Although visitors can take a ferry to the island, many people still choose to fly because they like adventurous experiences.
The 15-minute flight from Sint Maarten to Saba is made possible by Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters aircraft designed specifically for airports with complex conditions and can be quickly stopped in the event of an emergency. .
Sint Maarten-based Winair is the only airline operating flights to and from Saba. Only specially trained pilots are eligible to operate these flights.
Former military pilot Roger Hodge, a trainer for Winair’s Twin Otter fleet, said that when the plane landed, the occupants of the plane could “crunk the hairs on the back of their necks” because of the risk of an emergency situation. usually, engine malfunction…
In rainy conditions, the runway is wet and the landing cannot be performed. According to Mr. Hodge, due to the specific nature of the size of the runway, pilots need to ensure that even a small mistake does not occur.
Experiencing this one flight, a CNN reporter said that the space inside the plane did not have a door separating the cockpit from the cabin, so passengers could clearly see the direction of the aircraft and the scene ahead.
After taking off, passengers can see green mountains, golden beaches, beautiful views of the scenery below. In the cockpit, the two pilots operate smoothly, always manually controlling the machinery and equipment in a professional manner.
The plane moves on the runway at Saba island. (Photo – CNN)
The closer you get to Saba Island, the scenery of the island appears beautiful but also makes passengers feel as if they are heading straight for the crater. When the plane turned left to head towards the runway. At this point, the passenger sitting on the right can see the sea wall standing up at close range while the passenger on the left looks directly at the sea below.
Finally, the person sitting on the plane had the feeling that the vehicle flew close to the mountainside, then gradually lowered the altitude and landed. When the vehicle stops right at the end of the runway, passengers can see the sea surface right in front of the plane.
According to a CNN reporter, the experience of taking off from the airport on the island of Saba is as exciting as when the plane landed. The plane ran for momentum along the length of the runway and left the ground to soar into the sky. Right at the end of the runway, the plane was at the edge of the island, below the sea cliff.
Plane runs to take off at the world’s shortest commercial runway