Flying is fun. Okay, maybe not commercial flying at times—the long security lines, delays, and cancellations aren’t a day at the beach—but traveling, in general, is pretty fun.
Agatti Aerodrome
Agatti Island is a remote island off the coast of India. Unless you plan on taking a boat there, the only other option is to fly.
Being that it’s located on a tiny archipelago, the airport doesn’t have a lot of space for airplanes. Its runway is only 4,235 feet in length, making it too short to accommodate most commercial aircraft.
The facility is about to undergo an expansion, which will see the existing runway expanded by 1,100 feet. They will also construct a new terminal building and parking area. Soon, it will be able to handle an Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Back when it was built in 1988, the only plane it could take was a Dornier 228.
Qamdo Bamda Airport
It’s a pretty normal looking airport, but appearances are deceiving. Nestled atop the Tibetan Plateau of western China, Qamdo is around 14,219 feet above sea level making it tricky for even the most seasoned pilots.
Oxygen is hard to come by at this height, plus an airplane’s engines can give out without warning.
On the bright side, the lone runway is approximately 18,000 feet long which gives pilots tons of space to work with should a hazard arise.
