Game on
10 challenging airports
You know what these warnings mean: Landing at this airport is going to be a bigger challenge than most—and you need to be prepared. We’ve compiled 10 challenging airports we know of from around the world. What airport challenged you the most and why? Tell us by writing to [email protected], subject line: Most Challenging Airport. 
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE)
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, sitting at 7,830 feet msl, is situated between large mountains that often plague the airport with unpredictable winds.
Catalina Airport (AVX)
Avalon, California
Nicknamed “Airport in the Sky,” Catalina Airport is known to present a challenge to incoming pilots, providing them with a 3,000-foot-long runway featuring a distinct hump and uphill slope. Additionally, the airport is on top of a mountain, with 1,000-foot cliffs at both runway ends.
Cheat River Island Airport (56WV)
Rowlesburg, West Virginia
One cannot land at Cheat River Island Airport without first making the incredibly challenging approach through Cheat Canyon. This grass strip requires precise, low-altitude maneuvering near trees to land.
Courchevel Altiport (LFLJ)
Courchevel, France
Previously featured in AOPA Pilot (“The Courchevel Altiport,” May 2025), the Courchevel Altiport has just one runway that measures 1,722 feet long. The runway also features a dramatic 18.7-percent gradient and cliffs on both sides.
Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport (LPMA)
Santa Cruz, Portugal
Located on the beautiful island of Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport is well known for its severe turbulence caused by surrounding mountains and ocean. Additionally, the airport’s only runway is partially supported by concrete pillars, which act as stilts.
Gibraltar International Airport (LXGB)
Gibraltar
Located in the heart of Gibraltar, Gibraltar International Airport has a singular runway, which runs across one of the city-state’s main transportation routes, and is surrounded on both sides by water. The route intersecting the runway hosted car traffic until March 2023 but is now limited to foot and bicycle traffic.
Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM)
Simpson Bay, St. Maarten
You’ve likely seen viral videos of airplanes flying into this airport, sweeping over the top of beachgoers in the Caribbean. The airport is located just past the popular Maho Beach. A challenge for airliners, its 7,500-foot runway requires a low-altitude approach that gives sunbathers an up-close-and-personal view of your aircraft’s belly.
Sedona Airport (SEZ)
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona Airport is situated on top of a mesa just large enough for a runway to fit, giving off an optical illusion that makes it difficult to judge your altitude. The single runway has sizeable drop-offs on both sides, and density altitude and downdrafts make this airport a challenge to land and takeoff at even for seasoned pilots.
Wellington International Airport (NZWN)
Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington International Airport will give pilots of any level a true test with its gale-force winds. The city of Wellington has an average wind speed of 17 mph throughout the year, and the highest windspeed recorded at the airport is 72 mph.
Tenzing-Hillary Airport (VNLK)
The ‘most dangerous airport in the world’
By W. Scott Olsen
The Tenzing-Hillary Airport (VNLK) in Lukla, Nepal, is often called the most dangerous airport in the world, which is part advertising to the adventure crowd and part hard-truth. Named after the first two climbers confirmed to summit Everest, the Tenzing-Hillary Airport has a runway of 1,729 feet, 65 feet wide, with a slope of 11.7 percent. The altitude is 9,337 feet. Nothing about it is easy.
Resting in the Himalayas near Mount Everest, a short flight from either Kathmandu or Ramechhap, the town and airport are the gateway for every trekker, every bit of support, every bit of cargo heading into the Khumbu region from the Nepal side. Because there is a mountain at the end of Runway 6, and a deep valley at the end of Runway 24, there is only one way in or out.
Only STOL aircraft can land there—the de Havilland Twin Otter, the Dornier 228, the Let L–410 Turbolet, the Pilatus PC–6. And the weather has its own micro-climate caused by mountain winds. Outside of monsoon season, the sky is often clear in the morning, and landings begin before 6 a.m. A typical day might see 50 flights. On a busy day, that number rises to 100 flights or more. But the skies can close fast. Normally, clouds come up the valleys by 3 p.m. and the day is done, but not always. Sometimes clouds move through, and pilots hold to see what might happen. Overnight, it usually rains.
To land at Lukla, pilots need to log more than 100 STOL missions and more than a year of STOL experience. They need to log at least 10 landings at Lukla with a certified instructor.
The airport is as lively with helicopters as it is with fixed-wing aircraft. Tourism flights to overfly Everest Base Camp and other places like Kala Patthar or the Hotel Everest View, as well as supplies and construction support in the upper valleys, fill the sky.
W. Scott Olsen is an aviation writer and private pilot who teaches at Concordia College.
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