Smallest airports Archives - LAramieAIRport https://www.laramieairport.com/category/smallest-airports/ A lot of interesting things about airports and airplanes Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:55:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0 https://www.laramieairport.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-logo-32x32.jpg Smallest airports Archives - LAramieAIRport https://www.laramieairport.com/category/smallest-airports/ 32 32 The Most Luxurious Airports in the World: A Glimpse into High-End Travel https://www.laramieairport.com/the-most-luxurious-airports-in-the-world-a-glimpse-into-high-end-travel/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:55:49 +0000 https://www.laramieairport.com/?p=235 You already know airports are usually the last place you want to be. If you’ve ever shuffled past Gate C47 at some ridiculous hour, half asleep, clutching your boarding pass while hunting for a working outlet and something that doesn’t taste like warm cardboard, you know the vibe. Terminals feel less like travel hubs and […]

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You already know airports are usually the last place you want to be. If you’ve ever shuffled past Gate C47 at some ridiculous hour, half asleep, clutching your boarding pass while hunting for a working outlet and something that doesn’t taste like warm cardboard, you know the vibe.

Terminals feel less like travel hubs and more like stress experiments. Lines that never seem to move. Constant announcements that jolt you every time you finally manage to relax. The good news is that not all airports are that way, and here are three airports that you will actually enjoy being inside.

Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, USA

Let’s start in the US. Locals still refer to it as McCarran, but the rebranding doesn’t alter the experience. The second you step through security, you’re not just “at the airport” anymore; you’re basically already in Vegas. Slot machines aren’t some cute little corner attraction; they’re everywhere. There are countless games to play, including those found in top casinos like vox-kasyno.co.pl, which offers over 5,000 games.

The lounges are where you want to be. Inside, you will find The Capital One Lounge serving caviar and craft beer, like that’s the most normal thing in the world.

It feels more like a cocktail bar that accidentally ended up inside an airport than a standard lounge. Terminal 3 maintains the same energy but refines it: bright, clean, and wide walkways, along with signage that actually seems like someone tested it on real humans before installing it.

The pace is quick, but it never feels chaotic or unhinged. It’s flashy, sure, and maybe a little extra, but it’s enjoyable. If it didn’t feel slightly over the top, that would be the real disappointment.

Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore

Changi is one of those airports that people talk about so much that it almost sounds fake. “Best airport in the world” gets thrown around like a marketing slogan until you actually walk into Jewel and look up.

Right in the middle of Changi Airport, Singapore, is a 131-foot waterfall cascading from the center of a glass dome. Yes, a real waterfall inside an airport. That’s the exact moment you realise they’re playing a completely different game.

And they don’t stop at that. There’s an entire indoor forest woven around elevated walkways, filled with real plants and trees from all over the world. If you are not into nature, there is no problem.

There’s a free movie theater showing actual current films. There’s a butterfly garden populated with live butterflies, not just pictures on a wall. There are sleep pods where you can rest for a while without worrying about wrapping your arm through your bag handle in paranoid self-defense.

If you’re in the mood to shop, you’re covered. If you want a massage, you won’t have to look far. If you’ve got kids bouncing off the walls before a 14-hour flight, there’s a massive play area that feels custom-built to drain their energy just in time.

The whole airport is so thoughtfully put together that you forget you’re in an airport at all. Some people legitimately schedule longer layovers here just for the experience, and honestly, it makes sense.

Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea

Incheon manages something most major airports completely fail at: it’s enormous, but it somehow feels calm. Other airports are often known for noise, crowds, and stress, which can be compounded by additional stress. Incheon flips that. The entire place exudes a low-key spa energy, even as thousands of people move through it.

Spa on Air is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s not a lie. You can get a real massage, take an actual shower, and sit in a sauna before your next flight. You go in tired, stiff, and annoyed, and you walk out feeling like you unexpectedly got a reset button in the middle of your travel day.

If you want to go beyond that, the transit hotel inside the terminal offers a private room with a proper bed, TV, working Wi-Fi, and access to a gym. The biggest perk, though, is simple: silence. No constant announcements, no strangers brushing past you every five seconds. Just a quiet space that feels more like a guest room than an airport. For many people, that alone is worth taking a long trip to Seoul specifically.

Most airports wear you down before you ever reach your actual destination. These ones do the opposite. They don’t just get you from point A to point B–they make the in-between feel like part of the trip you might actually remember for the right reasons.

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The smallest airport Saba (Saba Island, Netherlands) https://www.laramieairport.com/airport-saba/ Sun, 08 May 2022 13:47:00 +0000 https://www.laramieairport.com/?p=62 Juancho Irauskin Airport is located on the Caribbean island of Saba, a special municipality of the Netherlands.

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Juancho Irauskin Airport is located on the Caribbean island of Saba, a special municipality of the Netherlands. The main feature of the airfield is the length of the runway, 396 meters, which makes it the smallest runway in the world from which commercial departures can be made. In addition, the runway itself is limited by precipices at both ends, which makes landing particularly dangerous. Therefore only the small Twin Otter and BN-2 Islander planes are allowed to land here. Winair now operates at the airport with regular flights to the neighboring Dutch islands of St. Maarten and St. Eustatius.

This tiny airport on a Dutch island in the Caribbean boasts an odd claim to fame: It has the world’s shortest commercial landing strip, and some say one of the most dangerous.

Located on the Dutch island of Saba in the Caribbean, the runway at Huancho-Irauskin Airport extends only 400 meters, making it slightly longer than a typical aircraft carrier, before steep cliffs at either end begin to threaten to plunge an unsuspecting pilot into the water. This design assumes that the plane will not collide with the high hills on one side of the island.

The runway is closed to jets, so you’ll have to board a smaller plane, such as Twin Otter’s BN-2 Islander, to experience it. The only airline that operates regular flights to the island is Winair. There are two ways to get to the island: a short 12-minute flight from St. Maarten or a 90-minute boat ride.

The airport is named after former Aruba minister Juancho Irauskin, whose name has also been immortalized on official documents and maps, and began operating in September 1963. Although there have been no fatal accidents here, many aviators consider it one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

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Olympic Dam Airport https://www.laramieairport.com/olympic-dam-airport/ Mon, 18 Apr 2022 14:08:00 +0000 https://www.laramieairport.com/?p=71 Darwin International Airport is an Australian airport located 13 kilometers from the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, ranked tenth in the list of the busiest airports in Australia.

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Darwin International Airport is an Australian airport located 13 kilometers from the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, ranked tenth in the list of the busiest airports in Australia. The port’s runways are shared between civil aviation and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Darwin operates a passenger terminal for domestic and international traffic with numerous shopping areas, restaurants and cafes, and a cargo terminal.
The airport serves more than 18,000 flights a year and, according to statistics for 2021, served just under a million passengers.

Story

In 1919, with the opening of air traffic between England and Australia, the so-called Australian Terminal was built in the suburbs of Darwin, which worked as two separate airports – for civil and military aviation. In 1945, the Australian Air Ministry authorized the use of the Darwin Air Force Base for civil aviation, which resulted in the closure of a small civilian airport in the suburbs, and the military base became a joint airport for military and commercial aircraft.

From 1950 to 1974, Darwin Airport was the main domestic and international transit hub for the country’s Northern Territory, used by major airlines such as Qantas Airways. In 1974, Cyclone Tracy destroyed more than 70% of the city and demolished almost the entire airport complex, which was rebuilt within a few years.In December 1991, a new passenger terminal was put into operation with four boarding gates.
present tense

Darwin International Airport has only one passenger terminal for domestic and international flights. Regular routes connect the airport with the cities of the Northern Territory of the country, all major cities in Australia (with the exception of Canberra, as well as with the airports of Cairns, Broome, Singapore, Dili (East Timor) and Bali. Darwin Airport is one of the emergency sites for the space shuttle Space Shuttle .

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Tenzing-Hillary Airport https://www.laramieairport.com/tenzing-hillary-airport/ Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:56:00 +0000 https://www.laramieairport.com/?p=65 The Tenzing and Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport until 2008) is a small airport in the city of Lukla in eastern Nepal.

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The Tenzing and Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport until 2008) is a small airport in the city of Lukla in eastern Nepal. In January 2008 it was renamed after the first Everest conquerors: Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.

The airport has a 527-meter runway with a 12 percent slope at 2,860 meters above sea level. Due to the difficult terrain all landings are made from gate 06 and all takeoffs from gate 24. Due to the high gradient, the runway ends differ in height by 60 meters. End 06 is located right on the edge of a precipice that falls into a seven hundred meter abyss, while 24 is located at the foot of a four thousand meter ridge. The apron is equipped with four parking lots and a helipad. Takeoffs and landings are performed exclusively by VFR, as the airport has only a radio station among navigational equipment.

Due to its proximity to Everest, the airport is popular with climbers starting their ascent from Lukla. Several airlines fly here from Kathmandu, but flights are only available during the day and in good visibility. The weather around the airport is unpredictable; its instability causes frequent flight cancellations. The runway can only accommodate helicopters and short takeoff and landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and the Dornier Do 228.

In addition, in the game Far Cry 4 there was an airport in the fictional country of Kirat, which suspiciously resembles this airport.

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Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport https://www.laramieairport.com/billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/ Fri, 18 Feb 2022 13:59:00 +0000 https://www.laramieairport.com/?p=68 Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The airport is often referred to as Toronto Island Airport and was formerly known as Port George VI Island Airport and Downtown Toronto Airport. The airport’s name honors Billy Bishop, a World War I Canadian ace pilot and World War II air marshal. Used by civil aviation, air ambulances and regional airlines using turboprop aircraft. In 2018, it was named the ninth busiest airport in Canada and the sixth busiest Canadian airport serving the United States.

Conceived in the 1930s as Toronto’s main airport, the airport was completed in 1939 by the Port of Toronto Commission (THC). At the same time, THC built Malton Airport as an alternate, but neighboring Malton (today Toronto Pearson International Airport) instead became Toronto’s main passenger airline hub, leaving the island’s airport for general aviation and military purposes. In the 1940s and 1950s, several political leaders proposed expanding the island’s airport to allow for scheduled passenger service and reduce annual operating costs. Malton was sold in 1962 to the Government of Canada in exchange for expanding and improving the island’s airport. After expansion, civilian flights increased to over 200,000 flights per year in the 1960s.Although regional airlines were introduced in the 1970s, the annual number of flights declined and their closure was discussed. In 1983, a 50-year tripartite agreement was signed between the government of Canada and the government of the city of Toronto, and the Harbor Commission, which limited noise and banned the use of aircraft by scheduled airlines, allowed the airport to operate. In the 1990s, in an era of government spending cuts, questions about the future of the airport were raised again due to its yearly deficit. At the same time, redevelopment was taking place north of the airport, and several studies showed that the airport was incompatible with development.

In 1999, the new Port of Toronto Authority (TPA) (renamed “PortsToronto” in 2015) replaced THC. The TPA’s mission was to make the port and airport self-sufficient, and it determined that the airport needed to be expanded to end the annual subsidy. Although the expansion of the airport has been and remains politically controversial, TPA has been working with new regional airline Porter Airlines since 2003 to increase the carrier’s scheduled flights. Under the new financial model, carriers pay landing fees and departing passengers pay airport improvements fees to TPA. Porter was launched in 2006 and passenger volumes grew to the point that by 2010 the airport was self-sufficient. In 2010, Porter opened a new terminal. In 2015, a pedestrian tunnel to the airport was opened after a previous bridge plan was cancelled.In 2013, Porter proposed expanding the airport and changing the operating agreement to allow it to operate Bombardier CS100 jets at the airport. The proposal, which is valued at C$1 billion in government spending, has been sent to PortsToronto for further review. In November 2015, following the 2015 Canadian federal election, the new government announced that it would not reopen the tripartite agreement allowing aircraft. The Ports of Toronto subsequently canceled studies of expansion proposals. The airport can be reached by ferry or via a 260-meter pedestrian tunnel that connects to the mainland.

Description
The airport is located on the Toronto Islands, southwest of downtown Toronto. The airport has one main east–west runway, a shorter runway with a 20-degree deviation, and Billy Bishop Seaplane Base, Toronto City Water Airfield. The airport is used for regional airline and general aviation services, including emergency medical flights (due to its proximity to downtown hospitals), small charter flights, and private aviation. According to the operating agreement, the use of jet aircraft at the airport is prohibited, except for medical evacuation flights. The airport has one passenger terminal built in 2010.

The airport is operated as a division of PortsToronto (formerly the Toronto Port Authority (TPA)), a federal corporation that also operates the Toronto Harbor. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at the airport can handle aircraft with up to 90 passengers. There is no US border preclearance at the airport, although this has been approved by the Canadian and US governments. Airport operating hours are from 6:45 to 23:00, except for MEDEVAC flights. The airport’s opening hours are governed by a 2003 Tripartite Agreement update that sets out opening hours. Airfield rescue and ambulance services are provided by Billy Bishop Airport Emergency Response with support from the Toronto Fire Department and Toronto Ambulance Service.View from the southwest
The airport can be accessed from a pedestrian tunnel at the foot of the Éireann promenade, which can be used free of charge. From the pavilion on the mainland, a 240 m (800 ft) pedestrian tunnel and a sewer and water tunnel lead to the airport. The pedestrian tunnel has moving sidewalks with elevators at both ends. From the side of the island, visitors are served by an escalator. A consortium known as Forum Infrastructure Partners, made up of Arup, PCL and Technicore, designed, built, financed and maintained the tunnel.

A ferry runs between the same location and the airport every 15 minutes from 5:15 AM to midnight (the 5:15 AM ferry is for airport employees; airline passengers can start crossing at 5:30 AM). A free shuttle runs between York Street and Front Street and the airport. There is a taxi rank at the pier. Short-term and long-term parking is possible at the pier and on the island. There is no roadside parking. The 509 Harbourfront tram line, which connects to the Underground, serves as the intersection of Bathurst Street and Queens Quay, one block north of the ferry pier.
The airport charges an additional fee of $15 per passenger landing on scheduled flights.
Since 2015, Billy Bishop has been participating in the Airports Council International’s Airport Quality Survey customer surveys. In March 2017, the airport was named “North America’s Best Airport” in two categories in the 2016 polls.In 2019, the airport was ranked 124th in the world and worst in Canada by AirHelp, which based its rankings on timeliness, quality of service, food and shopping. Timeliness was only rated 5.8/10 while the airport received 8.1/10 for service and 7.0/10 for food and service.

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