Next week Quito’s infamous airport will move, offering an easier place for pilots. Kai Tak, in Hong Kong, the most precarious of landings where you could see washing hanging on lines, no longer exists. But thrill seekers can still fly to Cusco, Innsbruck, Kathmandu or St Barts, to name a few. Look away if you are scared of flying
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Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito, Ecuador: A plane approaches for landing, seen through a glass wall in the Eloy Alfaro school. Landing at Ecuador’s capital can be a white-knuckle affair. The high altitude affects engine performance, with difficulties exacerbated by a cramped runway and active volcanoes lining the landing area, making it one of Latin America’s most challenging airports for pilots – and passengers
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Tenzing-Hillary airport (Lukla airport), Nepal: an STOL aircraft taking off down the sloping runway
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St Barthelemy, Lesser Antilles: a Twin Otter plane comes in to land on the short runway at St Barts
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Kai Tak airport, Kowloon: a plane approaching the airport in 1992. The airport closed in 1998
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Courchevel, French alps: The airport at the Courchevel 1850 ski resort in the Three Valleys
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Aerial view of a landing airstrip on the coast of Maui, Hawaii (this is not the main airport)
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Funchal airport, Madeira: the runway is adjacent to the shore
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Princess Juliana international airport in Saint Martin: planes on a low approach over Maho Beach, located at the bottom of the Princess Juliana Airport strip
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Kranebitten airport, Innsbruck: the runway approach is nestled by mountains and surrounded by homes
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Paro, Bhutan: a Drukair-Royal Bhutan airlines airbus A319-114 passenger jet prepares to land at the international airport
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editing: d. d. manias