We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

Forget roller coasters. We get our kicks on scary-as-hell runways. So we're about ready to schedule a trip to the South Pacific after tipster Paul Sloan of Tahiti Expeditions sent along word of Gizo Airport (GZO) in the Solomon Islands. Is it us, or does this runway look like it just shouldn't work? Apparently it does!

For the record, there are several dozen other airports scattered throughout the Solomon Islands, including the comparatively giant Honiara International Airport, where you can even catch a flight on Virgin Blue.

Needless to say, if you're Soloman Islands-bound and not to Honiara, you'll needs to board a tiny Solomon Airlines jet to reach this little beaut of a runway. Nailbiting landing are part of the exotic fun, don't you know.

Related Stories:
· At Least The Juana Azurduy Airport Has a Paved Runway [Jaunted]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]
· Island Travel: Budget Airlines Hit Solomon Islands [Jaunted]

[Photo: TravelPod] ]]> BS 2009-05-18T10:02:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/13/125925/257

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

It's been a while since we updated our World's Most Dangerous Airports list but thanks to a Jaunted tipster, we have learned of yet another scary airport to seek out/avoid. It's Juana Azurduy (SRE) in Sucre, Bolivia.

I flew in once (this was 1993, I spent a summer in that part of the world). It's like a lot of other airports - hot and high (about 9000 feet above MSL), in a natural bowl of mountains. The really nasty trick is that just at the end of the runway there is a small hill: incoming aircraft descend, then have to pull up sharply, then drop again to hit the end of the runway.

What makes matters worse is that there is no taxiway, so having gone past the terminal building the aircraft apparently starts to leave the runway altogether to the right before making a turn in its own length and taxiing back up to the terminal. Very unnerving if you haven't done it before!

You can see a great shot of the airport here on Airliners.net. On the bright side, the airport's runway is paved--something that you don't always get in this part of the world. And while the landing can be freaky, the airport is only open from sunrise to sunset so there can be no attempts to maneuver the descent in the dark. Phew!

Related Stories:
· Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport [Wikipedia]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]

[Photo: tesking]]]> juliana 2009-05-13T13:46:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/3/224633/1133

Has that pesky little Iraq war been upsetting your Middle East travel plans? If British airline BMI has any say in the matter of increasing air passenger traffic to the good old Baghdad International, then your dreams of family reunions in Fallujah and spa weekends in Basra may not be pipe dreams much longer.

Thanks to a rousing meeting last week between Iraqi officials and UK businesses, British investment in the rebuilding country is looking imminent, and maverick companies will need an airline to shuttle them back and forth between deals in London and Baghdad. The Financial Times breaks the news that BMI is not only considering operating flights between the two capitals, making it the first to successfully re-connect the Isles to Iraq in almost twenty years, but that it would like to do so as early as next spring. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-05-04T10:16:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/10/75348/992

Don't say we didn't warn you: We did. On October 8, a plane crashed for the second time since 2005 at the tiny airport near Mt. Everest, killing 18.

The 19-seat Yeti Airlines plane had nearly completed its flight from Katmandu when it snagged its wheels on a security fence at Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal about 40 miles from Mount Everest Base Camp. Two Australians, two Nepalese and 12 tourists from Germany on a Hauser Exkursionen tour died. Only the pilot survived.]]> ced138 2008-10-10T10:30:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/23/1175/86607

Just because Toncontin International in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is one of the most dangerous airports on Earth doesn't mean Delta doesn't wanna fly some jets down there. So starting December 18, subject to governmental approval, the airline plans to start daily 737 service to TGU out of Atlanta.

A couple of things are worth noting, first and foremost the fact that the brand-new 737-700s Delta plans to use will be small and nimble enough to handle the short runway and high altitude at Toncontin. Still, if you're not a fan of elaborate airborne maneuvers, you'd probably prefer flying into San Pedro Sula, less than a couple hours away, where the runway is big, flat and, you know, not deadly.

Also worth mentioning is that, yes, indeed, flights are being allowed into TGU. After a crash at the airport earlier this year, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ordered all flights diverted to Palmerola Air Base, north of Tegucigalpa. But on July 7, Toncontin was reopened to commercial flights because the military installation still wasn't ready to handle passengers.

Related Stories:
· Details on Delta's New Service to TGU [Official Site]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Toncontin, TGU [Jaunted]

[Photo: egmb757lover]]]> pbb 2008-07-23T11:20:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/15/135828/716

The newest addition to our list of The World's Most Dangerous Airports comes courtesy of a Jaunted tipster. It's Shimla Airport, set nearly a mile high in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India.

Shimla, once being the summer capital of British India, has foggy weather approximately 100 days a year and is situated 6,988 feet above the sea level. It has become an attractive destination for sun-weary people, served by the Shimla Airport outside of town.

The airport, which sits 5,072 feet above sea level, was built by cutting the crest of a long hill in the region. The airport receives regular domestic flights from Indian Airlines and Jagson Airlines, but no international flights operate there.

One of the world's most notorious airfields, Toncontin International, was closed to flights Saturday after a Taca A320 skidded off a rain-drenched runway and onto a nearby road on Friday, killing four people on board and one on the ground. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said a new international airport would be built to finally replace TGU.

Built in 1948, Toncontin has been dangerous since the day it opened, 3,300 feet above sea level. Normally, that altitude would call for more runway room than usual, but TGU gives pilots just 6,112 feet of asphalt to land on. The short runway was clearly a contributing factor in Friday's accident.

If it weren't already dangerous enough, the airport is situated in a valley surrounded by hills, meaning pilots have to execute some hair-raising turns just to line up for a difficult landing. On our last flight into TGU, the pilot made a quick announcement during our descent to put nervous fliers at ease before banking in for a landing.

All that said, Friday may have been the last day for Toncontin. Zelaya's proposed new passenger terminal at Soto Cano Air Base in Comayagua won't be ready for at least another two months, so flights are already being diverted to San Pedro Sula. Good thing, too: The runway at SAP is a comfortable 9,203 feet, sitting just 91 feet above sea level.]]> pbb 2008-06-02T10:18:43-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/