HNL2BOS From United States, joined Nov 2009, 7 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 3132 times:
Hello All,
Just signed up today and was thinking about posting this message after my most recent trip. What is the strangest (look, location, local customs, etc) airport that you have ever been to. For the first time this October I flew into KOA, now mind you I have flown into almost every major Hawaiian Island airport but KOA blew my mind. It was just lava rock everywhere, it was very very cool.
1 JQFlightie: In Australia the strangest but one of the most beautiful Airports would be HTI, pristine blue water everywhere, awesome landing on a short runway alth
2 BMI727: I think that Barra in Scotland is the strangest airport. The three runways are on the beach, and Loganair Twin Otters can only operate there when ther
3 Aeroflot777: Flew into KOA myself back in August. Definitely an interesting airport! So humid though. Couldn't breathe while waiting for luggage. Corfu is an inter
4 HNL2BOS: Yup it was humid, all my lenses fogged as soon as I tried to take some pictures outside
6 Odysseus9001: How about CDG Terminal 1. Wedding cake from the future? John
7 Hawaiian452: I'd say Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands have to be pretty strange and quite an experience!
8 Platinumfoota: I have to agree with you on this one, lava rocks does give it a unique look. I didn't expect it to have only one runway or the outdoor style terminal
9 CGKings317: PSP: Dramatic topography-causing departures and arrival procedures, coupled with an outdoor terminal creates a very memorable and unusual airport expe
10 DavidByrne: What about Rio Gallegos (RGL), Argentina? Back in the 1980s it was a stop en route between BUE and AKL (though not used any more for that, since the A
11 Fca767: Half of these airports are going over my head because you are all using codes...Even if I know most the USA ICAO codes like KJFK I wouldn't say that a
12 PlymSpotter: The strangest, and nicest, feeling I've had was at Reykjavik's domestic terminal. No security, no baggage screening machines, no pat down checks - jus
13 Viscount724: The original round T1 at YYZ which opened in 1964 may have given CDG the idea for their T1 which I've always done my best to avoid. YYZ T1 (demolishe
14 Signol: You mean "Le Camembert"? I'd vote GIB - Gibraltar. Sideways over the peninsular, so the runway sticks out at both ends, and all road traffic has to c
15 Chootie: Well, one of the most......DREADFUL would have to be KUF/Samara, Russia. Perhaps it is more modern now, but around ´96-97 when I was there..... very,
17 Planeguy727: I have a few to add: Contadora (Panama) - a short strip with a little hut of a "terminal" Lewiston, ID - I remember a portable trailer as the "termina
18 MadameConcorde: With all my extensive flying I can only think of all the Burmese airports. Rangoon, Mandalay, Nyaung U (Pagan), Heho (Inle), Mrauk U... what an advent
19 AlexEU: Maseru - King Moshoeshoe International Airport in the Kingdom of Lesotho. The only international airport in this interesting enclaved nation surrounde
20 PITingres: Long Beach (LGB) is not especially strange by itself, but in contrast to the other SoCal airports I think it's pretty amusing. I always preferred it t
21 Isitsafenow: I was there in OCT too....twice..... 10-27 and 10-30 Maybe we pasted. I agree KOA is neat...little pagotas and all outdoor except the snackbar/bar. F
MSPNWA From United States, joined Apr 2009, 305 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (1 month 2 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 1811 times:
Kahului Hawaii - The small, old school airport/terminal is definitely a little different than what I'm used to, and the circumstances that led to me being there greatly contributed to it. Everything about it felt "strange".
King Salmon Alaska - Long runway (former Air Force base) with a tiny terminal. 737s sitting right behind a fence which is just feet from the paved road, the only paved road within hundreds (I think) of miles. Out in the middle of the Alaskan tundra, hundreds of miles from any large town. It may have been a strange place, but it was really neat.
HorizonGirl From Canada, joined Mar 2005, 564 posts, RR: 19 Reply 23, posted (1 month 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 1749 times:
Maybe it was just luck and I walked in at a weird time but my first and as of yet only impression of YOW is nothing short of bizarre. It was like this. I got off the plane and walked into the terminal, go up a floor or so in the elevator and as soon as the doors opened I was in another dimension. The gate area I was in was very dimly lit, and there were many gates with banks of seats but there were only about five people in the whole place! That wouldn't strike me as terribly odd but it was three days before Christmas. It was completely silent. No announcements, no ambient music, no talking, no employees. There was also a staircase that lead right into a wall. Maybe I was just there on an off time? That whole section of the airport was downright strange, and the rest of it was completely normal.
ElBandGeek From United States, joined Jun 2008, 275 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (1 month 2 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 1724 times:
I haven't been to any really "strange" airports, but I guess you could say my home airport of MDW is the most unorthodox of any one I've been to.
Built in the middle of a city neighborhood (or more accurately, neighborhood built around it). Main terminal is on the opposite side of a major city street from the gate areas with a connecting bridge, and of course when you're landing....house house house RUNWAY
Proud resident of the ground below MDW's approach line
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 10996 posts, RR: 13 Reply 25, posted (1 month 1 week 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 1663 times:
Quoting ElBandGeek (Reply 24): I haven't been to any really "strange" airports, but I guess you could say my home airport of MDW is the most unorthodox of any one I've been to.
Built in the middle of a city neighborhood (or more accurately, neighborhood built around it). Main terminal is on the opposite side of a major city street from the gate areas with a connecting bridge, and of course when you're landing....house house house RUNWAY
Yes, there can't be many more "urban" airports than MDW. It's hard to believe that one square mile was the world's busiest airport for about 30 years, from the early 1930s until about 1960, by which time most carriers had moved to ORD which then took over the "world's busiest" title for many years.
Dlednicer From United States, joined May 2005, 268 posts, RR: 6 Reply 26, posted (1 month 1 week 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 1623 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW DATABASE EDITOR
Quepos - La Managua (XQP / MRQP) on the west coast of Costa Rica. The waiting room is a grass shack, hidden by some foliage in the upper right of this photo.
September11 From United States, joined May 2004, 3201 posts, RR: 27 Reply 27, posted (1 month 1 week 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 1606 times:
Quoting CGKings317 (Reply 9): PSP: Dramatic topography-causing departures and arrival procedures, coupled with an outdoor terminal creates a very memorable and unusual airport experience
Yes, I didn't feel PSP as an airport when I first arrived there.
OP3000 From United States, joined Jun 2009, 713 posts, RR: 2 Reply 28, posted (1 month 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 1421 times:
The old LRM airport. The runway ran across the 18th hole of a golf course, and players had to cross the runway on their golf carts. There was a siren on the cart path that rang (controlled by the the control tower) when there was aircraft taking off/landing, and thus unsafe to cross. At times the control tower forgot to ring the alarm. And regardless, there was no physical barrier holding people back from crossing.
An AA 727 flew daily from MIA and several MQ ATR-42s from SJU, plus countless general aviation aircraft.
Here is an article, photos and a video courtesy of Casa de Campo Living Magazine, which is published by the resort where the airport was located:
Faucett From Peru, joined Jul 2009, 14 posts, RR: 0 Reply 29, posted (3 weeks 5 days 2 hours 7 minutes ago) and read 1132 times:
Cayenne in the French Guyana....from the plane to the terminal (just a hut) you have the strangest bugs on the ground - most of them are black beetlles (I hope beetles and not roaches) and you just step on them....
Blink182 From United States, joined Oct 1999, 5127 posts, RR: 25 Reply 31, posted (3 weeks 4 days 3 hours 42 minutes ago) and read 1040 times:
Mudu, Fiji.
On a hillside consiting of a shed with two scales to weigh luggage and a small grass air strip designed for the Air Fiji Twin Otters. You could maybe fit twelve standing people into the shed. No security either.
A really neat experience.
Ualcsr From United States, joined May 2006, 446 posts, RR: 1 Reply 32, posted (3 weeks 2 days 22 hours 33 minutes ago) and read 957 times:
[quote=Viscount724,reply=25]Yes, there can't be many more "urban" airports than MDW. It's hard to believe that one square mile was the world's busiest airport for about 30 years, from the early 1930s until about 1960, by which time most carriers had moved to ORD which then took over the "world's busiest" title for many years.[/quot
Mexico City's airport is pretty urban. There are parts of it where you can cross the street in front of the passeger drop off and be in a residential neighborhood.
Seb146 From United States, joined Nov 1999, 6524 posts, RR: 24 Reply 33, posted (3 weeks 5 hours 34 minutes ago) and read 842 times:
Quoting Planeguy727 (Reply 17): Lewiston, ID - I remember a portable trailer as the "terminal"
They have built a very nice terminal there. The last time I was there was about 10 years ago, but it was very nice. ALW used to have a shack for a terminal, but they built a new and modern building a few years ago. PUW is interesting. I remember driving in from the Pullman side through the wheat fields. All of a sudden, there is a barbed wire fence 8 feet high. After going around a few more corners, there is the terminal. ELK is cool. The road to the terminal goes under a little used shorter runway. BFI is fun, if you have never been there.
When I was there (1993, IIRC) it wasn't so odd that the gates were opened 30 minutes before flights. I think they had TWA and UA service. The strange thing to me was the terminal was as large as it was, empty as it was and all those military transports everywhere.
SAAB900 From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2007, 336 posts, RR: 0 Reply 35, posted (1 week 6 days 7 hours 1 minute ago) and read 610 times:
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Wevelgem/Kortrijk(KJK/EBKT) in Belgium! The taxiway to the hangers on the far side of the runway from the small terminal is also a road! If your not careful you can find yourself driving your car & going head to head with anything from a microlight/ultralight to a biz-jet! It's good fun though!
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 10996 posts, RR: 13 Reply 38, posted (1 week 5 days 18 hours 13 minutes ago) and read 540 times:
Quoting SAAB900 (Reply 35): I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Wevelgem/Kortrijk(KJK/EBKT) in Belgium! The taxiway to the hangars on the far side of the runway from the small terminal is also a road! If your not careful you can find yourself driving your car & going head to head with anything from a microlight/ultralight to a biz-jet! It's good fun though!
Gibraltar (GIB) is also unusual with a busy road crossing the runway. Traffic is stopped to permit landings and takeoffs.
Macau (MFM) is another strange one with the taxiway "bridges" leading to the runway.
OP3000 From United States, joined Jun 2009, 713 posts, RR: 2 Reply 39, posted (1 week 5 days 17 hours 3 minutes ago) and read 532 times:
To LHR I think it may be VLN - population 1.1 million (Venezuela's third largest city). That being said, that wasn't the case a couple of years ago when BA served CCS. Also, AA has been unsuccessfully applying for MIA-VLN rights for years.
LTU932 From Mexico, joined Jan 2006, 12363 posts, RR: 57 Reply 40, posted (1 week 4 days 17 hours 38 minutes ago) and read 452 times:
Quoting Dlednicer (Reply 26): Quepos - La Managua (XQP / MRQP) on the west coast of Costa Rica. The waiting room is a grass shack, hidden by some foliage in the upper right of this photo.
Try SYQ. If there wasn't a guard there, you'd only have to walk like 20 metres from the landside entrance to get airside. Plus the runway extension forced the closure of a street that led to the airport more directly than today's routes (even with the direct connection through the Boulevard)..
Zu fettigem Käse und kalorienreicher Kunstmarmelade, nehme ich einen Doppelkorn.
B777LRF From Bahrain, joined Nov 2008, 148 posts, RR: 1 Reply 43, posted (1 week 4 days 46 minutes ago) and read 391 times:
Well, Saddam Intl. (BGW/SDA) back in 2003 was a little "strange". Perhaps scary is a better word for it though; flying a missed approach* sure got the old heart-rate up! Of course, the chance of being mortared or target with a RPG was also present. And to think I did all that just to say I'd been there; there really was no business or operational reason for me to go - just the good old sense of adventure and for the bragging rights. Me = idiot.
* A missed approach, back then, involved tracking the runway till the end at a height of no more than 200ft. Then a 180 degree turn behind the control tower to track the parallel. At the end of that, another 180 where you basically come out of the turn as you fly over the piano keys. I was sat in the jumpseat of an A300, just behind the skipper, and that was the first time I ever wished the window to my immediate left was smaller - a lot smaller!
Tropical77W From Canada, joined Dec 2009, 6 posts, RR: 0 Reply 44, posted (6 days 1 hour 14 minutes ago) and read 215 times:
playa baracoa airport (UPB) in havana on aerogaviota (KG). the terminal is about the size of my house, and the ramp is about the size of my driveway lol.
WestJetForLife From Canada, joined Jun 2005, 680 posts, RR: 2 Reply 45, posted (21 hours 50 minutes 51 secs ago) and read 52 times:
BGI, when I was there in March, was an...interesting airport. Open-air before security, had a Caribbean feel to it, no real jetways (made for a surprisingly humid walk from plane to terminal) and it just had a cute charm to it.
Busy as all Hell at 0500, though. I'm guessing that it was all of the early morning departures on LIAT, AA and Caribbean Airlines.
Nik
Ma'am, if you can afford a $55,000 Lexus, you can afford a $50 delivery fee.
RyanairGuru From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2006, 135 posts, RR: 0 Reply 46, posted (14 hours 51 minutes 56 secs ago) and read 32 times:
There's nothing especially "strange" as such about Gladstone (GLT) in Australia other than the fact it has absolutely no security. It wasn't as if it was a complete backwater with a couple of Cessnas since Qantas/QantasLink fly there multiple times a day. I couldn't help but spend the next hour and a quarter to Brisbane thinking that if one ever felt the urge to blow up a commercial airliner GLT wouldn't be a bad place to go.
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