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- #brightsideglobal
Many airports around the world pose challenges for pilots and passengers, but none more so than the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal. This airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is the gateway to Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. But landing and taking off from this airport is a risky feat, as it involves a single runway that is short, steep, and surrounded by mountains and valleys. In this video, we will explore why Lukla Airport is frequently referred to as the most dangerous airport in the world. #brightside #brightsideglobal TIMESTAMPS: 0:01 The most dangerous airport 08:24 An airport in the middle of a swamp 16:40 Why so many airports are near water This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00What's up? Feeling anxious while landing? Hey, there's no need to worry, even if you land in such a particular
00:06place as Bhutan.
00:08Thing is, the terrain here is so extreme, it makes it super complicated to land.
00:14What's interesting about flying there is that there are really few pilots out there who are certified to land in
00:20Bhutan.
00:21Yeah, zigzagging toward the ground sounds like a real quest.
00:25Bhutan-Paro International Airport is often named one of the world's most dangerous airports.
00:30In the whole world, there are only two airlines that fly to this airport.
00:34About 10 years ago, there were only 8 pilots who were permitted to fly there.
00:39But today, the number is a bit bigger.
00:42But even so, there's something even tougher than Bhutan-Paro International Airport.
00:48Seems like the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal has every possible danger.
00:53Short runway, super-powerful winds, mountainous terrain, this place has it all!
01:00The runway here is only 1,729 feet long.
01:04Just for comparison, a regular runway in most airports is about 10,000 feet long or even more.
01:12Now, many airports have carpets in their gate areas.
01:15This nicety usually comes with a few other perks.
01:18Low ceilings, comfortable seats, and a pleasant natural lighting.
01:22Needless to say that all those decorations cost airports a pretty penny.
01:27And carpets are not as easy to clean as hard floors are.
01:31But the key thing here is that they create a cozy feeling for passengers waiting for their flight,
01:36making them feel more relaxed.
01:39Well, sorry to break it to you, but it's not only meant to make you feel good.
01:43According to social research, calm passengers are about 7-10% more likely to go window shopping
01:50and actually buy something in the lounge area or duty-free zone.
01:53So, by investing in the passenger's comfort, airports are likely to increase their own income.
02:00Hey, as for spending money in the airport, there's an actual term for the first 60 minutes after you clear
02:06check-in.
02:07The golden hour.
02:09It's the time when passengers statistically spend more money in retail and duty-free areas of the airport.
02:15And having the most comfortable seats in those areas right in front of the shops is a clever trick to
02:20lure you in for shopping.
02:22Ah, let's admit it. Sitting in a comfy chair while looking at a flashing sign or shopping window can be
02:28tempting.
02:28And that's exactly what the airports want you to feel.
02:33You know how it sometimes goes?
02:35You get to the security checkpoint, and suddenly, it turns out you have something prohibited to take on board in
02:41your carry-on.
02:42Bye-bye, water bottle.
02:44Actually, you have an opportunity to mail them to any address inside the country.
02:48As for the unclaimed baggage, it's usually stored for about 60 days.
02:54Things taken away by security and not claimed can also get sold at special auctions and are delivered worldwide.
03:02Most airports have specific experts called profilers.
03:06These people practice what's called spot, or the screening passengers by observation technique.
03:12They carefully analyze facial expressions, gestures, and behavior to detect suspicious people.
03:19Uh-oh.
03:20Their job is to notice the nonverbal signs of anxiety, such as people licking their lips, itching, or looking around
03:27a lot.
03:27If a profiler notices a person acting in a weird or off way, they can invite them for an inspection,
03:34where they will talk to the person to try to find out more about them.
03:38Profilers work in both the main terminals and passport control.
03:41The typical question they ask is, what's the purpose of your visit?
03:46They then check the person's reaction to this inquiry.
03:49No matter how reserved a passenger is, if they have something to hide,
03:54TSA officers will find out, thanks to the tiniest clues in people's behavior.
04:00So, you arrive at the airport already anticipating a couple of weeks away from work and all your daily troubles,
04:07park your car in the lot, and then find out that it's going to cost you a small fortune to
04:12leave your car there.
04:13Why so much?
04:15Well, airport parking lots are a business just like any other.
04:18The land on which they're built, the construction of the lot itself, the maintenance of the whole thing,
04:24once it's already in operation, all that costs a handsome amount of money.
04:29And somebody has to pay for it, of course.
04:32In addition, parking right next to an airport is simply convenient, which adds to the final cost.
04:38If you're not ready to dip into your pocket for a piece of extra comfort,
04:41better take a cab or have a friend drop you off.
04:46Contrails, those white trails airplanes often leave behind them at high altitudes,
04:51are easily mistaken for engine exhaust.
04:54But most are nothing more than water vapor.
04:57During a flight, moisture in the air collects in the engines before being vented with the exhaust.
05:02The hot, wet air leaving the engines mixes with the cool, dry air found at high altitudes,
05:08resulting in long, thin lines of vapor.
05:10Humidity determines when contrails form and how long they remain visible.
05:16If it's already humid up there, then there's more water and the contrail is more prominent.
05:21And if it's cold, the droplets may turn into ice, staying behind for a much longer time.
05:28It might seem odd that the flight crew cares whether your window shades are up or down.
05:34The main reason is so the passenger's eyes can adjust to the outside light.
05:38Mostly, it's just a matter of getting people on and off quickly.
05:42But in an emergency, the last thing they want is people stopping to blink before they evacuate the plane.
05:49Another reason for all the shades to stay up when the plane is about to take off or land
05:53is for the ground crew to see if there's any trouble on board.
05:57For example, if there's a fire in the cabin,
06:00the ground crew outside will immediately notice it and act accordingly.
06:04If the shades are down, they might lose precious time to rescue the passengers and the flight crew.
06:11Looking out the window on the plane's wing, you see a small yellow double hook on it.
06:16It seems strange since it might mess with aerodynamics, but it's there for your safety.
06:21In case of an emergency landing,
06:24these hooks are used to secure ropes that help passengers exit the plane via the wings.
06:29If they're slippery, the rope will help you keep your footing and not fall over while going down.
06:34Woo-hoo!
06:36There are several extremely fast streams of air high up in the atmosphere of our planet.
06:42They move in strange ways, but have a more or less constant flow,
06:46allowing passenger aircraft to use them.
06:48When an airplane comes close to a jet stream,
06:51it may adjust to the direction of its current and fly a lot faster,
06:55propelled by the flow.
06:57Many airlines use this to their advantage to cut fuel costs and make air travel even faster.
07:05Clouds, especially thunderheads, can indicate that an area of turbulence is ahead.
07:10But sometimes, clear air turbulence occurs when a plane can drop a few feet
07:14and start shaking without any warning.
07:17It happens when two bodies of air collide at very high speeds and it's absolutely invisible,
07:23so the pilots can't tell when it would happen.
07:25The chances of getting into an area of clear air turbulence
07:29are higher at low altitudes over mountain ranges and near jet streams.
07:35Normally, after it's hit by lightning, an airplane is sent for inspection,
07:39but it can still safely complete its current flight.
07:42The fuselage conducts electricity well enough and, like a lightning rod,
07:47the zap will most probably strike one of the tips of the airplane,
07:51either one of the wings or the nose.
07:53Then it seeks the ground but doesn't find it,
07:56so it exits from the tail.
07:58It's easier for electricity to roll through the surface of the plane than to go inside,
08:03so people on board are safe from its effects.
08:06Still, lightning is powerful and there can be some damage done to the plane on the outside.
08:13Anyway, if you're still nervous about flying, remember what pilots say.
08:17Anyway, any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.
08:21Uh, that didn't help, did it?
08:24You're on an expedition through the swamplands of Florida.
08:27You run into some sinkholes.
08:29Oops, was that a crocodile?
08:31Watch out!
08:32Suddenly, you reach an asphalt road.
08:34It looks a lot like a runway, but there's no airport building around.
08:38You decide to inspect it, and a walk down the runway takes you a half an hour.
08:43At the end of it, you notice a trailer.
08:45There are four people inside.
08:47They tell you you've accidentally run into what was supposed to become
08:51the largest airport in the world.
08:53Five times the size of JFK, to be more precise.
08:58Project Everglades Jetport was launched in 1968,
09:01right at the end of the golden age of air travel.
09:04It was supposed to become an intercontinental hub
09:07with six runways for supersonic jets carrying up to 300 passengers.
09:12They chose this location between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,
09:16far from large cities, because it would make it possible
09:18to fly both to South America and Europe in under three hours.
09:22At that time, the top speed for a commercial passenger plane was around 500 miles per hour.
09:28But that was about to change.
09:31Concorde was almost ready to make its first flight,
09:33and Boeing was also working on a huge lightning-fast passenger plane.
09:38So, those super short flight times would be perfectly possible.
09:42And no one would mind the loud sounds of take-off and landing over the ocean,
09:46unlike in the area around some inland airports.
09:50Passengers would travel to the new hub by high-speed rail,
09:53connecting it to surrounding cities on both the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
09:57The terminal was supposed to be extremely luxurious,
10:01with many lounges for its future well-off passengers.
10:04But none of this ever came true.
10:07The construction of the airport began, but was finished right after they built the runway.
10:12First of all, residents and activists saw a report saying that the new airport
10:17would ruin the South Florida ecosystem and the Everglades National Park.
10:22So, they were strongly against the construction.
10:25Second, the Boeing Supersonic Passenger Jet Program was called off.
10:30In less than 20 years, while the tests for supersonic planes were running,
10:34the Federal Aviation Administration received 40,000 complaints about sonic booms
10:40from people living under the testing areas.
10:43Those sounds of shockwaves created by jets traveling faster than the speed of sound
10:48were breaking glass and scaring people and farm animals.
10:51So, the airlines across the country knew supersonic flights wouldn't be a commercial success.
10:57And there was no more need for a huge airport to serve those planes.
11:01The finished runway was used for training pilots for years.
11:05It's long enough to land Boeing 747s and is in an isolated location.
11:10So, it was perfect for those purposes.
11:13Then, as flight simulators became way more advanced
11:16and pilots didn't need to practice there anymore,
11:19the unfinished airport started serving general aviation aircraft.
11:23Even on its busiest days, it doesn't get more than a dozen take-offs and landings a day.
11:29So, the staff of four people works here from 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. every day.
11:34Sometimes, they use the airport for car races.
11:37On the other side of the world, what used to be an airport of prime importance
11:42is now a ground for picnics, festivals, and fashion shows.
11:46You can also go skateboarding and fly some kites on the runways of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany.
11:53It was the world's largest building until the Pentagon was finished.
11:57It was also the first airport in the world to have an underground railway.
12:01The site of the airport belonged to the Knights Templar in medieval times.
12:05And that's how it got its name.
12:08The 1920s were its prime time.
12:11Closer to the end of its service,
12:12mostly small commuter aircraft used the airport until it was shut down in 2008.
12:18Floyd Bennett Field in New York is now also living its new life as a ground for cycle races
12:24and stargazing with the Amateur Astronomers Association.
12:28It used to be New York's first municipal airport in the 1930s.
12:33American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart used to land here.
12:37Then, Newark Airport in New Jersey was growing in importance more and more,
12:41and Floyd Bennett Field was closed for good.
12:44One of the most beautiful stations of the New York subway with vaulted ceilings,
12:49arches, and emerald green tiling is sitting underground, abandoned.
12:54The very first subway line had the City Hall station as its southern terminal stop.
12:59Over 15,000 people were excited to take a ride when the subway was officially opened
13:04at the very beginning of the 20th century.
13:07The ride back then cost one nickel.
13:10The very first ride departed from that crown-of-the-jewel City Hall station.
13:15Over the years, the subway trains became longer,
13:18and they could no longer stop and let passengers board safely because of the curved platforms.
13:24And that's how the station started losing its passengers.
13:27People got used to the subway to the point that they didn't care about its beauty,
13:31but mostly functionality.
13:33Plus, the City Hall station has always been off the express track.
13:37So, passengers prefer to use the nearby Brooklyn Bridge station instead,
13:42which lets them travel much faster and also get off closer to the famous bridge.
13:46So, the only way to visit the City Hall station today
13:50is to take part in a tour organized by the New York Transit Museum.
13:55No trains at all depart from the great abandoned train yard in Bolivia for at least 80 years.
14:00You'll find over a hundred train cars not far from Uni.
14:04It used to be an important transportation hub for the region for a long time
14:09because of its good location between major cities in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.
14:14The hub played an important role in transporting minerals to the Pacific ports.
14:19By the middle of the 20th century,
14:21the mines had been exhausted of resources and shut down.
14:25The trains were left to rust in the salt flats.
14:27The beautiful steel trains turned into ruins in no time
14:31because of the salt winds that corroded the metal.
14:34Now the yard is a popular tourist destination.
14:38If you ever find yourself in Turkey,
14:40you might run into a Disney-style village standing empty and not finished.
14:44It cost the company, in charge of the project,
14:47around $200 million to build over 500 castles,
14:51around 200 fewer than they originally planned.
14:54The village of Burj al-Babas, surrounded by a magical forest,
14:58was supposed to have leisure centers, Turkish baths,
15:02some luxurious shops, and other entertainment for its inhabitants from all around the world.
15:07The people were happy to invest money in the future royal-like life.
15:11But then, an economic crash hit the country.
15:14The buyers were worried about the future of the project and pulled out most of the funds.
15:19The construction company went bankrupt, and the fairy-tale village stands abandoned ever since.
15:25In the middle of the 20th century,
15:28a man in the Turkish region of Cappadocia was renovating his house
15:32and then noticed that his chickens had started to disappear for good.
15:36He decided to solve the mystery,
15:38so he did some digging and found a dark passage going underground.
15:42It turned out to be one of 600 entrances other homeowners found,
15:47leading to a whole abandoned underground city.
15:51It was large enough to fit around 20,000 people,
15:54and had a complicated system of 18 levels.
15:57Archaeologists found that it wasn't just a bunch of tunnels in the dark,
16:01but had all the signs of civilization.
16:04There were schools, kitchens, dry food storage,
16:07cattle stables, and many dwellings down there.
16:10There was even a complex ventilation system
16:13and a protected well to provide air to breathe and fresh water for everyone.
16:17The city was first mentioned in writing in 370 BCE.
16:22It was most likely built as a shelter from natural disasters and enemies.
16:27Cappadocia was the perfect place to build a place like this
16:30because there's no water in the soil and the rocks are easily moldable.
16:36A lot of airports are built near water,
16:39and there's a whole bunch of reasons for this.
16:41First off, most airports are located in big cities,
16:44and big cities are usually built near some form of water anyway.
16:48Back in the day, before trucks and proper roads were built,
16:52goods were transported by ship.
16:54Having a river or ocean nearby was vital to deliver essential supplies to the cities,
17:00like food and building supplies.
17:01It also allowed for trading to boost the local economies.
17:05Because most people travel into big cities for business and holidays,
17:09rather than rural areas, it made sense to build the airports there.
17:13The high demand for travel meant that the airports were needed and also made them profitable.
17:18But that's not the only reason they're built near water.
17:21Big cities are usually super crowded, and airports require a lot of land.
17:26Imagine trying to find a space big enough in the middle of New York City to put an airport.
17:30It would be basically impossible.
17:33Areas next to water are usually a bit more rural,
17:36so there's more space than the big cities filled with skyscrapers.
17:39Some countries have even taken this one step further.
17:43Land is really scarce in Japan,
17:45so to build Kansai International Airport,
17:48the architects of Osaka headed three miles offshore to Osaka Bay to make a man-made island.
17:53The artificial island is 13,200 feet long and 8,500 feet wide.
17:59That's so big that it can even be seen from space.
18:02It took a whopping 38 months to complete,
18:05and travelers can get across to the main island of Honshu via car, railroad, or high-speed ferry.
18:11Kansai International Airport opened in 1994 and became the world's first airport to be built on the sea.
18:19Despite its location, it has the longest airport terminal in the world with a length of just under one mile.
18:27Airplanes also can't have any obstacles around them when landing.
18:30It would be really difficult to try landing a plane with obstructions.
18:34These include trees, mountains, buildings, and power lines.
18:38Over water, nothing will restrict planes from taking off or landing, making it much safer.
18:44On mountainous islands, runways are often parallel to the ocean as the mountains are inland,
18:49just like in the Grand Canaria Airport located on one of the Canary Islands.
18:54It also links to safety reasons.
18:56If a plane has to cancel a runway landing and go back around again,
19:00there must be enough room for it to do this safely without hitting anything.
19:04It's also got to be able to climb back up into the air at a safe angle
19:08to avoid causing problems for the passengers inside.
19:11Reaching this safe altitude is much easier, quicker, and safer by the sea,
19:16compared to big cities or mountainous areas.
19:20Speaking of failed landings, pilots are trained to deal with engine failure on takeoff.
19:25If a plane reaches the right speed for takeoff, it has to leave the runway,
19:28even if the engine fails.
19:31But, don't worry, planes can still fly with only one engine.
19:35It just requires a bit more effort.
19:37Because of the reduced capacity, it takes longer to reach the right altitude,
19:41and more space is required for takeoff.
19:44Taking off towards the ocean makes it easier to climb to a safe altitude
19:48without worrying about colliding with any obstacles.
19:52Another reason for airports being built at water level
19:55is that the higher up we go, the thinner the air becomes.
19:58It causes the thrust of the engines to decrease,
20:01as well as the lift produced by the wings.
20:04Setting off from higher areas means it's more difficult for the planes to take off.
20:08In terms of money, this would mean building longer runways,
20:11which would cost more, and no one wants that.
20:13This also means the planes require less fuel
20:16as they don't burn as much energy on takeoff,
20:19and there's less noise made as the planes don't have to work as hard.
20:23But, despite this making the planes less noisy,
20:26airports are going to have pretty high noise levels.
20:29Imagine hearing planes zooming over your house
20:31while you're trying to get sleep at night.
20:33This is a key reason why airports are usually built on the coast
20:37far away from any residential areas,
20:39as fish aren't generally known to file noise complaints.
20:42In some countries, airports actually have to provide upgrades
20:46for nearby houses that will be affected by the noise.
20:49Germany is one of these countries,
20:51and they do everything from improving roofs
20:53to adding wall insulation to cover all that noise.
20:57Building by the coast means that they don't have to pay up
21:00for all these expensive upgrades,
21:02which saves the airport lots of cash.
21:05Coastal areas also have weather advantages for flying.
21:08Sea breezes are steady winds that blow from the water to the land.
21:11Planes mostly land and take off with the wind,
21:15making it the perfect place to build an airport
21:17as there'll be no delays caused by unexpected strong winds.
21:21But, while the sea breezes that come in spring and summer are great,
21:25areas near water can be prone to fog during fall and winter,
21:28so this part has its pros and cons.
21:31But not every airport is on the coast,
21:33as it does also pose a number of issues too.
21:35One of the biggest is birds.
21:37Our feathered friends love the coast because of all the yummy fish,
21:41but they can cause big problems for pilots.
21:44But airports manage to get around this using scare tactics.
21:48Birds don't really enjoy noise,
21:50and planes aren't the quietest of things.
21:52Airports also make loud bangs,
21:54and even train hawks to take down birds that are in the way.
21:58The most obvious risk of building close to the sea, though,
22:01is flooding.
22:02Airports cost crazy amounts of money to build,
22:05and planes aren't cheap either.
22:07Back in 2018,
22:09Kansai Airport was flooded by Typhoon Jebi.
22:12They had to cancel all operations for two days,
22:14and the water was so high that it damaged the engines of the planes.
22:18While coastal airports put measures in place to protect against flooding,
22:22it's pretty difficult to save everything from a typhoon.
22:25With rising sea levels and an increase in extreme weather,
22:28these floodings are also looking more and more likely to happen.
22:32A quarter of the world's 100 busiest airports are less than 32 feet above sea level,
22:38and 12 of those, including New York, San Francisco, and Shanghai,
22:42are less than 16 feet.
22:44Yikes!
22:45All that water poses another problem.
22:48If planes overshoot the runway, they have nowhere to go.
22:52Overshooting is basically when the pilot underestimates the length of the runway
22:55and doesn't reach takeoff speed in time.
22:58There are usually extra bits of concrete or grass that the plane can run onto
23:02when the airports are on land.
23:04There'd be a bit of damage to the plane in this case, but nothing major.
23:08But with coastal airports, the plane might go straight into the water.
23:12Luckily, there's new tech that aims to prevent this from happening.
23:16These new kits let the pilots enter in all the flight calculations,
23:19including the weather conditions that could affect takeoff.
23:22This system then calculates how much runway the plane will need to stop.
23:27Many airports also have added soft concrete to the end of runways
23:32to avoid a watery disaster.
23:34When the plane glides onto this soft concrete,
23:37they get stuck, and it stops them traveling too far.
23:40There are also financial issues with building airports next to the water.
23:44Land rent next to the coast or lakes is usually higher than the mainland
23:49due to the demand.
23:50Like, 40% of the U.S. population lives on the coast,
23:54despite coastal areas only making up around 10% of America's total landmass.
24:00Airports require flat land to be built on,
24:03but this isn't always easy to find.
24:05And coastal land can pose particular problems
24:08due to sand conditions on marshland.
24:11But this doesn't mean it's not possible.
24:13One of the world's most famous airports,
24:15New York's JFK,
24:17was built on marshland.
24:19The land was a lot cheaper than usual,
24:21and marshland can't really be used for a lot.
24:24Of course, it can cost a lot of money
24:26to make the ground suitable to carry heavy loads,
24:29but this was all sorted.
24:31Finding such a big area close to one of the world's most famous cities
24:34was a very rare find,
24:36even if it was marshland.
24:39It's all about the fact that so strong as Mitro
24:40to try and grow up.
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