A "hair-raising" experience at the world's shortest commercial runway

One of the scariest airplane takeoff/landing experiences in the world

Saba Island, Netherlands has a very small area, only about 13km2, most of which is mountainous, not much space for planes to take off and land.

The island's Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, built on a scant patch of flat land, has just enough runway to accommodate a carrier-length runway.

The two ends of the runway are the edge of the island, below is the sea, making landing and taking off on the world's shortest commercial runway extremely challenging, requiring skillful piloting. That is why people call this one of the scariest takeoff/landing experiences in the world.

The runway at the airport on Saba Island is only about 400m long. Photo - CNN

Completing a flight on Saba is so memorable that the souvenir shop in the island's Windwardside village sells T-shirts with the slogan "I Survived the Saba Landing".

Although visitors can take a ferry to the island, many still choose to fly because they like the adventurous experience.

The 15-minute flight from Sint Maarten to Saba is made using Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters, which are specially designed for complex airports and can quickly stop in case of emergency.

Winair, based in Sint Maarten, is the only airline that operates flights to and from Saba. Only specially trained pilots are qualified to operate these flights.

Former military pilot Roger Hodge - instructor of Winair's Twin Otter aircraft squadron, said that when the plane lands, the people on board can "stand up with their hair on end" because of the possibility of unusual emergency situations, engine failures...

In rainy conditions, a wet runway is impossible to land. According to Mr. Hodge, due to the special nature of the runway size, pilots need to ensure that even the smallest mistake does not occur.

CNN reporter experiences flight to Saba island firsthand

Experiencing this flight, a CNN reporter said that the space inside the plane has no door separating the cockpit from the cabin, so passengers can clearly see the direction of the plane's movement and the scenery ahead.

After takeoff, passengers can see green mountains, golden beaches, and beautiful scenery below. In the cockpit, two pilots work in harmony, always controlling the machines and equipment professionally.

Planes move on the runway on Saba Island. Photo - CNN

As we approached Saba, the views of the island were beautiful, but they also felt as if we were heading straight for a volcano. As the plane turned left toward the runway, passengers on the right could see the sheer cliffs up close, while those on the left looked straight down at the ocean below.

Finally, the passengers on the plane felt the vehicle glide close to the mountainside and gradually descend, landing. When the vehicle stopped right at the end of the runway, it was also the time when passengers could see the sea right in front of the plane.

According to CNN, the experience of taking off from the airport on Saba is as exciting as landing. The plane taxis down the length of the runway and takes off into the sky. Right at the end of the runway, the plane is on the edge of the island, with the sea below.

Plane taking off on the world's shortest commercial runway: