Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Juancho Yrausquin Airport, located on the Caribbean island of Saba, is the airport with the shortest commercial runway in the world. The airport is only about 400 meters long for the runway.
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is a lifeline for Saba, as it can bring in tourists and bring in locals who need medical care, as the 5-mile island has access to winding slopes and sea cliffs.
Quoted from CNN International, Windair is the only airline flying at this airport and operates two daily flights from Saint Martin and Saint Eustatius. Travel time to reach the destination also only takes 15 minutes.
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This airport is also claimed to be one of the most dangerous airports in the world. For that, it takes an elite group of specially trained pilots to fly to the island of Saba. Veteran aviator Captain Roger Hodge is an instructor in Winair’s Twin Otter fleet, and has trained Winair pilots who are now accustomed to flying to Saba.
“Once a man has been fully trained and we are satisfied, we do radio surgery that another Top Gun is born. That’s what we call them,” he was quoted as saying by CNN International, Sunday (10/7).
Even so, the airport in Saba has its own challenges for pilots. Conditions of weight and wind speed limitations to short runways and slope levels require pilots to have precise calculations. In addition, flights are canceled if the runway is wet due to rain.
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Foto: LightRocket via Getty Images/Wolfgang Kaehler SABA ISLAND, NETHERLANDS – 1995/01/01: Netherlands Antilles, Saba Island, ‘the Bottom’ Village, Overview. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)- – |
“On a runway this short, there’s no room for error. As a pilot, I love going to Saba because that’s when you put your experience into practice. There’s always that adrenaline rush because you’re being watched by the passengers and the people on the ground, but you have to fly. machine,” he explained.
The journey to Saba from the nearest airport benefits visitors as they can see the green mountains of Sint Maarten, golden beaches and turquoise waters. A silhouette of the island is visible on the horizon just 24 miles away.
(dce)
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