The smallest airport Saba (Saba Island, Netherlands)

Juancho Irauskin Airport is located on the Caribbean island of Saba, a special municipality of the Netherlands. The main feature of the airfield is the length of the runway, 396 meters, which makes it the smallest runway in the world from which commercial departures can be made. In addition, the runway itself is limited by precipices at both ends, which makes landing particularly dangerous. Therefore only the small Twin Otter and BN-2 Islander planes are allowed to land here. Winair now operates at the airport with regular flights to the neighboring Dutch islands of St. Maarten and St. Eustatius.

This tiny airport on a Dutch island in the Caribbean boasts an odd claim to fame: It has the world’s shortest commercial landing strip, and some say one of the most dangerous.

Located on the Dutch island of Saba in the Caribbean, the runway at Huancho-Irauskin Airport extends only 400 meters, making it slightly longer than a typical aircraft carrier, before steep cliffs at either end begin to threaten to plunge an unsuspecting pilot into the water. This design assumes that the plane will not collide with the high hills on one side of the island.

The runway is closed to jets, so you’ll have to board a smaller plane, such as Twin Otter’s BN-2 Islander, to experience it. The only airline that operates regular flights to the island is Winair. There are two ways to get to the island: a short 12-minute flight from St. Maarten or a 90-minute boat ride.

The airport is named after former Aruba minister Juancho Irauskin, whose name has also been immortalized on official documents and maps, and began operating in September 1963. Although there have been no fatal accidents here, many aviators consider it one of the most dangerous airports in the world.