"You can shit yourself from feelings": the most dangerous airport in the world, when landing in which there is no right to make a mistake

How many pilots in the world are able to fly passenger planes? Thousands. Or maybe tens of thousands. Among them there is a kind of "invincible eight" — pilots who are able to take off and land on airplanes where no one else can. We are talking about Paro Airport in the Kingdom of Bhutan (Himalayas, between India and China). There is no other way to get to Bhutan except through the air gate (which means through the airport). And it looks very much like the eight certified pilots here are as important people as the king (yes, there is a constitutional monarchy in the Land of the Thunder Dragon).

The trick of Paro Airport is that it is located in a gorge, at an altitude of 2237 meters above sea level. There are mountains around Paro, and their height is about 5500 meters. Therefore, in addition to courage, a pilot will need tremendous skill to lift or land a liner here. Oh, yes, the Paro runway is just over two kilometers long and only 30 meters wide — this is the only asphalt strip in Bhutan with such parameters. There are simply no other tolerable plots of land without mountains around or at least with gaps between them in Bhutan. Features of the natural relief, what can I say here — the territory of the kingdom lies in the mountains, between 170 and 7000 meters above sea level.

Before landing in Paro, the plane must first go around the mountain and only then land — at this moment there are several tens (dozens!) between the plane and the runway meters. Locals say that more than once they met the eyes of the pilots while the planes landed at the airport.

According to open sources, there are two air carriers in Bhutan — Druk Aig and Buddha Air. The first carrier operates flights on Airbus A319, which have a large thrust-to-weight ratio. This advantage allows airliners to take off from a short runway at full load. The second carrier uses the Ratheon Beech 1900 for flights. But no matter what kind of liner you fly, you should know: no plane departing from Bhutanese Paro will be 100% loaded (safety requirements). Passengers in the cabin will also be seated "safely": two people on a row of three seats. You can take 20 (economy) or 30 (business) kilograms of luggage with you. Hand luggage weighing no more than five kilograms will be included in the total weight of luggage. And by the way, no one guarantees you the scheduled flights. Arrival and departure times here depend on weather conditions.

It is because of the weather conditions both during takeoff and landing that passengers will have to worry — severe turbulence is inevitable. However, a pleasant bonus in flight will be the opportunity to see Everest from the plane. Travelers are advised to immediately sit on the starboard side, so as not to miss the beauty.

And in conclusion, one more interesting fact. Pilots from Druk Air fly with the door open (see the photo below). This, according to the representatives of the "invincible eight", allows passengers to feel safer and, if possible, relax during the "shaking".