Wellington Airport has been named one of scariest places in the world to land and take off by a British newspaper.
The Telegraph ranked it as one of the 15 most frightening international airports in a list that included Quito in Ecuador, the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong, Courchevel Altiport in the French Alps, Isle of Barra in Scotland, the Portuguese island of Madeira, Tenzing-Hillary airport in Nepal, the ice runway in Antarctica and Paro in Bhutan.
Whiteknuckled passengers faced a combination as factors as pilots negotiated Wellington Airport, said the newspaper.
"Conditions here are exceptionally difficult owing to the short runway, a tricky approach through hilly landscape and frighteningly strong crosswinds that can make for a terrifyingly turbulent landing.''
Others made the top spots because of their challenging location.
Bhutan's Paro Airport is set in a deep valley, surrounded by the Himalayas, and only only eight pilots in the world are certified to land here, reported the newspaper.
Take offs from Matekane Airport in Lesotho involve negotiating the "bumpy airstrip'', which ends with a 610m drop.
In the Caribbean, Saba, Airport is one of the world's shortest runways, at approximately 396m and is surrounded by steep drops to the ocean on three sides.
Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong was closed in 1998.
The dramatic and technically challenging runway required pilots to fly low over a residential area of the city surrounded by mountains, then make a sharp right while negotiating strong crosswinds, and was the scene of several fatal crashes, said the newspaper.
