See full version: Longest Runways In The World
Embraer Unidade Gavião Peixoto Airport is located in Gavião Peixoto, Sao Paulo Brazil. It is a private airport that is mainly used as a proving facility for Embraer civil and military aircraft. The airport has the longest runway in the America and the 5th longest in the world at 16,296 feet. [links]
Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, United States has the longest commercial runway in North America. The 16R/34L runway is 16,000 feet long and is one of the six runways in operation that make Denver International Airport one of the world’s largest and busiest airports. The runway was paced in just 41 days using 168,000 cubic yards of concrete at a cost of US$166 million. The runway is part of the airport’s original master plan and can be used by the new generation aircraft such as Airbus A380.
Qamdo Bamda Airport in China has the longest paved runway in the world at 18,045 feet. The long runway is a necessary feature of the airport given the high altitude (4,400 meters above the sea level). High altitude reduces the engine and lifts the performance of the aircraft. Thus it requires higher than normal lift-off speed and hence longer take-off and landing runs. more
Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow, Russia was opened in 2016 as the city’s fourth international airport. It has a capacity to serve 4 million passengers in a year which is set to be increased to 12 million by 2020. The airport has a single runway which is the longest in Europe at 17,723 feet long. The runway was constructed from the landing strip at Ramenskoya airfield. here
A runway is a rectangular area on land aerodrome that has been reserved for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. The area can be a man-made surface often made of concrete and asphalt or can be a natural surface covered by grass, gravel, or even ice. The dimensions of runway vary and can be as small as 804 feet long and 26 feet wide for general aviation airport to as big as 18,045 feet long and 262 feet wide for large jets. Aircraft that weighs below 200,000 pounds requires a runway of at least 6,000 feet long while wide-bodied aircraft like Boeing 777 and Airbus A 350 require at least 8,000 feet long runway. Almost any aircraft can be accommodated on a 10,000 feet runway at sea level.
Edwards Air Force Base features 22 runways, of which four are paved. One of the runways, 04R/22L, is 15,024 feet long and is the 16th longest paved runway in the world. The runway always includes 2,700 m or 9,000 ft of unpaved overrun for a total length of 7,323 m or 24,024 ft. The runway is equipped with arresting equipment on each end. Notable runways on Rogers Lakebed include 17/35 which is 39,097 feet long, 05L/23R (22,175 feet), O5R/23L (14,999 feet). Runways on Rosamond lakebed include 02/20 and 11/29 which are both 20,998 feet long. Runways on both Roger and Rosamond lakebeds are unpaved and not marked on Federal Aviation Administration airport diagram. The lakebeds are necessary landing zones for an emergency landing. here
Barra Airport is located on a remote island in the Scottish Highlands. The airport transports passengers to and from Glasgow twice a day – contingent on the tides of Traigh Mhor Bay. Since the runway sits directly on the beach, pilots can only land when the tide is out. During high tide, all three runways are completely submerged underwater. here
The aircraft takes off on the runway of the Tenzing-Hillary airport Lukla - Nepal, Himalayas. Image credit: Vadim Petrakov/Shutterstock.com
Skiers heading on a ski holiday to Courchevel, a popular ski resort in the French Alps, will first endure a hair-raising plane ride into Courchevel Altiport. The challenges of ice and snow are coupled with a short runway and significant incline. The runway lacks proper lighting, making landing in fog or low-level cloud cover nearly impossible. To add to the struggle, pilots need to navigate the mountainous terrain without the ability to circle a landing meaning there’s only one shot at getting the landing right. [links]
Along with the usual dangers associated with air travel, passengers flying into New Zealand’s Gisborne Airport have the unusual risk of colliding with a passing train. Gisborne is one of the few airports in the world where a railway line intersects with its main runway. Air traffic controllers at Gisborne keep busy by signaling the trains to proceed after planes have taken off or landed. Surprisingly, planes and trains at Gisborne have been safely transporting travelers at this New Zealand airport accident-free since the runway was built on the existing train tracks in 1966. more
For thrill-seekers heading to Nepal with plans to climb Mount Everest, the excitement begins on the flight into Lukla’s local airport. With a short runway and a steep incline coupled with rapidly changing weather patterns, it’s no wonder Tenzing-Hillary Airport has been ranked the History Channel’s Most Extreme Airport for the past 20 years. Travelers can rest assured only top-notch pilots, experienced in challenging runway conditions, are approved to fly into Lukla. more
Same as you noted… LAX to Orange County. Enjoyed it because it was so short–yet the flight attendant still gave me a Coke. The good old days. 🙂
ONT-SNA due to diversion from fires/wind. 30 miles air distance or 4 hours driving:) more
Cape Air is an interesting carrier that offers shorthaul service in several regions including:
I also remember that flight from SNA to LAX on the Embraer 120 – a quick way to earn 500 miles with MP in those days. here
Other family members have done DFW-TYR (Tyler), which clocks in at 102 miles. I believe the shortest commercial flight out of DFW is to ACT (Waco), which is 89 miles. Of course, one should NEVER fly from Dallas to Waco, because it eliminates the ability to buy a box of kolaches at the Czech Stop in West on the way there and back. more
UA used to operate a few positioning or tag flights OAK-SFO. That’s 11 miles! I flew that flight once, making a connection at SFO to SEA. That was when the OAK-SEA fare was hundreds of dollars lower than the SFO-SEA fare. What’s not to like, saving hundreds of dollars and earning an extra 750 EQMs and 1500 RDMs. I think this was when the segment minimum was still 750. [links]
For a country with such a large landmass as the USA, some of its domestic flights are astonishingly short. In stark contrast to its longest scheduled domestic flight, Boston, Massachusetts-Honolulu, Hawaii, which the report puts at 4,418 nautical miles, all 10 of the USA’s shortest domestic flights are less than 65 miles long. more
Just a mile longer than San Francisco-Santa Rosa, this 57-mile hop along the western shore of Lake Michigan is the most frequently served of the top 10, seeing 8,817 scheduled flights a year. The route is also served by cargo operator FedEx Express.
This 60-mile route connecting two counties in northern Michigan sees the least service of any in the top 10, with 521 scheduled flights a year. Served by Delta Connection, these flights are scheduled to take 42 minutes. Like numerous others in the top 10, they are also operated by SkyWest Airlines using Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.