PRETTY FLY
‘World’s most unique airport’ is $20bn rectangle in middle of the OCEAN battered by typhoons…but gets 20m fliers a year
The airport has a famous designer
THE world's most unique airport sits on a bizarre $20billion rectangle in the middle of the ocean and gets pelted by typhoons.
Kansai International Airport is located three miles offshore making it an easy target for the elements.
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Despite its questionable set up - being the worlds first airport built on water- Kansai still manages to attract an average of 20million jet setters per year.
And, in 2019, the number rose to a whopping 32million making it Japan's third busiest airport.
It also boasts a 4,000 metre runway - nearly double the normal length.
From the outside the building not only stands out for obvious reasons, but it also has a unique shape and was designed by the same person as The Shard - Renzo Piano.
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The roof deliberately resembles a glider wing and slopes down symmetrically on both sides.
The airport opened in 1994 and was constructed in atop an artificial Island - only connected to the mainland by a thin bridge.
This was so that it could run 24 hours per day without disturbing the locals.
But, although the location seemed like a stroke of genius, it wasn't all it cracked up to be and the designers seemed to miss one crucial detail.
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As the building stood alone, with no shelter or protection, it would be repeatedly struck by extreme weather conditions.
The worst of these came in 2018 when the notoriously lethal typhoon Jedi barrelled across the area wreaking havoc at the airport and causing it to close temporarily.
Thousands of terrified passengers became stranded as the storm began to "severely flood" the building and shake the infrastructure.
Things then took a turn for the worst when it took hold of a tanker and repeatedly slammed it against the bridge - causing $44.78million worth of damage.
Recently the airport announced that due to its precarious location it will carry out an earthquake and tsunami drill so that staff are prepared for worst case scenarios.
It took took three years, 10,000 workers and 10 million man-hours to assemble the 30-or-40-metre layer of earth over the sea floor and inside the sea wall.
The 1.9 mile bridge that connects the island Rinku Town cost $1 billion alone.
This isn't the only time one of the world's most unique buildings has been in the news recently.
Earlier this week we told of the world's loneliest McDonald's restaurant.
The restaurant is the only one on the Island of Samoa, meaning some locals have yet to try its special menu - which features an incredible McAiga Meal for £38.
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And we also told of the World’s biggest dump as big as 1,200 football pitches.
The Apex Landfil has so far collected a whopping 50million tons of "stinking" garbage.
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