PLANE CRAZY

The hair-raising airports where passenger planes come in VERY low to land

PLANE-SPOTTING is hardly the most high-octane of hobbies, but there are some places in the world where it becomes a little more risky.

After footage went viral this week of a plane coming in to land very low in Skiathos, we looked at some airports where planes fly narrowly overhead before hitting the tarmac.

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Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport

A Wizz Air flight skimmed low above the heads of people in SkiathosCredit: getty

Greek islanders and holidaymakers who had gathered on the beach to watch jets got a scare when a Wizz Air flight came in to land on Skiathos.

The aircraft barely missed beachgoers as it completed its descent into the airport.

Due to the geography of the island, Skiathos Airport has a particularly short runway, meaning pilots have to approach lower than they would for longer runways.

Plane watchers particularly like that spot as it gives them an up-close view of the jets.

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St Maarten Princess Juliana International Airport

St Maarten in the Caribbean has one of the world's most terrifying approaches for pilotsCredit: Alamy

The Dutch Caribbean island boasts one of the world's most terrifying approaches for pilots.

So much so that people getting blasted by the engines of the landing jumbo jets was a common site.

However, in 2016 bigger planes were replaced by smaller ones carrying nearly half as many passengers - making hair-raising scenes of Boeing 747s skimming the beach before touching down a thing of the past.

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Phuket International Airport

Phuket airport is popular among plane spotters for its photo opportunitiesCredit: Getty - Contributor

Tourists are often spotted swarming to a particular area of Mai Khao beach in Thailand, thanks to the amazing selfies it offers.

The beach has become popular over the years thanks to the low flying planes which land at Phuket Airport.

The busy airport, with over 100,000 flights per year, is also incredibly popular with plane spotters due to its photo opportunities.

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Lanzarote Arrecife airport

Lanzarote airport is right next to the sea in the Canary IslandsCredit: Getty - Contributor

Much like Phuket, St Maarten and Skiathos, planes are forced to swoop low over the beach at Lanzarote before arriving at the airport, which is built right beside the beach.

The Canary Islands airport is also a popular place for aviation enthusiasts, although its runway is slightly longer than the others mentioned, so scenes of jets skimming narrowly over people are quite rare.

These airports have some of the most spectacular landing views in the world.

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Crazy footage shows planes landing at the terrifying Lukla airport in the Himalayas.

 

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