Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in Saba, an example of a tabletop runway.
An Air India Express landing on Kozhikode International Airport in India.
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in Madeira.

A tabletop runway is a runway that is located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge.[1][2] This type of runway creates an optical illusion of being at the same level as the plains below, which requires a very precise visual approach by the pilot when instrument landing not used or not available.[3][4]

List of tabletop runways

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2021)
Country Location Airport Airport Code (IATA/ICAO) Ref.
 Brazil Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport CGH/SBSP
 Colombia Bucaramanga Palonegro International Airport BGA/SKBG
Pasto Antonio Nariño Airport PSO/SKPS [5]
Pereira Matecaña International Airport PEI/SKPE
 Faroe Islands Sørvágur Vágar Airport FAE/EKVG [6]
 France Courchevel Courchevel Airport CVF/LFLJ
 India Himachal Pradesh Shimla Airport SLV/VISM [7]
Kerala Calicut International Airport CCJ/VOCL [8]
Kerala Kannur International Airport CNN/VOKN
Karnataka Mangalore International Airport IXE/VOML [9][10]
Mizoram Lengpui Airport AJL/VELP [10]
Sikkim Pakyong Airport PYG/VEPY [11]
 Italy Lampedusa Lampedusa Airport LMP/LICD [12]
   Nepal Dolpa Dolpa Airport DOP/VNDP [13]
Khotang Manmaya Rai Airport ?/VKND [13]
Okhaldhunga Rumjatar Airport RUM/VNRT [13]
Mugu Talcha Airport ?/VNRR [14]
Solukhumbu Tenzing–Hillary Airport LUA/VNLK [15]
Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport KTM/VNKT [16][13]
Sankhuwasabha Tumlingtar Airport TMI/VNTR [13]
 Netherlands Saba Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport SAB/TNCS [15]
 Philippines Baguio Loakan Airport BAG/RPUB
 Portugal Santa Cruz Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport FNC/LPMA [17]
 Saint Helena Longwood Saint Helena Airport HLE/FHSH [6]
 Spain Playa Santiago La Gomera Airport GMZ/GCGM
Montferrer i Castellbò Andorra-La Seu d'Urgell Airport LEU/LESU
 United States California Catalina Airport AVX/KAVX [6]
Monterey Airport MRY/KMRY
McClellan Palomar Airport CLD/KCRQ
San Nicolas Island NOLF ?/KNSI
Arizona Sedona Airport SDX/KSEZ [6]
West Virginia Yeager Airport CRW/KCRW [6]
Colorado Telluride Airport TEX/KTEX

Selected accidents and incidents

References

  1. ^ "Beauty belies tricky runway". The Telegraph. 2010-05-22. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  2. ^ "What is a table-top airport?". NDTV. 2010-05-23. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  3. ^ "Tabletop runways create an optical illusion". The Hindu. 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  4. ^ "Why the Tabletop runways considered risky?".
  5. ^ "2 Avianca A320s Involved In Separate Incidents At Colombian Airport". Simpleflying. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e "What Is A Tabletop Runway?". Simpleflying.
  7. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Shimla's table-top airport 'riskiest', is 300 metres short of required length". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  8. ^ "Quixplained graphic: What are tabletop runways?". The Indian Express. 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  9. ^ "Tabletop Runways". GKToday. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  10. ^ a b "Calicut is one of the three tabletop airports in India, runways hinder rescue operations". Moneycontrol. web|url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/the-dangers-posed-by-tabletop-runways-1.4961521%7Ctitle=The dangers posed by tabletop runways|website=Mathrubhumi))
  11. ^ "Pakyong in Sikkim another risky airport with tabletop runway". The India Times. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  12. ^ "Tabletop Runway: Definition and Risks". aviationfiles. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Kathmandu Airport also sits on a 'table-top', like Kozhikode". AviationNepal.com | Aviation Nepal News Network. 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  14. ^ Daily, Republica (Jan 16, 2017). "Talcha Airport: Precarious yet astonishing to look at". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  15. ^ a b "16 Most Dangerous Airports of The World - 2020 List". www.holidify.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  16. ^ "Factbox: What is a 'table-top runway', the site of deadly Air India plane crash?". Reuters. 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  17. ^ "Madeira Airport". MapnAll. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  18. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 N224MD Sedona Airport, AZ (SDX)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  19. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Let L-410UVP-E20 9N-AKY Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA)". www.aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  20. ^ "Air India plane overshoots Karipur's table top runway, drops into valley; 19 dead". Hindustan Times. 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
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