Amazing Facts

Gibraltar Airport: Where a highway cuts through the runway!

Most of the airports in the world are developed on the outskirts of cities to avoid traffic congestion. But the Gibraltar airport has the distinction of having a highway intersect it’s runway. Owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators also use the Gibraltar International Airport.

Why does the highway cut through the airstrip?

Necessity is the mother of invention and when faced with a task of fitting an airport inside 2.5 square mile area, the engineers came up with this solution. The airport which serves the British overseas territory has made full use of the minimal space and lack of flat land available by building its only runway through the heart of the peninsula’s busiest road.

A pair of barriers close ahead of every landing and departure, which currently number around 30 a week, all flying to and from the United Kingdom.

The airport is just 500 yards from the centre of Gibraltar – the shortest commute of any major airport in the world.

Show More

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button