Only 8 Pilots in the World Are Certified to Land Here

Whazzup? Feeling anxious while landing? Hey, there’s no need to worry. Even if you land in such a particular place as Bhutan! Thing is, the terrain here is so extreme it makes it super complicated to land. What is interesting about flying there, is that there are really few pilots out there who are certified to land in Bhutan — yeah, zig-zagging toward the ground sounds like a real quest. Bhutan Paro International Airport is often named one of the world’s most dangerous airports. In the whole world, there are only two airlines that fly to this airport. About 10 years ago, there were only 8 pilots who were permitted to fly there, but today the number is a bit bigger.

But even so, there’s something even tougher than Bhutan Paro International Airport. Seems like The Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal, has every possible danger: short runway, super powerful winds, mountainous terrain — this place has it all! The runway here is only 1,729 feet long. Just for comparison, a regular runway in most airports is about 10,000 feet long or even more.

Many airports have carpets in their gate areas. This nicety usually comes with a few other perks: lower ceilings, comfortable seats, and pleasant, natural lighting. Needless to say that all those decorations cost airports a pretty penny, and carpets are not as easy to clean as hard floors are. But the key thing here is that they create a cozy feeling for passengers waiting for their flight, making them more relaxed. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s not only meant to make you feel good. According to social research, calm passengers are about 7-10% more likely to go window shopping and actually buy something in the lounge area or duty-free zone. So by investing in the passengers’ comfort, airports are likely to increase their own income.

Hey, as for spending money in the airport, there’s an actual term for the first 60 minutes after you clear check-in: the “golden hour.” It’s the time that passengers statistically spend more money in retail and duty-free areas of the airport. And having the most comfortable seats in those areas right in front of the shops is a clever trick to lure you in for shopping. Let’s admit, sitting in a comfy chair while looking at a flashy sign or shopping window can be tempting, and that’s exactly what the airports want you to feel.

You know how it sometimes goes: you come to the security checkpoint, and suddenly, it turns out you have something prohibited to take on board in your carry-on. Bye-bye water bottle! Actually, you have an opportunity to mail them to any address inside the country. As for the unclaimed baggage, it is usually stored for about 60 days. Things taken away by security and not claimed can also get sold at special auctions and are delivered worldwide!

Most airports have specific experts called profilers. These people practice what’s called SPOT, or the Screening Passengers by Observation Technique. They carefully analyze facial expressions, gestures, and behavior to detect suspicious people. Uh oh. Their job is to notice the non-verbal signs of anxiety, such as people licking their lips, itching, or looking around a lot. If a profiler notices a person acting in a weird or “off” way, they can invite them for an inspection, where they talk to the person to try to find out more about them. Profilers work in both the main terminals and passport control. The typical question they ask is, “What’s the purpose of your visit?” They then check the person’s reaction to this inquiry. No matter how reserved a passenger is, if they have something to hide, TSA officers will find out thanks to the tiniest cues in people’s behavior.

You arrive at the airport, already anticipating a couple of weeks away from work and all your daily troubles, park your car in the lot, and then find out that it’s going to cost you a little fortune to leave your car there. Why so much...? Airport parking lots are a business just like any other. The land on which they’re built, the construction of the lot itself, the maintenance of the whole thing once it’s already in operation — all that costs a handsome amount of money. And somebody has to pay for it, of course. In addition, parking right next to an airport is simply convenient, which adds to the final cost. If you’re not ready to dip into your pocket for a piece of extra comfort, better take a cab, or have a friend drop you off.

Contrails, those white trails airplanes often leave behind them at high altitudes, are easily mistaken for engine exhaust, but most are nothing more than water vapor. During a flight, moisture in the air collects in the engines before being vented with the exhaust. The hot wet air leaving the engines mixes with the cool, dry air found at high altitudes, resulting in long thin lines of vapor. Humidity determines when contrails form and how long they remain visible. If it’s already humid up there, then there’s more water, and the contrail is more prominent. And if it’s cold, the droplets might turn into ice, staying behind for a much longer time.

It might seem odd that the flight crew cares whether your window shades are up or down. The main reason is so that the passengers’ eyes can adjust to the outside light. Mostly it’s just a matter of getting people on and off quickly, but in an emergency, the last thing they want is people stopping to blink before they evacuate the plane. Another reason for all the shades to stay up when the airplane is about to take off or land is for the ground crew to see if there’s any trouble on board. For example, if there’s a fire in the cabin, the ground crew will immediately notice it and act accordingly. If the shades are down, they might lose precious time to rescue the passengers and the flight crew.

Looking out the window on the plane’s wing, you can see a small yellow double hook on it. It seems strange since it might mess with aerodynamics, but it’s there for your safety. In case of an emergency landing, these hooks are used to secure ropes that help passengers exit the plane via the wings. If they’re slippery, the rope will help you keep your footing and not fall over while going down. Woo-woo!

There are several extremely fast streams of air high up in the atmosphere of our planet. They move in strange ways but have a more or less constant flow, allowing passenger aircraft to use them. When an airplane comes close to a jet stream, it may adjust to the direction of its current and fly a lot faster, propelled by the flow. Many airlines use this to their advantage to cut fuel costs and make air travel even faster.

Clouds, especially thunderheads, can indicate that an area of turbulence is ahead. But sometimes clear-air turbulence occurs when a plane can drop a few feet and start shaking without any warning. It happens when two bodies of air collide at very high speeds, and it’s absolutely invisible, so the pilots can’t tell when it would happen. The chances of getting into an area of clear-air turbulence are higher at low altitudes over mountain ranges and near jet streams.

Normally, after it’s hit by lightning, an airplane is sent for inspection, but it can still safely complete its current flight. The fuselage conducts electricity well enough, and like with a lightning rod, the zap will most probably strike one of the tips of the airplane — either one of the wings or the nose. Then it seeks the ground but doesn’t find it, so it exits from the tail. It’s easier for electricity to roll through the surface of the plane than to go inside, so people on board are safe from its effects. Still, lightning is powerful, and there can be some damage done to the airplane on the outside. Anyway, if you’re still nervous about flying, remember what pilots say: Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Uh...that didn’t help, did it?