Gibraltar is a pretty interesting place to visit. Besides the giant rock that takes up most of the land, it’s the only place where we’ve had to drive across the airport runway to enter. This can cause a few complications since jets also use the runway. But the Gibraltarians take it in stride. When a plane is taking off or landing they hold back the traffic, just like at a railroad crossing.
How many airports let you cross the runway?
Since there isn’t much land at Gibraltar they’ve come up with clever ways to use what they have. Before World War II, airplanes used to land on the grassy area in the middle of the local horseracing track. With the advent of the war the British built a runway into the sea. With minimal margin for error not just any pilot can land at Gibraltar. Despite the somewhat hairy landing, a quirk that placed the Gibraltar airport in a list of the top 10 unusual airports, there has never been a civil aviation accident.
Since Gibraltar is part of the UK a double-decker bus on the runway is not an unusual sight.
We met our friends Charles and Maureen, native Gibraltarians, for a behind-the-scenes visit to the “Rock.” A relic of Gibraltar’s strategic position is that the rock itself is honeycombed with tunnels, some dating to the 1700s. We were inside one of these tunnels when we heard the unmistakable sound of a jet engine roaring to life, a noise that typically provokes a Pavlovian response in Larissa as she jerks her head quicker than a one-eyed dog in a sausage factory.
Gibraltar Airport viewed from the Rock. The border with Spain is about 500 yards on the other side of the runway.
We ran to a viewpoint in the tunnel and were rewarded with a literal bird’s-eye view over the runway. Since there are only about five flights a day out of Gibraltar our timing was perfect. Here’s our video of a jet taking off from one of the quirkiest airports in the world. And as our friend Charles points out, also one of the safest.
If you’re into watching planes take off check out the video of the new runway viewing platform at Perth Airport.
With Little Rocky's help, Larissa stops traffic in Saigon.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Gibralter sounds like a great place to be a bus and plane spotter at the same time
We drove there but next time we’ll have to fly in.
Michael recently posted..Damn that’s good sheep intestine
This is the first time I have heard about this kind of airport.. Anyway, thank you for the photos and the video as well..
Giselle recently posted..Joe Barrys Panic Away Review
Glad you enjoyed it.
Michael recently posted..The child vendors of Angkor Wat
How interesting and hats off to the Gibraltar airport’s safety record!
A great view of the airport strip from on top the Rock, too.
Have a nice day.
Barbara recently posted..The beauty of the dance
And the tunnels themselves are pretty fascinating too. There’s even a natural stone amphitheater inside the rock for classical performances.
Michael recently posted..Disappointing Chiang Mai
Did you see any monkeys?
Yes we did. We’ll be showing some pics of them in the future.
In Philadelphia, we had our own airport runway driver a few months ago, who drove through a chainlink fence in his SUV and led the police on a merry chase up and down the runways at speeds over 70 mph, aborting a landing and closing down the airport. I wonder if he thought he was in Gibralter?
It wasn’t us! We have an alibi.
Michael recently posted..Shocking exposé of Changes In Longitude
Wow never knew about the airport in Gibraltar! Sounds cool! I have always wanted to take the ferry to Morocco from there. You have just added another reason to make the journey!
Alexandra recently posted..Travel Porn: Street Food at the Night Market In Pai, Thailand
Gotta love that crazy airport, love your blog, keep up the great work.
Matthew Hutchins recently posted..Milan’s 5 Must See Attractions
Hi Matthew,
Yeah, it’s pretty wild watching them take off and land there. Thanks for checking in.
Michael recently posted..The world’s stinkiest donut