Shortest runwaySaba International Airport, on the Caribbean island of Saba, is the shortest commercial runway in the world, at 400 metres. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous landing strips in the world, flanked as it is on one side by high hills and on the other three by cliffs that drop into the sea.The island welcomed its first airplane on February 9, 1957, when Captain Reme Dehaenen landed on a clearing at the place where the current airport now sits.Saba International Airport opened in 1963 and was built at a cost of $230,000. Today, the airport welcomes 15,500 passengers a year. Windward Islands Airways is the main airline operating out of the airport, with four flights a day. Longest runwayIt's not a commercial airport, but the Edwards Air Force Base in the US does have the world's longest runway, thanks to a lakebed overrun. The military base, home to the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, has been witness to many aviation breakthroughs since the 1930s.Its two longest runways are Lakebed 17/35 – with a total length of 11,916.77 metres, and the R22L runway - which features a 4,579.32-metre tarmac runway, 559.61-metre load bearing overrun and a 2,922.42-metre lakebed extension.Highest control towerTwo gateways vie for the title of highest air traffic control tower in the world – Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH) in Canada and Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi in Thailand.The tower at CXH, which is also known as Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base, is technically the tallest as it sits atop a 142-metre high skyscraper in Granville Square.However, the 132.2-metre high ATC tower at Bangkok– Suvarnabhumi holds the honour of being the world's tallest freestanding tower.The airport opened in September 2006, and was built at a cost of $4 billion. The lead architect was Murphy Jahn & TAMS from US and ACT Consultant from Thailand.Today, the airport is able to accommodate 45 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year. Its air traffic control tower can handle 76 flights per hour.Largest airportIn terms of total covered landmass, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, surpasses any other airport by, quite literally, miles. The airport occupies a landmass of 776 square kilometres.Development began on the airport in 1983 and was completed in 1999. The airport structures presently occupy 43 square kilometres, or 5.6%, of its total area. The airport has a current capacity of five million passengers per annum, which could rise to 16 million in the future.Its current infrastructure includes 4,930 car parking spaces, a mosque with a capacity for 2,000 worshippers, and 89 kilometres of roads. The airport also has its own nursery, covering 215,579 square metres, which supplies the airport with fresh fruit, vegetables and plants.Smallest airport terminalGrise Fiord Airport at Nunavut, Canada, has the world's smallest airport terminal building.Grise Fiord is located on Ellesmere Island, Canada's northernmost community. The Government of Nunavut operates the airport. The only building at this airport is the Air Passenger Shelter. Two companies operate out of the airport – Air Nunavut, using a Super King Air 200, and Kenn Borek Air, using a DHC-6 Twin Otter. Flights to this airport are usually from Resolute – a small Inuit hamlet - and most of them only carry cargo with few to no passengers.Largest airport terminalIn terms of covered floor space, Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport is a clear leader at 1,185 million square metres. Opened in 2008, Terminal 3 has a capacity of 43 million passengers and was built at a cost of $ 4.5 billion. The Terminal 3 complex includes an associated airside facility (known as concourse 2) and an A380 dedicated airside facility (concourse 3) that is currently under construction.Terminal 3 departures covers a total floor space of 515,000sqm – equivalent to 94 football fields. Spread over six floors the facility offers 158 check-in counters as well as 60 self-service kiosks. Source: Airportnews
Gravity always wins!