JAN 5 THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS

JAN 5  THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS

Happy New Year from the Duner Blog! If you're like us, you likely spent some time during the holidays on a plane. And...no matter how many times you fly...landings always cause anxiety. It always looks like the plane is going into the bay at Oakland Airport. It always feels like the plane is landing in the harbor at Boston's Logan International. But guess what? On Simple Flying's latest rankings of scary airports, you won't find any in America! Here are five entries we suggest avoiding:

Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal. Most world travelers have Mount Everest on their bucket list. They would think twice about visiting the legendary peak after learning about the nearest airport. With an altitude of 9,334 feet, it's one of the highest passenger airports on earth. With one runway at 1,729 feet, it's one of the shortest on earth. It's only open during the day to tiny aircraft and helicopters. It has no lights and little electricity. Despite these dreary stats, 119,000 people took the short flight here from Kathmandu last year.

Princess Juliana Airport, St. Maarten. Like England and France, Holland still owns a couple islands in the Caribbean Sea.  Seven and half islands to be exact. Where is the half? The island of St. Maarten. See, the French own the northern half, and the Dutch rule the remaining 14 square miles to the South. It's hard to squeeze in an airport among the hotels, resorts, casinos and the golf course...so it's nestled in precariously close to the main beach. We're talking one block away. This entry is more scary for the beach goers than the airline passengers!

Gibraltar International Airport. Even smaller than St. Maarten, this famous British colony clocks in with a mere three square miles. The solution to finding room for an airport in cramped Gibraltar is to use the city streets as runways. Numerous times daily, auto traffic on Churchill Avenue is suspended whenever a plane arrives. The lights used are similar to those blinking railway crossing barriers. Expect more interruptions: EasyJet is now offering daily direct flights from the U.K.

Damascus Airport, Syria. This entry has nothing to do with geographic issues. There are no steep cliffs, treacherous mountains or any ocean near Damascus. Nope, the problem here is the Civil War that has engulfed the Mideastern nation. For most of the six years of conflict, the airport has been shuttered. However, after the most recent ceasefire, it's open again. Seven daring airlines are providing service to the Syrian capital. The pilots are hoping that ISIS is running out of rocket launchers.

Tegucigalpa Airport, Honduras. Our final destination suffers from both issues. First, the approach to the ravine where the airport sits involves a dangerous 45-degree bank turn. We're not sure what that entails, but it has caused numerous crashes. The most recent, in 2008, saw an Airbus A320 sputter off the runway and on to a street. If you do manage to land safely, you'll find yourself in the heart of Honduras...one of the most lawless nations on earth. The highway to the airport is notorious for daring hit and run robberies, especially at night.