

Instead, runways are built with a crown down the centerline to remove rainwater.
#Shortest runway in the world free#
Runways aren’t completely flat to let rainwater run off to the sides and keep the surface free from standing water. The uneven terrain of normal ground could damage the aircraft’s landing gears, tail, or other parts of the aircraft.Īirplanes only land without runways during emergencies when no usable runways are available. Planes can technically land without a runway, but it damages the aircraft. Runways can be as little as 8 m (26 ft) wide in smaller general aviation airports, to 80 m (262 ft) wide at large international airports built to accommodate the largest jets Can a Plane Land Without a Runway? The longest landing distance is 656 feet or 200 meters for the F-22 Raptor. Most fighter jets can take off on a runway of 600 meters and land on a 700-900 meter long runway, but the exact requirement differs for each plane. Commercial AirlinersĪ commercial airliner needs at least 6,000 feet or 1,829m of runway if its weight is below 200,000 lbs or 90,718 kg.Īn aircraft with a greater weight needs at least an 8,000 feet or 2,438m long runway at mean sea level. Private jets need a runway length of 5,000 feet or 1,524 meters at mean sea level.įor example, the Citation V Ultra/Encore and Falcon can take off at a runway of 5,000 feet or 1,524 meters. The Cessna 150, for example, only needs approximately 1,385 ft (422 m) for take-off, 1,075 ft (328 m) for landing. The FAA states that smaller airplanes with approach speeds of between 30 and 50 knots should use 800 feet (244m) of runway at mean sea level. How Long Must a Runway Be for a Plane to Land? Small Planes Simko Field Airport in Inkom, Idaho, United States, has America’s shortest runway at 400 feet or 122 meters. Rahn Airport (Montana, United States): 305m or 1,000 feet.ĭenver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, United States, has America’s longest runway, the 16R/34L, which is 16,000 feet or 4,876 meters long.Back Acres Airport (Maine, United Kingdom): 305m or 1,000 feet.Westray Airport (Scotland, United Kingdom): 291m or 955 feet.Simonds Airstrip (Idaho, United States): 274m or 900 feet.Ousel Falls Airport (Montana, United States): 274m or 900 feet.James Ranch Airstrip (Idaho, United States): 244m or 800 feet.Dewey Moore Airstrip (Idaho, United States): 213m or 700 feet.Mile Hi Airstrip (Idaho, United States): 171m or 560 feet.


Ted Luark Airstrip (Montana, United States): 152m or 500 feet.Simko Field Airport (Idaho, United States): 122m or 400 feet.N’djili Airport(the Democratic Republic of the Congo): 4,700m or 15,420 feet.Harare International Airport(Zimbabwe): 4,725m or 15,502 feet.Erbil International Airport (Iraq): 4,800m or 15,748 feet.Madrid-Torrejón Airport (Spain): 4,818m or 15,807 feet.Hamad International Airport (Qatar): 4,850m or 15,912 feet.Denver International Airport (United States): 4,877m or 16,001 feet.Upington Airport (South Africa): 4,900m or 16,076 feet.Embraer Unidade Gavião Peixoto Airport (Brazil): 4,967m or 16,396 feet.Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport (Russia): 5,000m or 16,404 feet.Shigatse Peace Airport (China): 5,000m or 16,404 feet.Generally, the larger a plane is, the more runway it needs.Īirplanes can also technically land without runways but doing so is dangerous because planes can be damaged by uneven terrain.Īirport runways are complex in construction and expensive to build, costing anywhere from $15 million to multiple billions of dollars. The world’s longest airway is the Shigatse Peace Airport in China, which is 5,000m or 16,404 feet long. Airport runways are usually between 8,000 to 13,000 feet long (2,438 to 3,962 meters or between 2.4 to 3.9 km).
