How close thrill-seeking plane spotters are willing to get to the action was demonstrated in heart-stopping video of a Wizz Air passenger jet flying just yards above tourists’ heads.
The video, which was uploaded last week, was shot by a jet enthusiast who was set up to catch planes landing on Greece’s Skiathos island, which has grown to be a popular spot for plane spotters.
The landing strip at Skiathos Airport is particularly short, measuring just a mile in length and constructed yards from the sea.
As a result, pilots must come in to land much lower than they would on other runways.
However, even seasoned plane watchers were taken aback as the Airbus jet hurtled towards the runway and narrowly missed the airport’s perimeter fence, even sending some onlookers reeling.
Plane spotters who want to feel the rush of getting up close to the underside of a big passenger jet as it lands have options besides Skiathos.
The Greek airport has been dubbed the European Saint Martin, a Caribbean island renowned for its enormous low-landing aircraft.
Another well-known location is the Lanzarote airport, or Arrecife airport.
Authorities in Thailand have even warned travellers that taking selfies as planes approach and land at Phuket International Airport could result in harsh penalties because doing so could distract the pilots.
Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport in Skiathos
The Wizz Air landing video begins with a shot of the aircraft approaching the Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport over the azure Mediterranean Sea in the distance.
On the beach and a road that runs alongside a small patch of land between the sea and the runway, there are several people seen congregating.
However, it becomes evident that the Wizz Air-operated Airbus A321neo is being brought in at a low altitude as it gets closer.
One spectator even starts to move aside in preparation for a low landing.
The vehicle is so low as it passes the perimeter fence that it ruffles one man’s hair and causes him to flinch in the video.
It also kicks up sand and dust into the air as it passes. Even a girl being thrown backwards is visible.
The airport’s runway measures at 5,341-foot (1,628 meters), putting it in the ‘short and narrow’ category of runways.
The short landing strip runs north-to-south and from coast-to-cast, meaning pilots have to approach as low as possible in order to give themselves enough runway to land on and come to a stop.
Watching the planes from the end of the runway is not without its risks.
Last month, a 61-year-old British woman was knocked over backwards when she and a group of tourists gathered to watch a plane take off.
Princess Juliana international airport, Saint Martin
Skiathos’ has been dubbed the European Saint Martin – an island in the Caribbean which is also famous for its low-landing planes – with numerous videos showing huge Boeing 747 passenger jets touching down on the runway.
Like Skiathos, the Caribbean airport has a short runway – of just 1.4 miles – forcing planes to approach at low altitude.
Spectators will often gather on the island’s Maho Beach, a stretch of golden sand that separates the airport’s runway and the stunning blue Caribbean sea.
But while plane spotting is a popular activity at the island’s Princess Juliana international airport, it can also be dangerous. In 2017, a woman was thrown to her death after a low flying plane blew her off her feet on take-off.
The New Zealand woman was holding onto the fence when she was blown from her feet before hitting her head on the rocks and suffering fatal injuries.
Tourists visiting the picturesque beach regularly climb up onto rocks to watch planes come into land, despite signs specifically warning against the danger.
Police on the Dutch territory make daily visits to the beach to warn tourists of the dangers.
The airport was previously named one of the world’s most dangerous by the History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports.
Phuket International Airport, Thailand
Tourists are also known to converge at Phuket International Airport in Thailand.
As with the others, Phuket’s runway is only separated from the ocean by a lovely beach, so people frequently congregate on the golden sands or stand in the surf to watch aircraft pass by.
Photographs from the beach show tourists often pose as jets soar in to land, capturing spectacular shots of the underside of passenger planes in the stunning island setting.
However, in 2019, Thai aviation authorities threatened tourists with the death penalty for taking selfies on the beach next to the Phuket airport, saying that doing so ran the risk of distracting pilots coming in to land.
They said the punishment was in-line with other offences, such as shining laser pointers at planes as they come in to land, which runs the risk of impairing a pilot’s vision.
Arrecife airport, Lanzarote
Another airport known for its low landings is Arrecife airport on the Spanish Canary Island of Lanzarote.
Arrecife, like the Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin and Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport, is constructed near to the water. In fact, the runway’s end practically touches the water.
When passenger planes are approaching, tourists often assemble on the rocks close to Playa Honda, the beach, and the road that goes past to capture photos.
The airport still gives aficionados the chance to stand just below the jets as they land and take off over the ocean, even though pilots don’t often bring their planes in as low as they do in Skiathos and Saint Martin.
Early in 2022, the livestreaming service Big Jet TV caught passenger planes landing at London’s Heathrow airport amid strong winds during storm Eunice, bringing attention to the popularity of plane spotting in Britain.
More than 200,000 viewers of Jerry Dyer’s Big Jet TV spent more than six hours watching stomach-churning images of aeroplanes nearly touching down sideways at Britain’s biggest airport in gusts of 120 mph.
In one scary video, a pilot had to take off again and try the “touch and go” feat again after the jet almost overturned during the approach in the severe gusts that necessitated it.
Witnesses allegedly saw paint particles emerging from the plane’s tail as it impacted the ground during the wobbly landing attempt.
Tenzing Hillary Airport in Nepal is another airport renowned for its perilous landings.
As a result of the runway’s proximity to a cliff, pilots have little margin for error while attempting to land.
Only small aircraft are permitted to land and take off at the airport, and pilots must have completed 100 sorties in STOL (short take off and landing) aircraft and at least one year of experience.
The Portuguese airport named after football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has drawn a lot of attention over the years, mostly because it changed its name, but also because it features one of the world’s most nerve-wracking runways.
Strong gusts on the island force pilots to land on a 190-foot-high runway that is only supported by 180 columns. Even the runway itself extends out into the water.
The airport in Gibraltar’s northeast also features a scary feature. A public road runs through the centre of the runway, which is constructed into the water and spans the whole British Overseas Territory.
When a plane lands or takes off from the airport, the road must be blocked, much like a level crossing over a railway track.