A beach where planes fly overhead. Mai Khao beach is where planes land in Phuket

The island of Saint Maarten (some use the name Sint Maarten) and its airport are located in the Caribbean Sea, which is one of the most popular tourist regions in the world. Almost every island that can be reached with comfort has development potential. There are two main ways to solve the delivery of passengers: ship or plane.

At the same time, sea and ocean cruises create a much smaller part of the flow of tourists compared to air transport. But the cost and complexity of the infrastructure of air harbors is much higher and sometimes requires non-standard solutions from engineers and architects.

The island of St. Martin from the Lesser Antilles archipelago has one of the most interesting airports in the world (included in the top 10 in terms of danger rating, according to Reuters). It also plays a large role in the transport provision of nearby territories: St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Barthélemy and Anguilla.

Princess Juliana Airport (full official name) has the ability to receive even large aircraft of the Boeing 747 class, although the runway, with a normal width of 45 m, is only 2300 m long, which is the maximum allowable value for some types of liners. In this regard, takeoff and landing, taking place on a 3 ° glide path, are considered the most dangerous in the Caribbean region.

The construction of the airport began with the construction of an air force base as early as 1942. Although already in 1943, due to the lack of hostilities in the region during the Second World War, it was converted into a civilian one. After 1964, it was reconstructed, a new control tower and terminal appeared. After 1985, it was upgraded, so it began to be able to accept long-haul aircraft classes and fully correspond to the high development of tourism in Sint Maarten.

Features of the air harbor

Here you can talk about a variety of factors.

The island has a relatively small area - only 87 km², with a predominantly hilly terrain and tropical thickets.

The island is divided by different states: the northern part is the French overseas community of Saint Martin, the southern part is the autonomous entity of Sint Maarten, subordinate to the Dutch crown.

Only after 1994 was the Franco-Dutch border control protocol signed. The landing strip with its end rests on Maho Beach in the west of the Dutch part. Airplanes land and take off directly above the heads of tourists, 10-20 m above the surface.

Spectacular photographs and videos with aircraft bring incredible popularity to Princess Juliana among other airports in the world. Nearby there are several cafes and hotels that specialize in the most famous view of the island. A loudspeaker is installed on the beach, which reports about the planes coming in for landing, and broadcasts the conversations of the controllers and the crew.

In the central part of Maho, wind speeds can reach 180 km/h, which can be very dangerous and even deadly for humans, but this does not stop curious tourists who try to take vivid photos and videos with air liners.

In 2012, noted photographer Josef Hoeflener published black-and-white spotter images of the airport's surroundings, including them in the book Jetliner: The Complete Works.

Infrastructure

The throughput is thus up to 30 flights per hour.

The dispatch service also provides control over other small airports in this zone: Clayton J. Lloyd, L'Espérance, Gustaf III. The 30,500 m² terminal can serve up to 2,500,000 passengers per year. In the entire history of the airport, not a single disaster has been recorded, although this runway is considered one of the most difficult for airline crews and dispatch services.

Photos and videos from Sint Maarten Airport

View of the island of Sint Maarten

This is what Princess Juliana airport looks like

In this regard, takeoff and landing, taking place on a 3 ° glide path, are considered the most dangerous in the Caribbean region.

Princess Juliana airport runway

The landing strip with its end rests on Maho Beach in the west of the Dutch part. Airplanes land and take off directly above the heads of tourists, 10-20 m above the surface.

Runway

The location and topography of the island of Sint Maarten did not imply the construction of a full-fledged runway. Therefore, it was decided to build the minimum acceptable length of the strip for long-haul liners (for example, 747). At the same time, the width was increased to 45 m. Radar systems provide a range of up to 460 km.

The throughput is thus up to 30 flights per hour. The dispatch service also provides control over other small airports in this zone: Clayton J. Lloyd, L'Espérance, Gustaf III. The 30,500 m² terminal can serve up to 2,500,000 passengers per year. In the entire history of the airport, not a single disaster has been recorded, although this runway is considered one of the most difficult for airline crews and dispatch services.

Anguilla Airport named after Clayton J. Lloyd

Very close to the runway of Phuket Airport is Mai Khao Beach. This is the longest and most unusual beach on the island. It is over this beach that planes land and take off. This feature attracts many tourists. Here you can take interesting and vivid photos with an airplane flying overhead. However, despite such tourist entertainment, there are very few vacationers on the beach, it is almost deserted.

The coastline of Mai Khao Beach stretches for as much as 11 kilometers. The beach is part of the Sirinat National Park, so there are no popular tourist beach activities, and on Mai Khao you will not find sun loungers with umbrellas, merchants, shops and cafes. The entire beach is a natural reserve. There are practically no tourists here either, only near the runway you can see a small group of people with cameras and cameras trying to catch a good shot against the background of a flying plane. But Mai Khao Beach is very fond of the locals, they have picnics here in the shade of trees and swim in the sea. Locals also celebrate the Songkran holiday here (), I have never seen so many Thais on the beach as on this day.

The sand on Mai Khao Beach is light yellow, the descent into the sea is quite steep. It is worth moving three or four meters from the shore and the water will be up to your neck. If you come to the beach with small children, then do not let them go alone into the sea, but rather choose another beach. Casuarina trees grow along the entire Mai Khao beach, in the shade of which you can hide from the sun.

You can swim on Mai Khao Beach only during the season from November to April, the rest of the time big waves rise on the sea and it is not at all safe to swim in it. But this is a great time for surfers.

Beach activities

There are practically no beach activities on Mai Khao. Only near the hotels you can rent kayaks or surfboards. The main entertainment of Mai Khao Beach is walking along the coast, swimming in the sea and, of course, landing planes. This is exactly what tourists come here for. You can sit on the beach for hours and watch how a huge plane flies over your head with incredible noise. This is an unusual sight, just breathtaking. For the first time, I even became scared when I saw a plane flying right at me with a huge noise. It seemed to me that I would be blown off the beach, but then you gradually get used to it. Also, don't forget to take some photos with the plane flying in the background.

Planes fly every day in 10-15 minutes. If you want, you can look at the flight schedule, then you will know exactly which planes will fly and at what time.

Restaurants and shops on the beach

You can dine on Mai Khao Beach at the restaurants of nearby hotels. There you will be offered a wide selection of different dishes, but the prices in hotels are usually high.

Also near the beach is the Turtle Village shopping center, where there is a restaurant and a bar where you can have a bite to eat. In the mall you can buy groceries, souvenirs, clothes and much more. And if you drive a little further from the beach, you will find a J&P store, where the choice of products is much wider.

Hotels on the beach

Hotels on Mai Khao Beach are almost all five-star and quite expensive. If you wish, you can stay at the Centara Grand West Sands Resort & Villa Phuket, which is located very close to Phuket Airport. A little further away are the hotels JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Maikhao Dream Villa, Mai Khao Beach Bungalows and others.

If you want to find a hotel on your own, I recommend using the Hotellook service, it looks for accommodation in different booking systems and gives you the most profitable options.

How to get there?

From the airport to Mai Khao Beach can only be reached by taxi, public transport does not go there.

From Phuket Town to Mai Khao Beach you can take a bus for 50 baht. However, you will have to walk from the main road, which is about 2-3 kilometers.

If you get to Mai Khao Beach by your own car or bike, then you should drive straight along highway 402, then, before reaching the airport a few meters, turn onto the road leading to Sirinat National Park. At the entrance to the park you can park your bike or car. Next, you should walk north for about 500 meters. Already from afar you will hear the sound of flying planes.

See the exact location of Mai Khao Beach on the map.

There are places on the planet where planes land very close to people, and where they can be captured on a photo or video camera. This occupation in the common people is called spotting, although spotting is a whole hobby and photographing flying cars is only part of it. So, for spotting, the beach with airplanes in Phuket is great, where I somehow went. I am not a spotter myself, but I liked it - I felt how a multi-ton colossus flies over your head, very unusual impressions. Still, I don’t like classic sights, but something like that.

It is located in close proximity to the beach, so vacationers on this beach had the opportunity to see planes landing and taking off. To be honest, I don’t know the name of this beach, because somewhere here it turns into. Therefore, in some reports they write that it is Nai Yang, in others that it is Mai Kao. But, in fact, this is not important, because the main thing is the planes!

The airport runway is perpendicular to the coastline and planes land and land 100 meters from the coast. The stretch of beach opposite the airport is free to visit and is not guarded in any way. You can come there at any time and feel the full power of the aircraft. Interesting, I tell you, the feeling to see how several hundred tons fly right over you. But that's not all! I did not know about this, somehow it did not occur to me. When the plane takes off, or rather stands at the start, powerful air flows from its turbines just towards the beach, and if you fall under them, it almost knocks you down. But if anything, then there is where to hide - behind the concrete blocks on which there is a fence.

If you are in Phuket, you must go. There it is not long to walk along the beach, and it will be interesting if you have never seen anything like this before.

On the map, you could see that there is Sirinat National Park near the coast and the airport. Usually in national parks there is something interesting or at least beautiful: jungle, trails, views, mountains, waterfalls, etc. But there is nothing in Sirinat, he is nothing. And what is strange, there is enough garbage on its territory, what kind of national park is it then ... Visually it resembles just a small forest through which Thais scurry about on bikes and cars on their own business. Yes, there are a couple of places for picnics, but they look so-so. For me, it’s better to go to that part of Nai Yang Beach (), where there is no national park and there is no car traffic.

So it's not worth going to the national park itself. However, if you want to get to the beach with airplanes, you will have to cross it.

Visiting Information

Phuket beach, where planes land, can be accessed from two sides: from Nai Yang and from Mai Khao. I walked from the side of Nai Yang (and for some reason many people walk this way), but visually it seems that it will be much faster with Mai Khao.

In short, if you go from Nai Yang, then you will need to cross the Sirinat National Park. The fastest way to do this is in its northern part, where it is closest to the airport. The entrance and parking place will be approximately near this hotel (you can see the name and location on the link). Then it remains to walk 1 km on the sand.

Entrance to the park 100 baht. But they take, as far as I understand, only for transport, not from foot.

There is a beach in Phuket where planes land directly overhead 🙂 This beach is located near Phuket airport, some people think that this is part of Mai Khao beach, someone claims that it is still Nai Yang beach, but I think that planes land between these two beaches and in order not to get confused, this part of the coastline is simply called - 🙂

Beach with planes in Phuket - where the planes land right over your head!

We, of course, could not help but go to this part of the island to photograph the planes flying overhead. The beach with airplanes is quite a distance from our condo in Phuket, about 35 km! Therefore, we decided to go to the beach with airplanes as early as possible in the morning, so that the road would be easier, otherwise it is very unpleasant to ride a bike in the heat of the day, but you still need a car to move around Phuket!

With what difficulty we managed to wake up at 7 in the morning and leave the house before 8, this is a hotel story 🙂 But I will say that we did not get to this beach with planes the first time. I'll digress a bit, but I'll post it anyway. The first time we woke up early in the morning and went out into the yard to get on the bike and rush to the beach, we were surprised to find that one of our helmets had been stolen from our bike! How did it happen? This is the first time I've encountered this! Not only is the helmet old, it costs a penny, who could need it? So we also have a seemingly guarded complex: the guards are sitting at the entrance / entrance to the condo territory, and they constantly walk around the territory, and the cameras are hanging. In general, an incomprehensible situation ... It’s not a pity for a helmet, it’s just unpleasant that now you can’t easily leave anything on a bike or on the territory. And then I could leave the phone on a table near the pool and swim calmly, not looking around. We had to go to the Tesco store that morning instead of the beach with planes and buy a new helmet. Of course, on that day we had already decided not to go that far, but went to another, the nearest beach.

A day later, I again had to get up at 7 in the morning, this time we have already safely reached the beach with planes 🙂 Now I will tell you in detail about it.

Beach with planes in Phuket: review and impressions

The beach with planes is located at the confluence of the two northern beaches of Phuket: Nai Yang and Mai Khao. Despite the fact that these beaches are very long, the beach strip itself, from where you can observe and take photos of planes taking off and landing, is small. And the part where everyone wants to take a picture under a flying plane is generally 100-150 meters long, so at the peak of the influx of tourists, pandemonium forms here and it becomes problematic to take good photos without strangers in the frame.

We arrived at the beach with planes at 9 am and, despite the early morning, there were already people who wanted to take a photo, most likely they were guests of a neighboring hotel.

Airplanes landed quite often until 10 in the morning, but then there was a short break and we went to rest further to the north of Mai Khao beach, and then to the south, to Nai Yang beach, from where you can also watch landing planes over Phuket 🙂

In order to take beautiful photos with planes landing over the sea and the beach, you need to guess so that on that day there would be a “correct” wind and the planes would land from the sea, because. planes don't always land on this side. We were lucky with the wind and landing 🙂 But the take-off of all the planes, except for one, that day was in the opposite direction from the sea.

Photos with airplanes turn out to be interesting, but already looking at these photos at home, I understand that I should have photographed from a longer distance and from below. Many professional photographers come to this beach to shoot photo shoots, you need to peep from them what angles they take pictures from 🙂 I saw cool photos on the Internet where a girl scratches the “tummy” of an airplane, we didn’t get such photos ... To be honest, to stand over a flying I was a little scared with a plane over my head… And after the plane flies, a strong wind rises and sand flies into my eyes, blowing things away, so be careful! I lost my favorite earring on this beach, it was impossible to find it in the sand 🙁

Now a few words about the beach itself, or rather about the part of the beach that is next to the airport. The sand here is very coarse and yellow, I don't like this kind of sand. The water in the sea is clear, in the high season the sea is calm, in summer there are waves in this part of the island. The beach is quite dirty, there are mountains of garbage everywhere, a small river flows into the sea. There are no shadows in the center of the beach, in the place where everyone is waiting for planes, but to the north near the hotel there is a causarine grove where you can hide from the scorching sun. Despite the absence of palm trees, this part of the beach with airplanes for some reason reminded me of.

Where is it located and how to get to the beach with airplanes in Phuket

Phuket Airplane Beach is located in the northwest of the island, almost at the exit from Phuket to the mainland. Beach coordinates with planes: 8.111991, 98.301942

The distance from the popular Patong Beach to the beach with airplanes is just over 40 km. A taxi will cost 900-1000 baht one way. But I know that in social networks they offer a Russian taxi for 1400 baht round trip with an hour wait on the beach.

From Phuket Town to the beach with planes 35 km. You can take the Airport Bus to the airport, go to Nai Yang Beach and walk along it to the place where the planes land. Airport Bus departs from the old bus terminal in Phuket Town (coordinates: 7.884055,98.395671) from 6 am to 6:30 pm approximately every hour. The fare is 100 baht.

We biked from our condo to Kathu for over an hour. Traffic jams in Phuket are still the same!

How to get to the beach with planes

Well, now the most important thing is how to get to the beach with airplanes, where to leave the transport so that you don’t have to go very far along the seashore. Before going to the beach, I tried in vain to find the answer to this question. Everyone wrote somehow vaguely: the landmark Grand West Sands Resort Hotel (formerly the Centara Hotel) to the north or the Maya Phuket Hotel to the south of the airport. Someone even suggested leaving the transport in the airport parking lot, and then go on foot! Below I will tell you how to get as close as possible to the point indicated on Google maps as the Aeroport view point.

We drive from the south / center of Phuket, pass the airport and almost immediately turn left onto road 3033, there will also be a sign for Mai Khao Temple. We drive until we hit a T-junction with a 7 leven store on the corner. Then there are two options. One option is not very correct, but I will write about it anyway.

Option 1

From 7 eleven we turn left, pass the turn to the water park and on the next turn to the right and almost run into the hotel. You can try to leave the transport in the hotel parking lot and go through the hotel, or there is a road with a barrier nearby (coordinates: 8.116090, 98.306177), sometimes a security guard sits there. He did not want to let us in, so we left the bike nearby and went on foot. But, as I understood from the reviews, the security guard in this place is either there or not. If there is no one, then you can safely drive under the barrier and go along the road to the sea. And there are literally a few steps and the coveted beach.

Option 2

At the crossroads, where 7 leven we turn right, and then into one of the streets to the left. For example here: 8.123953, 98.308099 and get to the point 8.120987, 98.302011 next to the Coriacea Boutique Resort hotel. The car will most likely have to be left here, but on a bike you can drive along the path along the sea, past the villas of the Grand West Sands hotel, almost to the place where the planes land.

If we talk about the passage to the beach on the south side of the airport, from Nai Yang beach, then it is advised to leave the transport near the Maya Phuket Hotel, and then go on foot. Nearby is the entrance to the Sirinat National Park, the entrance to which is paid - 200 baht per person! (it is not clear why? The dirt is still there!). Yes, and then go along the seashore to the point where planes land far away. I do not recommend this path.

• I advise you to come to the beach where planes land as early as possible! The best time is from 7 am to 10 am
• There is no shade on the beach, where everyone is waiting for planes, during the day it is very, very hot. Sunscreen, light clothing with long sleeves, a hat and you can wait for takeoff and landing 🙂
• Here the sun sets in the sea, so it’s good in the evening at sunset, but the photos of the planes will turn out against the sun
• Take water / food with you to the beach, there are no cafes and other infrastructure on the seashore
• If someone, like me, needs a fresh shower after the sea: there is a shower at the entrance from the beach to the Grand West Sands hotel

Photo

For those who are afraid to fly :)

1. Princess Juliana International Airport, Fr. Saint Martin

This post has been translated and compiled specifically for Pikabu.ru (you finally go to it :))), just kidding :) in fact, we are growing and prospering)

Princess Juliana International Airport serves Sint Martin, the Dutch part of Saint Maarten. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. The runway is only 2,180 meters long, barely enough for large airliners. Pilots have to land very low, right over Maho Beach.

That's why this place is so popular with planespotters. It is difficult to believe in the authenticity of the pictures of giant liners flying at a height of 10-20 meters above sunbathing tourists, however, they are real. Despite difficult take-off and landing conditions, not a single accident has been recorded at this airport so far.

And here is the video of the landing:

2. Huancho Airport - Irauskin, Saba Island

Juancho Airport is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, Netherlands Antilles. It is widely known among experienced pilots due to the size of the runway.

Juancho Airport occupies a fairly large part of the small island of Saba. Some experts are of the opinion that the airport is one of the most dangerous in the world, despite the fact that no accidents have occurred here. There is an X on each side of the runway to indicate that the airport is closed to commercial aviation.

The threat is the location of the airport. On the one hand, high mountains, and on the other - the sea and sheer cliffs. The danger is that when landing or taking off, the aircraft may go off the runway.

3. Courchevel Airport

Courchevel is the largest ski resort in the world, located in the French Alps. Courchevel Airport is notorious in aviation for its short runway, 525 m (1,722 ft) long and 18.5% slope. You have to land and take off on a slope to set the required speed.

Who can land here? Well, Pierce Brosnan would make that small list. It is this airport that is shown at the beginning of the movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". For the rest, the only way to get here is by private planes, helicopters, charter flights. Pilots go through extensive training to land in the CVF.

You can skip right to the 4th minute, before that there are a lot of conversations and a flight. And landing, judging by the video, is really very difficult ...

4. Gustav III Airport, St. Barthélemy

Gustav III Public Airport is located in Saint-Jean on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy. Most passenger planes, such as the Twin Otter, carry less than twenty passengers and are designed to give vacationers a glimpse of the island from above. A short runway runs down the slope and ends right at the beach. Airplanes take off over the heads of tourists, everywhere there are signs prohibiting being at the end of the runway.

And here crash aircraft at this airport

5. Barra International Airport

Barra Airport is the only airport in the world where planes land on the beach. The airport is located on the wide beach of Tri More, on the Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. If you want to get here on a commercial plane, you can book tickets from British Airways, there are flights to Barra from Glasgow and Benbecula.

The airport literally floods with high tide once a day. If you arrive in the evening, you will notice several cars in the parking lot with their headlights on. This is additional lighting, as the airport is not designed for night flights. You probably don't want to walk along the beach at Barra Airport, unless you're a fan of aviation. For such cases, signs are placed everywhere: “When the windsock is up and the airport is working, it is forbidden to be on the beach.”

landed right on the beach)) looks unusual)

6. Madeira Airport (Portugal)

Madeira International Airport, also known as Funchal Airport and Santa Catarina Airport. It operates national and international air services on the island of Madeira. Madeira Airport is considered one of the most dangerous because of the short runway surrounded by high mountains and the ocean. This arrangement and the length of the runway makes landing very difficult for even the most experienced pilots.

Previously, the runway was only 1400 m long, but after a plane crash in 1977, it was decided to increase the length of the runway by 400 m. reinforced concrete pillars about 70m high

For the expansion of the new runway, Funchal Airport received the Outstanding Structures award from the international association IABSE. In Portugal, this award is considered the "Oscars" of engineering.

7. Lukla Airport, Nepal

A huge mountain on one side, and a kilometer cliff on the other. And this is at an altitude of 2900 m, not so much depends on you.

Lukla Airport is a small airport in eastern Nepal. In January 2008, the Nepalese government announced that the airport would be renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mount Everest. The airport is very popular, as in the city of Lukla, many begin climbing Everest. You can read more about this airport