LAX, JFK, Singapore Changi... These are some of the biggest and most famous aviation hubs in the world. But what about the little guys? Amazing airports don't have to be huge. From the world's southernmost and northernmost airports to terminals with cosy log fires and freshly cooked lobster to take away, here we explore some of the coolest and quirkiest lesser-known airports around the world.
Click through the gallery to discover the world's best airports you've probably never heard of...
With its futuristic design, the international terminal at this airport just outside of Azerbaijan's capital Baku is a pretty cool space to find yourself in transit. Designed by Turkish architect studio Autoban in 2015, the triangular building features glass bubbles that lead into a check-in area scattered with trees and full of natural light.
The striking wooden cocoons on the top floor of the terminal are one of its many distinctive design features. The spacious structures house cafes, bars, shopping kiosks, a children's play area and luggage storage space among other things. Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport is the home base for national carrier Azerbaijan Airlines and was ranked 57 in Skytrax’s list of the world’s top 100 airports in 2024.
Unless you've flown in to visit Yellowstone National Park, you might not be familiar with this small airport in Montana's Gallatin County. However, with direct flights to over 30 North American destinations, it is the state's busiest airport, handling approximately 2.46 million passengers in 2023. The airport serves as a gateway to two of Yellowstone National Park's entrances and provides access to Montana's popular ski resorts such as Big Sky Resort and Bridger Bowl.
Its cosy interior is the perfect introduction to the region's rugged flora and fauna, with a natural wood and stone design. In fact, it feels more like a log cabin than an airport – there are wooden animal sculptures and a crackling open fire in winter. Pair that with views of the snow-capped mountains in the distance and this is one airport that might be difficult to leave. There’s also local works of art on display throughout the terminal, chosen to represent the character of southwest Montana.
Less of a runway and more of a beach, this airport on the island of Barra in Scotland has one of the most exciting landings in the world. Sitting in the shallow bay of Traigh Mhor in the Outer Hebrides, the tiny aviation centre primarily operates flights to and from Glasgow with Loganair. But it's not as simple as setting a departure time and taking to the skies here.
Barra Airport's runway is the wide, shallow bay of Traigh Mhor, making it the only airport in the world where scheduled flights land and take off from a tidal beach. At certain times of the day, the runway is underwater, so flight schedules are dictated by the tides. Wooden poles mark the ends of the runways, and the airport's facilities are minimal. However, when landing on the soft white sand of the Isle of Barra, these details fade into the background. The experience is all about the breathtaking scenery and unique setting of this remarkable airport.
Chile's Easter Island sits more than 2,300 miles (3,700km) from the mainland capital, and with just one town and some 7,000 residents, it's a beautifully remote and quiet place. The airport here is no exception – there's no restaurant or cafe in the terminal building and not a single hotel onsite. But Mataveri's small size and limited facilities are all part of the adventure.
With animal sculptures and natural wooden accents, Mataveri International sets the scene perfectly for any visit to Easter Island. Its runway was extended in the 1980s to serve as an emergency landing strip for the US Space Shuttle programme, although it was never used for that purpose. Today, LATAM Airlines operates direct flights to Santiago from the airport, connecting the mystical island with the bustling mainland.
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The largest airport in Uruguay – 11 miles (18km) east of capital Montevideo – was given a shiny facelift by Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Vinoly back in 2009 and still looks pretty snazzy over a decade later. One of its best features is the landscaped terrace on the second floor, where passengers can while away the hours gazing at the runway or public concourse.
The terminal was designed to let in lots of natural light and has a distinctive 1,200-foot (366m) curved roof, reminiscent of the rolling dunes along Uruguay's coastline. Carrasco offers direct flights to destinations such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Spain and the United States.
With the promise of no queues and direct flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, NYC and Washington DC, this small airport near downtown Chattanooga in southeastern Tennessee is a smart choice. But it’s also paving the way for sustainable travel. It's the first airport in the US to run fully on solar power, with its own 2.64 megawatt solar farm.
Chattanooga's terminal was the first in the world to earn a LEED Platinum rating – a green building certification system – and its on-site solar farm, located on the southwest corner of the airfield, powers all its operations and produces approximately 100% of the energy the aviation hub consumes.
Some airports have artwork on display, others have gardens or waterfalls. This airport, though, has a life-size replica sequoia forest in the central lobby. As the gateway airport to California’s Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, the terminal's leafy installation certainly sets the tone for exploring the region’s bountiful natural beauty. The meticulously hand-sculpted tree replicas not only create the illusion of a forest, but the giant trunks also appear to support the roof of the terminal.
The airport is located in California’s Central Valle and offers regular non-stop flights to a variety of destinations. These include Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as Guadalajara, Leon, and Morelia in Mexico. It also entertains passengers with regularly changing art exhibitions that feature the work of local creatives.
You're not imagining it: that is a train you see chugging across the runway at Gisborne Airport in New Zealand. The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line crosses straight through the airport on the east coast of North Island, making it one of the few airports in the world with a railway line crossing the main runway. This unique feature requires careful coordination between train and air traffic to ensure safety.
Air New Zealand operates direct flights to Gisborne from both Wellington and Auckland, with flight durations of approximately one hour from each city. Lauded as the most sustainable aviation terminal in the country, it is both energy and water neutral, equipped with solar panels, rammed earth walls and systems to harvest rainwater.
The largest airport in China’s Hainan Province, an island that lies 14 miles (22.5km) off the mainland in the South China Sea, Haikou Meilan International Airport was the first airport in China to receive the Skytrax 5-Star Regional Airport rating and was rated number 27 on Skytrax’s list of the world’s top 100 airports in 2024. It typically operates domestic routes to cities across China, as well as routes around Southeast Asia like Bangkok and Singapore.
One of the reasons the airport achieved its five-star rating is its excellent facilities. As well as high-end shopping, passengers in transit can enjoy a variety of dining options, including the famous Hainanese specialty Wenchang chicken, known for its unique preparation using hens fed on banyan seeds. Terminal 2, which was inaugurated in December 2021, has further enhanced the airport's capacity and services, featuring advanced facilities such as facial recognition technology to improve passenger processing times.
This international transit hub in Nova Scotia might be small, but it welcomed more than 3.5 million passengers in 2023. This bustling hub has been connecting Canadians and beyond since 1960 and is gearing up for a major upgrade. By 2025, a brand-new international connections facility will make transferring to domestic flights smoother than ever.
Nova Scotia is renowned for its lobster, and passengers arriving or departing at Halifax Stanfield needn't go far to get some of this meaty, delicious shellfish. The airport has its own seafood shop – Clearwater Seafood – that sells local catch including live and cooked lobsters. In a rush? You can even have your order packed up and brought to you after you go through security. Now that's service.
Formally known as Bob Hope Airport and renamed Hollywood Burbank Airport in 2017, this terminal on North Hollywood Way is approximately 12 miles (19km) from downtown LA. Served by nine commercial airlines (Alaska, American, Avelo, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United), it is far less busy than Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), serving around six million passengers annually compared with LAX's more than 75 million.
While it is primarily a civilian airport, Hollywood Burbank also sees around 390 operations per year. In its 94-year history, the airport has gone through a long series of name changes, including United Airport (1930-1934), Union Air Terminal (1934-1940), Lockheed Air Terminal (1940-1967), Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967-1978), Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978-2003) and the aforementioned Bob Hope Airport.
Named after former president and poet Jose Joaquin de Olmedo, whose image presides over the entrance, the airport in Ecuador’s largest city Guayaquil was rated the second best regional airport in South America in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2024.
Most airports tend to be concrete jungles but not Guayaquil’s verdant building, which brings some of Ecuador’s lush flora to passengers in transit. The terminal has a tranquil botanical garden area, complete with trickling water features, pools full of fish and a variety of native plants and flowers. It's a zen place to get in the zone before a long-haul flight.
The main airport on the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, Juancho E. Yrausquin is notorious for its scary runway – at only 1,312 feet (400m) long it's the shortest commercial runway in the world. Not only that, but the airstrip is also flanked by precipitous cliff drops at both ends, meaning only specialist pilots are permitted to use it.
However, those that dare board the 19-seater de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter utility aircraft from sister isle St Maarten (also renowned for its dicey plane landings) will be wowed with incredible views of the volcanic island rising out of the startlingly blue Caribbean Sea. The flight to Saba’s Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is incredibly short, taking only about 12 to 15 minutes, but it promises to be one of the most memorable of your life.
Where else but Sydney could visitors graze on a platter of oysters or enjoy a mango pavlova before boarding a flight? The Rose Bay Water Airport in the city's affluent eastern suburbs is where Sydney Seaplanes depart for their scenic flights over Sydney Harbour, Bondi Beach and Shark Island.
The Empire Lounge, which opened in 2017, is a fantastic waterside bar and restaurant that doubles as the terminal. It’s also popular with non-passengers who can enjoy a drink as they watch the seaplanes come and go. Rose Bay also played a key part in the history of the city's 'flying boats', which first took to the skies here in 1938 and were deployed during the Second World War – they played a crucial role in transporting supplies and conducting reconnaissance missions.
Surrounded by the icy wilderness of the Svalbard archipelago, this airport is the northernmost commercial airport in the world. Building a runway here was no mean feat – it was constructed on a layer of permafrost and fluctuating temperatures meant frequent repaving was needed. However, insulation has been added to keep the runway stable.
Most travellers arrive on this remote airstrip in Longyearbyen on direct flights from Oslo and Tromso to go polar bear spotting – the animals outnumber humans on these far-flung islands that lie between Norway and the North Pole. Arctic expeditions get off to a promising start here, as visitors are greeted by a gigantic stuffed polar bear prowling around the baggage carousel in the arrivals area.
This avant-garde airport near the medieval UNESCO World Heritage town of Mestia might be small but it’s certainly memorable. It was designed by architect Jurgen Mayer, who was inspired by the ancient watchtowers of Mestia. The monochrome airport, which opened in 2010 and connects the remote region with capital Tbilisi, is named after Queen Tamar of Georgia, who ruled the country from 1184 to 1213.
The short flight from Tbilisi to Mestia, in the Upper Svaneti region in the northwest of Georgia, takes passengers over some of the country's most incredible mountain scenery and medieval villages. Visible from the air are some of the old stone watchtowers that are typical of the region and which inspired the airport’s design.
As the southernmost international airport in the world serving the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia International Airport, officially known as Malvinas Argentinas International Airport, is a remarkable place. The airport sits right by the Beagle Channel, the strait in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the southern tip of South America. From the air, the simple but striking timber-framed terminal building blends seamlessly with its dramatic surroundings.
Its facilities might not be anything to write home about, but it’s all about the setting here. Arriving in Ushuaia by plane offers a taster of the breathtaking views that are yet to come on a trip to this spectacular part of Argentina’s Patagonia, on a cruise over to the Falkland Islands or an Antarctic adventure.
Surrounded by the soaring Himalayas, this is Bhutan’s only international airport. While landing in Paro makes for one of the most spectacular descents on Earth, it’s also one of the most challenging – only specially certified pilots are allowed to touch down here. This is because the airport’s tiny runway only becomes visible at the last moment, so planes must arrive during daylight hours.
With no radar to guide aircraft into Paro, the captain has to fly manually, using visual landmarks to determine the speed and altitude they should be travelling at. But once you safely hit the tarmac and enter the airport, you’ll receive a very warm welcome. A vibrant mural featuring the Paro Dzong (fortress) awaits travellers in the arrivals hall.
Ranked an impressive 18th in Skytrax’s Top 100 Airports for 2024, Kansai International sits on a man-made island in the middle of Osaka Bay. Purpose-built between 1987 and 1994, the airport serves the cities of Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka and was engineered to withstand natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons.
Travellers can reach the island airport by vehicle bridges, high-speed ferry or express train. The incredibly cute (or 'kawaii') Hello Kitty HARUKA rail service (pictured) has connected Kansai to Osaka and Kyoto since 2019. Kids (and enthusiastic adults) will love looking out for the four different designs that can be seen on the train’s livery.
A rocky spur of land off the southern coast of Spain, Gibraltar has been a British Overseas Territory since 1713 and was officially declared a city for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022. Its airport, owned by the Ministry of Defence, was built during the Second World War and today offers commercial flights to and from the UK with British Airways and easyJet.
The unusual thing about this airport is its runway is intersected by Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar’s busiest road and the only one connecting the headland to Spain. So whenever a plane needs to take off or land, a barrier (not unlike a railway crossing) comes down to hold back the cars on either side.