Altiport
An Altiport is an airfield in the high mountains. Since planes take off and land against the wind whenever possible, the runways of a normal airfield are used depending on the current wind direction . This is usually not possible at Altiports due to geographical conditions, as steep climbs or rock faces limit the departure or approach to one direction. Another reason for this restriction can be a steep gradient in the runway, which makes it impossible to take off or land downhill.
In general, Altiports place high demands on the pilots and the aircraft, so that only specially trained pilots fly to such airports. A great danger is that it is practically impossible to abort a landing, as there is often no go-around. Since the runways are mostly short, aircraft with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) properties are usually used, which have enough reserve to be able to take off and land even with a tailwind. Aircraft types that can operate Altiports are z. B. the Twin Otter , the Pilatus Porter , the Dornier Do 228 and the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander .
Well-known Altiports are in Lukla (Nepal), Courchevel and Megève (both France).