Sunday, September 6, 2015

An interesting runway (in the sense of the Chinese curse)


There's an anecdotal Chinese curse that runs "May you live in interesting times".  The runway at Gibraltar Airport looks like a version that says "May you fly into and out of interesting places".  It crosses a peninsula, so that it's bounded by ocean at both ends;  and in the middle, it crosses Winston Churchill Avenue, the four-lane highway connecting Gibraltar to Spain.  Traffic (both pedestrian and vehicular) flows back and forth along the road except when aircraft movements are scheduled, at which time it's blocked off by traffic lights and barriers until the planes have finished doing their thing.

I'm obliged to a reader for telling me about it, and sending the link to this interesting video perspective on the runway, shot from high up on the Rock of Gibraltar itself.  Watch it in full-screen mode for best results.





I wonder how much trouble they have with slow traffic (particularly pedestrians) who just won't hurry up and cross the runway, thereby holding everyone up?

Peter

6 comments:

Stu Garfath. Sydney, OZ. said...

As there are many places in the world where vehicular traffic is easily routed via tunnel , Hong Kong Harbour, Sydney Harbour, and many more, why then is there no under runway tunnel for all traffic, vehicular and foot?.
If that was done, could the detritus be used to lengthen the runway?.
Just a thought.

Douglas2 said...

The waters on both sides are disputed territory between Spain and Gibraltar, so lengthening the runway is politically touchy.

A tunnel is under construction as part of a new terminal/border-crossing project.

skidmark said...

Slow traffic is slow only once. Then it is scraped off the runway or the low brown wall is washed away.

stay safe.

Old NFO said...

It's an interesting place... "Technically" the runway is located on Gibraltar, not Spain. Therefore, military and civilian approaches and departures are 'different'... http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M0lryz5Ozpg/maxresdefault.jpg

Military are cleared visual, not via Xray and Yankee due to their proximities to Spain. Also, the right side of the runway (in the video), is the military side.

Comrade Misfit said...

Clear approaches on either end. No powerlines on either end, nor trees.

St. Maarten looks harder.

0007 said...

I'll see your Gibraltar and raise you Resolution Island( closed since ~1976ish...).