The Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport on the Greek isle of Skiathos is famous for the incredibly low approach angle jets need to take to land. This week, a Wizz Air flight may have made the closest landing yet, clearing spectators’ by mere yards.
The airport on Skiathos is a well-known spot for jet enthusiasts and thrill seekers to get up close views of incoming flights. This massive Airbus A321neo came down so close to spectators that some got knocked off their feet from the force of the engines. Spectators ducked or held on tight to the traffic barrier as the massive jet turbines forced a powerful jet of air over the crowd.
While it’s not for certain to be the lowest approach ever attempted at this airport, the YouTube channel Great Flyer, which is devoted to videos designed to thrill jet enthusiasts, seems to think this landing was particularly close.
Somehow, the camera man on the road kept his cool as everyone else ducked for cover. The particularly low landing was due to hot weather and the position of the airport. The runway is very short, leaving very little room for error or time to stop. Pilots have to get very low to maximize space for the jets to come to a safe stop. The runway is so short that some planes take off with less fuel in order to get off the ground quickly and then stop to refuel at the nearby Thessaloniki airport, the Daily Mail reports.
There are signs and lights warning visitors not to get too close to the airport, but they go largely ignored. Tourists regularly get knocked off their feet while watching descents. In 2018, a British 12-year-old boy was launched 30 feet from the airport-side of the road and on to the sandy beach by an Airbus 320. He survived the ordeal, but it’s a good reminder that standing next to powerful jet aircraft as they land is probably not the best idea.