Here are the 9 most unusual airports of the world

This airport sits on an artificial island especially created for housing the airport. Conceptualised by Italian designer Renzo Piano, it is connected to the mainland by only one Sky Road and quite visible while you are mid-air. The airport serves as the main international airport for the Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe areas in Japan.

This treacherous airport, which sits at an altitude of 9,200 ft, is one of several dangerous airports in the world. Surrounded by mountains, the airport is often used for those planning to visit Mt. Everest. The 460m long runway makes it riskier for planes to make safe landings. There are daily flights to Lukla from Kathmandu. According to sources, the airport does not have air controllers. The southern end of the runway leads to a steep valley below, so a wrong take-off could be a disaster difficult to avert.

Covered all around by the Indian Ocean, this 4,000-ft-long Agatti Airport looks like a strip of land sticking out of the blue waters. Designed for Dornier 228-type airplanes, this is the sole airport in Lakshadweep islands. The Airports Authority of India had planned to expand the runway to the nearby island of Kalpati to launch flights from an Airbus 320 or Boeing aircraft. But the plan was later scrapped due to a turtle nesting territory.

Think twice about landing on this one. Located off the Iberian Peninsula, this airport is both unique and dangerous. The main airfield of the airport has a busy highway cutting through its runway. Though it is monitored by the country's Ministry of Defence, the highway is open for civilian air traffic. Every time a landing takes place, the road on the busy Winston Churchill Avenue is shut. The airport only services flights to and from the UK.

The airport on the North Island of New Zealand is well-known for the railway line that sits in the middle on the main runway. Air traffic controllers are always in constant touch with railway authorities to keep a tab on landings and takeoffs and vice versa. The Palmerston North-Gisborne Line railway route crosses through this runway.

Declared as the shortest landing strip in the world, the runway of the airport in Saba, Caribbean Netherlands, is flanked by cliffs and only 1300-feet long. Landing and take off are real tests for pilots, though the experience is unforgettable. The Saba airport is a short flight from the Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Martin. The island is a hotspot for hikers and scuba divers.

The airport on the five-mile-wide, eight-mile-long island of Barra in Scotland was opened in 1936. It is perhaps the only airport in the world that uses a beach as a landing strip. The beach has three runways demarcated by poles and are in use only when the weather is conducive to safe landings and take-offs. The island is a favourite with windsurfers.

The airport on the ski resort town of Courchevel is located 6,000-ft above sea level on a slope in the French Alps. Having a 17,00-strip of tarmac, the treacherous runway consists of slopes. It is the only airport in Courchevel. Its unusual location makes this airport a big attraction. No wonder it also featured in the James Bond movie, 'Tomorrow Never Dies'.

Owned by the US, it is the main airstrip for the country's Antarctic programme; even though the runway is supposed to be quite strong even handling the Boeing 757, the problem comes up when the plane comes to a stop; it runs the risk of sinking the ice by a few inches.