Lukla Airport (Tenzing-Hillary), Nepal

A 527-meter runway carved into a Himalayan cliff at 9,334 feet with a 12% gradient offers no go-arounds, making this Everest gateway statistically one of the deadliest airports on Earth. Over 30 aviation incidents have occurred here since 1973, a fatality rate per flight that far surpasses #4 Madeira's largely incident-free record. Pilots must navigate a sheer drop at the runway's end, landing uphill to slow down and taking off downhill to gain speed—a feat that claims lives roughly every 3 years on average. This perilous profile, combined with unpredictable mountain weather, solidifies Lukla's reputation as the world's most dangerous airfield.