The world's 10 most scenic airport approaches

I don't mind flying onto Cairns airport. You see the tropical rainforest on the hills.

I love flying into London (best view from right side of the plane) - a good approach line takes you right over the city with The Thames, London Eye and Houses of Parliament right below!

Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto is fantastic, I dont know why more people dont know about it.

Sure you have to fly in on a propellor aircraft, but with Porter flying in a Q400 from many US cities it is a very good choice.

Also, the immigration queues are almost non existant here. You can be off the plane and in the middle of Toronto in less than 20 minutes

Also, had a great arrival path into Vienna some years ago - flying in winter, the ground below totally blanketed in snow except for the Schönbrunn Palace and grounds - a true 'picture postcard' view.

Beirut Airport is also a great airport with a view of the snow capped mouintains

LCY is not only scenic, but you're out of the terminal and into a cab in 10-15 minutes. It's like landing at Kalgoorlie! I cannot recommend it highly enough to those travelling for Europe to London.

Surely Laguardia ? On the left, an incredible view of the manhattan skyline. Makes the empire state building look like lego.

Hong Kong approaches are amazing.You see the Island and lantau coming in.Not the same as Kaitak for those of us old enough to remember those days but just as good.

Some of the approaches into Sydney are very nice, especially coming into the airport in the early morning, when mist sits in the valleys around the Hawkesbury and the morning sun shimmers off the sea as you fly past the landmarks of the Harbour and CBD.

On a good day flying up the Thames and into Heathrow and into the Gold Coast can also be gorgeous.

Definitely Milford Sound. Like flying into Jurassic Park!

How did Innsbruck not make this list? 

You fly up a valley surrounded by 3000metre peaks. It's an incredible approach, and one for which Pilots must do a specific annual qualifying course.

There is something quite magical about arriving into LAX at the break of dawn, as the aircraft descend and breaks into the clouds. The view of the Pacific Ocean giving way to the orderly rows of human habitation interspersed with the long, seemingly unending highways. Your eyes transfixed on the airflow over wing; the air heavy with mist. Just then from corner of your eyes, as if greeting the landing aircraft, are the numerous hotels surrounding the airport. With the sound of the wheels touching ground, you catch a glimpse of all the other aircrafts come in from across the dead night of the Pacific. Each travelling back in time to arrive once again to the morning that has been.

In my experience a westbound approach into LHR is far more scenic than than approaching LCY, chance to fly past all of central London, stunning.

Barcelona El Prat airport can also offer some wonderful views on approach.

Santos Dumont, downtown Rio de Janeiro. One of the approaches is stunning (via the Christ Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain).

Totally agree with David.  The approach into Heathrow is amazing especially if you are sat on the right hand side.  The approach basically follows the Thames all the way to LHR so you fly over LCY, then the city of London followed by Tower Bridge, St Pauls, The Shard, Houses of Westminster/Buckingham Palace etc etc.  

Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. For most it won't be a business destination, but the approach is great., over the lagoon with impossibly blue water from turquoise to ultramarine.

For business trips, I quite like Hong Kong. Even the new airport.

Cocos Island is in the top 10 for me

SFO is amzing as well, with the full view of the bay area nad the golden gate bridge.

Glad to see Queenstown on the list.  I have to agree.  Also note that it is awesome being in the bus going up to the Remarkables and seeing what appear to be wee little A320s and B737s coming into land below.

MLE does it for me! Just keep dropping out of the sky with nothing but ocean beneath. And then you see the airport.

Awesome!

Innsbruck is a pretty cool approach a bit like Queenstown.

What about Wellington?  Especially from the north and seeing the city out to the right.  But also coming in low over Cook Strait from the South is pretty amazing on a windy day.

It has to be Lukla (Tenzing - Hillary) Airport, Nepal. Although probably not right now.

St Barts is definitely one that gets the blood pumping. Not one for the faint-hearted!

Don't forget the scenery you get flying in and out of Paro Airport, Bhutan. If the Himalayas and the local mountains don't impress you, I don't know what will.

Gibraltar isn't an island as stated in the article.

Doing #1 for the first time in August. I've driven there, but can't wait to fly in. Moreover, I'd love to be flying in to play a game at the Queenstown Cricket Club.

Doing #1 for the first time in August. I've driven there, but can't wait to fly in. Moreover, I'd love to be flying in to play a game at the Queenstown Cricket Club.

I think you will find that #5 is on the French side of the island which is called Sint Maarten. The Dutch side is called Saint Martin and has its own airport.

Rio's second airport, Santos Dumont, has to be up there. Take off involves flying straight at Sugar Loaf Mountain followed by a hard bank to the right to avoid it! Landing is pretty crazy too!!

I reckon the best airport view is the one you call home, especially when you've been away for 3 or 4 weeks.  Perth is not the best looking airport around, but it's always good to land there.

I remember flying into Buenos Aires on a Qf flight and we flew over the Monumental stadium at night while there was a game on, seeing the lights, flares and smoke rising from the stadium still gives me chills.

Nice. Philippines have a lot of airports too. You can see green forest and grass land. Come visit us :)

1. Santiago, Chile (SCL) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE) - takeoff from SCL on a hot, clear day and soaring over ice-capped Andes mountains within 15 minutes at lower atltitude is pretty spectacular and provides great photo ops.

2. Let's not forget taking off from Honolulu HNL and the immediate turn to miss Diamond Head can be a bit confronting if you've not done it before. Seeing the large 'Turn right, now' sign on the Diamond Head headland always provides a bit of a chuckle, for me.

.. a couple of other that I should have added above:

3. Flying over the dormant caldera of the extinct volcano surrounding downtown Caracas,Venezuela (CCS) is a sight to see. And after landing, taking ground transport into the city which has multiple significant tunnels through the edge is a bit mind-blowing.

4. Hong Kong (HKG) has always been a sight, whether the current new airport or the older one, which inspires photographs. Highrise, high-density cityscape certainly meets nature.

5. Landing into either Santorini or Mykonos, Greece (JMK) always provides a snapshop of how insignificant a small island hosting glorious nature sites in a sea of blue can be a real eye-opener of how vast this earth is.

6. Landing on an uphill runway (or taking off downhill on a mountain-perched runway in Lae, New Guinea in the late 1960's as a young lad is also one that I won't forget in a hurry. Ah, the days of DC-3's and 'jungle transport'.

Don't forget your own back yard. I've been lucky enough to fly into many of those mentioned in the article and the comments, but few will go near arriving over Sydney at dawn on a clear morning, like recently being vectored towards 16R (so saw all the northern beaches) before sent around to land on 34L (so a nice view of the City and Royal National Park. Gorgeous. Happy to post photos!