There are train crossings, bicycle crossings, footpath crossings, and even crossings for animals. Did you know that in Gibraltar, there are planes crossing on a heavily trafficked road?
Imagine slamming on your brakes not for a red light or pedestrian crossing, but for a massive commercial aircraft thundering just feet above your windshield—this wasn’t some Hollywood stunt, but the daily reality at what might be the world’s most dangerously insane airport design.
For decades, Gibraltar’s notorious runway-slicing roadway forced thousands of motorists to play a high-stakes game of chicken with jumbo jets, a transportation nightmare so absurd that aviation experts ranked it among the world’s most extreme airports—ahead of the infamous Kai Tak that terrorized pilots for generations.
The Road that Crosses the Sky
In the tiny British territory of Gibraltar, where space comes at an absolute premium—just 6.8 square kilometres of rocky terrain—city planners made what could be the most shocking infrastructure decision in aviation history. Winston Churchill Avenue, the main four-lane highway connecting Gibraltar to neighbouring Spain, brazenly cuts directly through the middle of the airport’s only runway.
Until recently, this mind-boggling arrangement created scenes straight from an action film: traffic barriers dropping, engines revving in frustration, and lines of cars, cyclists, and pedestrians forced to wait as enormous aircraft taxied across the tarmac. This wasn’t a rare occurrence—it happened a staggering 15 times daily, creating traffic chaos that locals simply accepted as part of Gibraltar life.
Danger at Every Crossing
The Gibraltar International Airport didn’t just inconvenience drivers—it ranked fifth on the infamous list of the world’s most “extreme airports,” outranking even Hong Kong’s now-defunct Kai Tak airport where pilots had to navigate between skyscrapers. The runway-road combo transformed everyday commutes into potential disaster scenarios, with aircraft and automobiles sharing the same strip of tarmac in a dance of steel that defied safety logic.
Pedestrians brave enough to cross experienced the bizarre thrill of walking across the very same runway they might have landed on mere minutes before. The airport’s official website even encouraged this questionable behaviour, calling it “one of the many unusual tourist attractions of Gibraltar” while simultaneously warning visitors not to linger too long for those Instagram-worthy shots. “After all,” they cheerfully noted, “a plane is likely to be landing or taking off soon.”
A Social Media Sensation
In our era of viral content, Gibraltar Airport’s outrageous design became social media gold. Tourism promoters leaned heavily into the absurdity, creating posts that asked followers: “Imagine stopping at a red light… not for a car, but for an airplane!” They even invited visitors to recreate the legendary John Lennon and Yoko Ono wedding photo with aircraft in the background—a bizarre photo opportunity that drew thrillseekers from around the globe.
The spot near Air Traffic Control became the ultimate selfie location, with tourists risking valuable seconds on an active runway for the perfect shot. RAF Gibraltar eventually issued safety guidelines that read more like desperate pleas: “Please don’t stay too long on the runway” and “Check your pockets! Don’t let your valuables fall out in the wind”—practical advice rarely needed at more conventional transport hubs.
A Solution Decades in the Making
As Gibraltar’s tourism boomed and flight frequencies increased, the pressure to solve this transportation catastrophe mounted. Citizens demanded a road that wouldn’t shut down multiple times daily, and aviation safety experts questioned how this arrangement had lasted so long without disaster.
Finally, on March 31, 2023, after years of planning and construction, authorities opened a bypass tunnel that redirected private vehicles away from the death-defying crossing. A second tunnel was built specifically for pedestrians and cyclists, though remarkably, foot traffic can still cross the active runway—with appropriate warnings, of course.
A Peculiar History
The origins of this aviation oddity trace back to 1939, when the airfield was first constructed on what was originally Gibraltar’s horse racing track. Later operating as RAF North Front during the 1940s, the facility expanded its offerings to civilian travel while maintaining military control—the entire runway and aerodrome remain owned by the Ministry of Defence and operated as RAF Gibraltar.
Today, despite its small size, the airport primarily serves British Airways and EasyJet flights from the United Kingdom, along with limited service from Royal Air Maroc. But its reputation far exceeds its flight schedule, cementing Gibraltar International Airport in aviation lore as the place where the laws of common sense were suspended in mid-air.
While the new tunnel system has largely solved the traffic nightmare, the legacy of Gibraltar’s runway-road intersection lives on as perhaps the most extraordinary example of what happens when extreme space limitations meet questionable planning decisions. For those lucky enough to have experienced a red light for a jumbo jet—it’s a traffic story that will never be topped.
