Forget the aisle seat – the window seat is where it's at. You get extra privacy, a surface to lean on to sleep, and most importantly, an incredible view when you land at your destination.
However, not all airport landings are created equal. To determine the views worth snagging a window seat for, travel insurance firm AllClear gathered 100 participants to look at images of 32 airports known for their gorgeous landings. Analysts then used eye-tracking technology to see which airport landings caught participants' eyes the quickest and held their attention the longest, cross-referencing the two to determine the final ranking.
The most stunning airport landing in Asia? Paro Airport in Bhutan, ranked No. 8 on the list. It's not hard to see why – this airport is flanked by two 5,000-metre-tall mountains, where majestic dzongs (Bhutanese fortresses) perch. An impressive range covered in lush forest (or powdery snow in winter) stretches into the distance.
Only one other Asian airport made it to AllClear's list: Lukla Airport in Nepal at joint No. 10. Surprise, surprise! It's another Himalayan country, which means more drop-dead gorgeous views of stupendous snow-capped mountains from your airplane window. In fact, there's a massive mountainous wall off one end of the runway and a steep drop into a valley off the other.
Fun fact: Paro Airport and Lukla Airport's spectacular terrain make them among the most challenging airport landings in the world. Only a handful of pilots have the special training to navigate the airports' short runways, high elevation, and unpredictable weather. What's more, pilots have to stick the landing manually, without the help of air navigation or radar systems. Knowing this, perhaps it's worth uttering a little prayer even as you keep your eyes wide open to take in those breathtaking aerial views.
The most beautiful airport landings in the world:
1. Lord Howe Island Airport, Australia (85 points)
2. Queenstown Airport, New Zealand (79 points)
3. Madeira Airport, Portugal (77 points)
= Pitkin County Airport, United States of America (77 points)
5. Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport, Brazil (76 points)
= London City Airport, United Kingdom (76 points)
7. Innsbruck Airport, Austria (74 points)
8. Paro Airport, Bhutan (72 points)
9. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Caribbean Netherlands (69 points)
10. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, United States of America (68 points)
= Lukla Airport, Nepal (68 points)
12. Seychelles International Airport, Seychelles (65 points)
= Telluride Regional Airport, United States of America (65 points)
= Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, France (65 points)
15. Wellington International Airport, New Zealand (60 points)
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