What Crosses an Airport Runway?

The world of geo-oddities extends even to airport runways, and I’ve uncovered several curiosities over the past several days. The areas served by airports don’t always confine themselves to neat, tidy spaces. Oftentimes transportation resources represent a cooperative spirit between neighbors as they band together to meet a common need. Sometimes it’s just the opposite, with confounding designs reflecting deep-rooted hostilities and disagreements.


U.S. – Canada Border

We’ve spoken often of the intentionally porous border between Canada and the United States, the longest in the world. It’s a peaceful arrangement. This includes an International Boundary Commission working hard to dissipate any disagreements before they can fester. The boundary includes long stretches of vast empty spaces traversing North America’s interior mountains and prairies. Border stations congregate at widely-scattered towns that managed to gain a foothold.

It makes sense to share infrastructure among friendly neighbors instead of duplicating facilities on both sides of the boundary. This spirit of cooperation happens in several places along the shared border.

Piney Pinecreek

The runway of the Piney – Pinecreek Border Airport actually crosses the border itself. Thus, it straddles the line between the province of Manitoba and the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Transportation owns and operates the airport.

However, as the story goes, no good means existed to expand the runway further south when they upgraded it. Plenty of space was available on the Canadian side and the two came to an agreement.

Customs and border control isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. Route 89 runs alongside the airport and a single set of stations serves both aviation and automobile traffic.

And Some Others

Other shared airports exist along the border. But they are less impressive examples.


Geneva Cointrin International Airport

I found one more instance of similar international cooperation. The airport runway doesn’t cross a boundary but the two nations do share facilities.

Geneva Cointrin International Airport is located entirely on the Swiss side of the border but France clearly abuts the property. It contains a “French Sector” that passengers access from the French side of the border. Travelers do not have to pass through border controls as long as they remain within the sector. As the airport explains,

“One special feature of GVA is that it has a French sector that allows its users to: check their bags and take an internal flight to a French airport without having to pass through Swiss territory… check in baggage and take an international flight… reach neighbouring areas of France (Pays de Gex, Divonne-les-Bains, Bellegarde, French Jura range, the departements of Ain, Jura, etc.) easily… rent a hire car from a French agency… [or] get tourist and transport information relating to France, at the ‘Accueil France’ desk.”


Australia’s Gold Coast

Let’s not discount airports that cross state boundaries. It’s not as remarkable as crossing an international border but it’s interesting nonetheless. Australia’s Gold Coast contains a remarkable example.

The runway of the Gold Coast Airport straddles the boundary line between New South Wales and Queensland. If that were not enough, New South Wales observes daylight saving time during the summer months and Queensland does not. Theoretically, travelers would need to adjust their watches as they taxi down the runway. Even so, I imagine this probably doesn’t happen very often as a practical matter. It’s also the only instance of an airport runway crossing a timezone boundary that I could discover, although admittedly it’s a part-time situation.


Gibraltar

We’ve discussed several instances where bordering jurisdictions maintain good relationships and cooperate in good faith, being mindful of their mutual best interests. But what happens when neighbors don’t get along? It creates a situation like Gibraltar.

Gibraltar Airport runway. Photo by Mike McBey; (CC BY 2.0)

I could write at length about the historical situation of Gibraltar at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula (map). Anyway, let’s just boil it down for the sake of convenience: Spain wants it back. The border between Spain and this British Overseas Territory has been controlled tightly by Spain as a means to apply pressure although restrictions have thawed a bit in recent years.

Little land exists in Gibraltar but a shared airport would be unthinkable. The airport had to be stuffed into whatever nook existed, resulting in two rather curious situations: the runway sits practically on city centre and a major auto road crosses directly over the runway. Winston Churchill Avenue, the primary road leading from the Spanish border, closes every time an airline takes off or lands.

Comments

3 responses to “What Crosses an Airport Runway?”

  1. Joshua Avatar
    Joshua

    I was waiting for the Gibraltar airport to be mentioned! The idea of it just rocks my world….ok not really, but it’s just so cool. Maybe one day I’ll get to visiting it. On the other hand, they’re redoing the airport and putting the main road in a tunnel underneath the runway. :-/

    1. Twelve Mile Circle Avatar

      The old Hoover Field in Arlington, which served Washington DC prior to National Airport, had a similar road crossing. You can sort-of visit it if you go to the Pentagon, which is approximately where the old field stood.

  2. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    In Tasmania there is (or perhaps was) a railway line that crosses an airport runway.

    Note really a geo-oddity, but an oddity nonetheless

    http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/WYY%20rail%20crossing%201.htm

    Google Earth link

    http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=-40.99452,145.733074&spn=0.001956,0.005262&t=h&z=18

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