Language of Airports

From an English-speaking perspective, some of the names and abbreviations of airports around the world are exceedingly unusual and unfortunate.

Unfortunate IATA airport codes include:

BAD (Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier City, Louisiana, United States); BOG (Bogotá Airport, Columbia); BUM (Butler Airport, United States); DIK (Dickinson Airport, United States); DOH (Doha Airport, Qatar); FAT (Fresno Yosemite International Airport, California, United States); GIT (Geita Airport, Tanzania); KOK (Kokkola/Pietarsaari Kruunupyy Airport, Finland); MAD (Madrid Barajas International Airport, Spain); NOB (Nosara Beach Airport, Costa Rica); OLD (Old Town Municipal Airport, Maine, United States); PEE (Perm Airport, Russia); POO (Pocos De Caldas Airport, Brazil); SAD (Safford Regional Airport, Arizona, United States); SEX (Sembach Airport, Germany).

Unusual names of airports include:

Batman Airport (BAL) Turkey; Black Tickle Airport (YBI) Canada; Brest Airport (BES) France; Dang Airport (DNP) Nepal; Fak Fak Airport (FKQ) Indonesia; Flin Flon Airport (YFO) Canada; Fort Dix Airport (WRI) United States; Fukui Airport (FKJ) Japan; Gaylord Airport (GLR) United States; Linga Linga Airport (LGN) Papua New Guinea; Mafia Airport (MFA) Tanzania; Mala Mala Airport (AAM) South Africa; Moron Airport (MXV) Mongolia; Ponce Airport (PSE) Puerto Rico; Pratt Airport (PTT) United States; Shafter Airport (MIT) United States; Tsili Tsili Airport (TSI) Papau New Guinea; Useless Loop Airport (USL) Australia; Wagga Wagga Airport (WGA) Australia; Wee Waa Airport (WEW) Australia; Wuhu Airport (WHU) China.

4/iii mmxv

During mating season, the testicles of some fruit bats become so swollen that flight becomes impossible.

In Spanish, the verb trasnochar means ‘to stay awake all night’.

The Atlantic Ocean is slightly saltier than the Pacific Ocean.

In the Arabic broadcast of The Simpsons episodes, Homer drinks soda instead of beer and eats Egyptian beef sausages instead of hot dogs.

In 2006, a Gallup poll revealed that 53 percent of Americans believe the entire cosmos was created six thousand years ago – interestingly, the Sumerians had invented glue one thousand earlier.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

Could An Amateur Land A Commercial Aeroplane?

There are 400,000 people in the air at any given time. Now, if you were on an aeroplane in which both the pilot and the co-pilot had fallen ill, it would be incredibly difficult for anyone else to land the plane down safely. Luckily, an incident such as this has never occurred in commercial airline travel history.

To prevent food-poison related illness or more harmful poisonings, the pilot and co-pilot on a plane always have different meals from each other. In the case of extra long haul flights there are three pilots instead of two.

Simulations with people with civil private pilot licences taking over the control of a large commercial jet have been carried out in the USA. In these cases one person could not move the seat that moved them towards the control, another turned the radio off, and another turned off the autopilot and crashed the plane immediately.

One of the first problems is getting into the cockpit, which is much more secure these days following 9/11. The pilot and co-pilot may be too ill to let you in.

If the plane was on autopilot (a device invented in 1914 no less) you could continue to fly level, and once you began to land people would talk you through the procedure, but there are so many variables that it is really difficult.

Thankfully there is an auto-land system. The chances of an intelligent person landing the aircraft in such a situation are 1 in 10 if it is in autopilot, and 1 in 100 if it is not in autopilot.

The flight on which it is most unlikely for such a disaster to happen is – unsurprisingly – the shortest commercial flight in the world: in the Orkney Islands, from Westray and Westray Papa. It usually takes two minutes, but the shortest it has ever taken is 58 seconds. The distance is shorter than the runaway of Edinburgh Airport. A return ticket is £39; however, you do get a certificate and a miniature of Highland Park whisky.