This chapter is aimed at persons who are VERY interested in traveling by plane or flying planes. Only if this is the case, read on… Flying in South America is something really special, we will soon explain why. But without any doubt, the
This chapter is aimed at persons who are VERY interested in traveling by plane or flying planes. Only if this is the case, read on… Flying in South America is something really special, we will soon explain why. But without any doubt, the climax is La Paz El Alto (IATA: LPB / ICAO: SLLP), the highest international airport and the second highest commercial airport in the world at 13.325 feet or 4.061 meters (the highest one is “Qamdo Bangda” in Tibet at 14.219 feet or 4.334 meters, but is hardly known).
At this high altitude, the air is “thin” and therefore “carries” much less than at sea level. On top of that, La Paz is close to the Equator and therefore, even given the high altitude, the air is comparatively warm. That means the air “carries” even less, La Paz El Alto is indeed the very “High & Hot” airport in the world. And that makes it an exciting place to fly at!
A plane must approach much faster (5 to 10 Knots Indicated Air Speed or KIAS) than normally, having a landing speed almost equal to its starting speed! But that is not all: the airport’s runway 10 is equipped with an ILS Cat 2 Approach, which enables an automatic approach until 400 feet Above Ground Level (A.G.L.). But its opposite end, runway 28, only