This island’s runway has been ranked the most beautiful in the world — and it starts in the ocean

Lord Howe Island Airport, Australia: The world’s most beautiful runway begins in the ocean — and the landing is pure magic. (Image: Lord Howe Island Board)

There are few travel joys as universally cherished as securing a window seat before take-off. As the cabin lights dim and the pilot announces the final descent, every traveller instinctively leans toward the glass, waiting for that first glimpse of the place they’ve been dreaming about. Sometimes it’s a glittering coastline. Sometimes it’s a jagged mountain range. And sometimes — if you’re lucky — it’s a landing so spectacular it feels less like arriving at an airport and more like drifting into a postcard.

But which airport landings truly take our breath away?

To answer that, travel insurance specialists AllClear conducted a fascinating global eye-tracking study, analysing which runways captured viewers’ attention the fastest and held it the longest. By combining both metrics, they ranked the most beautiful airport landings in the world — the ones worth fighting tooth and nail for a window seat.

And topping the list?

A tiny, remote, heart-stoppingly beautiful runway in Australia — Lord Howe Island Airport — where the descent feels like flying into a dream.

Welcome to Lord Howe Island, a place where the runway doesn’t just sit beside the ocean — it begins in it.

Cradled by the turquoise waters of the Tasman Sea, this UNESCO World Heritage island offers an approach so dramatic it almost feels unreal. The runway stretches across the island’s narrowest point, with golden beaches on one end and sweeping volcanic peaks on the other. As your plane descends, the island emerges like a green and gold brushstroke on an endless blue canvas.

The study found that viewers spent more time admiring this landing (2.64 seconds) than any other in the world, earning it an eye-catching score of 85/100 — the highest of all airport descents surveyed.

But the beauty isn’t just visual; it’s emotional. Lord Howe Island limits visitors to just 400 at any given time, preserving its rare ecosystem and making every arrival feel like entering a secret, sacred sanctuary. Since the island is accessible only by air, this runway becomes more than infrastructure — it’s the island’s first, unforgettable welcome.

Built in 1974 by the Australian Army Corps of Engineers, the airport marked the end of Sydney’s iconic flying boat service. Today, its compact runway — just 886 metres long and sitting 5 metres above sea level — serves as a lifeline for both locals and travellers.

The airport’s strict biosecurity protocols protect the island’s delicate, ancient ecosystem, home to endemic flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. In every sense, the airport is part of Lord Howe’s natural heritage — functional, minimal, and seamlessly woven into the landscape.

Some airport approaches give you a view.

Lord Howe gives you a reveal.

Descending here is a slow, cinematic unfurling of emerald mountains, coral-fringed lagoons, and waters so clear they appear illuminated from below. It’s the rare landing where the journey feels like the opening chapter of the destination itself — as if nature is offering its own welcome speech.

If you ever wondered which flight is worth booking purely for the view, this one is the undisputed answer.

From alpine valleys in Europe to island chains in the Caribbean, the world has its share of remarkable airport landings. But few combine raw natural beauty, isolation, and an ocean-hugging runway quite like Lord Howe.

This is not just an entry point.

It’s a promise — that what lies beyond is even more spectacular.