There’s a sobering saying among pilots: ‘Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.’ And it’s not until you fly into places like Paro, or Toncontìn Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, that the adage starts to make sense. Both are surrounded by mountains, and Toncontìn has one of the world’s shortest international runways; each requires a series of hard last-minute banks. It’s no wonder both give even the most seasoned pilots—not to mention their passengers—the sweats.

Surprisingly, to me at least, is Reagan International at number 3. I’ve flown in and out of Reagan International many times and never noticed anything nerve inducing.

Probably due to my tendency to zone out during takeoffs and landings; I’m not very fond of either.