Gustaf III Airport - Gustavia, St. Barthélemy (Cam 2)

From above the hilltop, this camera watches small planes drop steeply onto Gustaf III Airport on the Caribbean island of St. Barthélemy, swooping low over a traffic circle and a road before touching down.

The runway is just 2,119 feet (646 m) long, and it slopes gently down to end right on the beach, so departing planes fly straight over sunbathers. Signs warn people not to lie at the end of the runway.

Because the approach is so tricky, pilots need special permission to land here, and most planes carry fewer than 20 passengers. Between 2003 and 2005, the hilltop was lowered and the road moved to make landings easier.

Did You Know? Both the airport and the island's main town, Gustavia, are named after King Gustav III of Sweden, who gained the island from France in 1784.

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