What it's like to land on the world's shortest commercial runway

Thanks to steep cliffs and steep slops, flying into the tiny Caribbean island of Saba isn't for the faint hearted. But Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, clinging to Saba's only bit of flat land, is proof that it can be done.

(CNN) — Flying into Saba isn't for the faint hearted. The vertiginous slopes and sea cliffs of this five-square-mile island in the Caribbean don't leave much space to land a plane. But Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, clinging to Saba's only bit of flat land, is proof that it can be done.

With a strip of asphalt just 1,300 feet long (about 400 meters), only 900 feet of which are "usable," the runway is not much longer than an aircraft carrier.

Sheer drops into the sea at either end add an extra layer of excitement to the arrival on what is acknowledged as being the shortest commercial runway in the world.