The new airport runway on the Portuguese island of Madeira

The airport's runway has a length of 2781 meters, (9000 ft) of which 1000 (3000) are supported by 180 pillars, each pillar 50 meters in length (about 17 floors). The runway is designed to accommodate 747s. Note cars parked below the runway in the picture below.

It's a bit like landing on an aircraft carrier.  The 2nd picture best shows how high it is -- and let's not even think about running off that runway.

Click on pictures to enlarge, click again for full screen

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