Donegal Airport among the world’s top 10 most scenic landings (PHOTOS)

Donegal airport has been voted among the most beautiful places in the world where you could touch down on your holidays.

A global poll of travel experts and and fans placed Ireland’s most northerly airport as the seventh best place in the world to catch a phenomenal view as your plane approaches its landing, which is a comforting thought for anybody who is a bit of a nervous flyer.

With Aer Lingus Regional operating services to Dublin just twice daily from this location, as well as a four-times weekly service to Glasgow, Donegal Airport is far from the normal hectic transfer or getting-through-security-and-customs-stress that you probably associate with airports. From above it's even less stress-inducing.

Set between the Atlantic Ocean and Donegal mountains, the airport is located in the midst of the county’s Gaeltacht in Carrickfinn and has travelers gushing about its landing and takeoff backdrop.

"You arrive in the Emerald Isle adjacent to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world; Carrickfinn with a backdrop of the majestic Mount Errigal on one side and an array of craggy islands on the other. The clear turquoise blue sea is just a bonus on a sunny day!" explained one fan.

“There's nothing more breathtaking than flying over the rugged coastline of Donegal. Awe-inspiring to say the least. The rugged landscape transports to a time long ago and much forgotten,” commented another.

The airport itself is delighted to have won international acclaim, despite its small number of services.

"We're over the moon and the team are delighted," said Pauline Sweeney, Marketing Manager with Donegal Airport.

"This will really create awareness for the airport and its location. It will highlight the county and the Wild Atlantic Way. It's all about awareness."

Stunning "Donegal Airport" voted 7th most scenic airport in the world. Boom times ahead for Donegal Tourism pic.twitter.com/FDNqbmXBMc
— Donegal Daily (@DonegalDaily) April 20, 2016

Landing at Carrickfinn airport in west Donegal

Czapla at http://t.co/KXiAQZeG3n pic.twitter.com/QZohBuCCfB

— Visit Donegal (@visit_donegal) July 12, 2015

Donegal Airport's inclusion on the 2016 list will also, hopefully, work to boost the airport yet again following its 3.5 percent increase in travelers in 2015.

Fine Gael Minister of State for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Joe McHugh, yesterday congratulated the airport on its achievement when announcing further government investment in the site for the coming year. The airport was granted $262,386 (€232,200) in funding.

Do
Sky Diving above Donegal Airport photo by Czapla Sky Photography #skydiving #lovedonegal #WildAtlanticWay #ireland pic.twitter.com/0GsJk711nf

— Donegal Airport (@DonegalA) June 24, 2015

“@LJPmcLoughlin by @Michaelkelly707 on an @AerLingus flight from @DonegalAirport to @DublinAirport pic.twitter.com/cPk7umjztN”@pilibocull
— stephanie C (@fatboyfinn1) February 12, 2015

“I wish to commend the excellent standard of work the staff and team are doing at Donegal Airport, and wish to congratulate them on being voted one of the world's top 10 scenic airports this year. Today’s news is a welcome development, and will no doubt help to continue the exceptional service being provided by Donegal Airport,” McHugh said.

THe poll was conducted by private jet booking service PrivateFly. Thousands of people voted on a short-list of airports chosen by a panel of international travel experts, including ex-New York Times travel writer Joe Sharkey.

Ireland and its neighboring isles fared extremely well, taking three of the top ten spots. Donegal was joined by the lovely Barra Airport in Scotland in fourth place and London City Airport finishing off the list at number ten.

The complete list included: