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Fitting an airport into an area that measures just 2.3 square miles was never going to be easy task.

Thankfully, Gibraltar had a novel way of solving the issue.

The airport which serves the British overseas territory has made full use of the minimal space and lack of flat land available by building its only runway through the heart of the peninsula's busiest road.

The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports once ranked Gibraltar's airport as the fifth most extreme airport in the world

Gibraltar airport has made full use of the minimal space and lack of flat land available by building its only runway through the heart of one of the peninsula's busiest roads

It means that cars travelling along Winston Churchill Avenue must stop for planes several times a day.

For about 10 minutes, traffic stays at a standstill to allow a flights to depart and arrive from UK cities including London, Birmingham, or Manchester.

A pair of barriers close ahead of every landing and departure, which currently number around 30 a week, all flying to and from the United Kingdom.

The airport is just 500 yards from the centre of Gibraltar - the shortest commute of any major airport in the world.

As well as serving cars and other vehicles, the road also carries pedestrians in and out of Gibraltar.

There are currently three flights operated daily to Gatwick and Luton, and three flights a week to Manchester

It was in 2007 the government released plans for a new four-lane road that would divert traffic through a tunnel under the runway

As a result, the History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports once ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world.

Gibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar.

It has been under British sovereignty for over 300 years after it was captured by the UK in 1704.

It was formally ceded by Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, although the Spanish have long disputed the UK's sovereignty, arguing that the Rock should be returned.

As well as serving cars and other vehicles, the road also carries pedestrians in and out of Gibraltar

For about 10 minutes, traffic stays at a standstill to allow a flights to depart and arrive from UK cities including London, Birmingham, or Manchester

Pedestrians and cars are held at barriers on either side of the runway while a plane taxis across the four-lane Winston Churchill Avenue after landing 

The airport was constructed during World War II when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British and was built over a horse racing track.

Originally opened in 1939, it was only an emergency airfield for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.

However, the runway was later extended into the Bay of Gibraltar using rock blasted from the historic Rock of Gibraltar which was being excavated by the military who were creating a series of tunnels inside.

The four-lane main road was then added which leads from the centre of Gibraltar, through the airport, and up to the Spanish border which lies just north of the runway.

At one stage, the road across the runway was considered to be constraining operations at the airport because of the increase in traffic following the signing of the Córdoba Agreement in 2006.

The airport is 500 yards from the centre of Gibraltar - the shortest commute of any major airport in the world

While the average time the road is closed for an aircraft to land or depart is ten minutes on certain days the road is closed for over two hours

The agreement between the Governments of Spain, the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, opened up the airport to allow flights to and from Spain which had previously been banned because of tensions between the two countries.

Prior to this agreement, only three flights operated daily to Gatwick and Luton, and three flights a week to Manchester.

The airport is frequently used by visitors and tourists travelling to or from neighbouring parts of the southern Spain such as the Costa del Sol, and handles more than 300,000 visitors a year in addition to frequent cargo flights.

On busy days some seven flights now arrive and depart.

While the average time the road is closed for an aircraft to land or depart is ten minutes on certain days the road can be closed for over two hours.

It was in 2007 the government released plans for a new four-lane road that would divert traffic through a tunnel under the runway. 

The road, scheduled to open in 2009, has still not been completed.