Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, located on the island of Saba in the Caribbean Netherlands, is widely regarded as having the shortest commercial airport runway in the world, measuring only about 400 meters (1,312 feet). It is named after a former Antillean politician and serves as the island's sole air link to the outside world. The airport's runway is flanked on three sides by steep cliffs that drop directly into the sea, making approaches and departures extremely demanding and limiting operations to small, specially certified aircraft. Due to these constraints, only a handful of aircraft types are approved to use the runway. Despite its extreme limitations, the airport plays a vital role in connecting Saba's small population to neighboring islands, particularly Sint Maarten, from which most onward connections are made.