Pilots reveal their top 10 airport approaches - PHOTO

Sydney Harbour and the Golden Gate Bridge make up the top five best views to experience from the cockpit, according to a survey of pilots.British Airways asked captains with experience of flying 180 different routes for their favourite approaches.The Northern Lights, the night-time phenomenon of spectacular coloured lights in the sky during the winter months in the northern hemisphere, scooped the top slot.While thousands of holidaymakers regularly travel to places like Norway and Iceland to experience them, pilots regularly encounter them on late night North American routes. BA captain Dave Willsher said: 'If you're not already asleep this is an amazing sight three to four hours into most long North American flights.Second in the list is the view of London as planes approach Heathrow - named above a host of more exotic locations. Mont Blanc, seen on the approach to Pisa airport in Italy was third, followed by the view of Sydney Harbour when leaving the Australian city by air.Others to be singled out in the top ten include Golden Gate Bridge when approaching San Francisco, and Greenland as seen on most North Atlantic crossings.The canals of Venice, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Japan's Mount Fuji, all seen best when approaching the destinations, make up the rest of the top 10.British Airways' chief Boeing pilot, Captain Al Bridger, said: 'We get some spectacular views from the cockpit and many of these can be seen by everyone on board.'But his favourite sight of all was the most unusual. Capt Bridger added: 'Flying to Singapore I had the rare privilege of seeing the Soyuz 35S space craft returning to Earth.'(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.az