Tenzing-Hillary Airport. In January 2008, the Lukla airport was renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first persons to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The mountain terrain, thin air, unpredictable weather, and the airport's short, sloping runway make it one of the most challenging landings in the world. The History Channel ranked it as the &quot;most extreme&quot; airport in the world.