It’s nearly time for that annual event in Switzerland which sees spotters flocking to see an abundance of biz jets in one place, and some of them quite rare! The Davos conference is held in January, with most dignitaries flying into Zurich Airport. This year the dates covered are Tuesday 26 January to Sunday 31 January.
Most aircraft arrive on the first day (Tuesday), often positioning to Basle or Geneva to park up for the week, before returning to Zurich to pick up their passengers on the Sunday and returning home.
Buchair offer a number of ramp tours at Zurich during the event, giving you the opportunity to get up close and personal with the biz jets (and other airliners) in attendance. You can find the schedule and booking details at: http://www.buchairnet.ch/de/tour/2010_schedule.pdf
Following complaints from aircraft owners over the taking and subsequent use of photographs of their stored airliners at Mojave Airport, photography by spotters on their airside tours are now firmly banned.
The airport has run tours on request for many years, giving spotters the chance to ride out to the lines of stored airliners at the desert airfield in California. This offers the chance to catch up with many older types stored here either permanently or temporarily. It can be difficult to log registrations from the perimeter road, so this tour is a major bonus.
Being able to step out of the van and take photographs at close quarters was also welcomed by spotters, but owners are apparently sick of seeing their aircraft in YouTube videos and social networking sites. It is not clear whether this is a result of malicious use, or simply enthusiasts sharing photos and videos.
The airport now encourages spotters to leave behind video and photo cameras before getting in the van to take a tour.
If after this news you are still interested in taking a tour at Mojave, you can do so by reporting to the Control Tower and asking at reception. In most cases the driver (Javier) can accommodate you for a spontaneous tour immediately.
The long-awaited news of the sale of London Gatwick Airport was announced today. BAA was told to sell the airport, and has now agreed a deal with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for £1.5bn. GIP are also the majority owner of London City Airport.
The sale of the airport was ordered to counteract what was described as a lack of competition in the UK airports market, particularly in London where BAA held Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted airports. This should bring much better choice and prices for passengers, with new airlines and routes likely to be announced.
The sale is still to be approved by the European Union – expected to be finalised in December.
For the enthusiast, the sale is likely to spice up the mix of operators flying into Gatwick, although details of this will only come as GIP take over and the new operation takes hold. It is highly unlikely we will see any official spotting locations return, but who knows?
Various enthusiasts sites exist for some of the airports in Scotland which can help in planning a trip to any of them, or in simply finding out what’s been happening up there. We have collated this information for some of the airports:
Glasgow Airport
EGPF.co.uk
Enthusiasts site for Glasgow Airport, with timetables, SBS list, spotting locations and charts, photos, live arrivals & departures, and logs of recent movements.
Prestwick Airport
Prestwick Airport Movements Site
Similar to the Glasgow enthusiasts site, with movements, photos, spotting information, airfield charts and live flight information.
Edinburgh Airport
EGPH.co.uk
A similar site for Edinburgh Airport enthusiasts. Lists frequencies, live flight arrivals & departures, airline information, photos and SBS information.
egphforum.co.uk
A forum for discussing Edinburgh Airport and its operations.
Posted by admin | Posted in North America, USA | Posted on 02-10-2009
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Sheet fencing recently erected around parts of the perimeter of East Midlands Airport is causing a stir as one of the most popular locations to view movements on the airfield is now effectively out of action.
The crash gate area around Diseworth Road has been fenced as a result of concerns over safety, speeding cars, litter and the ever present terrorist threat, according to the airport and other sources in the know. Whilst the fencing does not (yet) circle the whole airport perimeter, leaving some areas still with views, the airport has encouraged enthusiasts to use the Aeropark for viewing. This area now has a raised platform giving views over part of the airfield.
In a separate note, it appears a similar sheet fence will be erected around the area spotters gather at Luton airport to prevent damage caused by enthusiasts cutting holes in the fence.
