Visiting South Africa this year? The country is fascinating for the aviation enthusiast, with busy international airports, historic heritage aircraft, and lots of stored airliners. Here are some tips on finding the best aviation experiences whilst there.

Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
Most people arrive into the country via Johannesburg Airport (although Cape Town is also popular). Both Terminals (A and B) have viewing decks to use, with B being the most useful for photography and catching all movements. The deck is indoors, with somewhat dirty windows, but you can always clean a patch.

The airport has a good mix of international and domestic flights coming throughout the day, so it’s rarely boring.

On the north and south sides of the airport are storage and maintenance areas. The north (Safair) can be mostly read from the viewing decks, but the south (Denel) can’t. Best bet is to hire a car and explore to make sure you catch as many aircraft as possible.

Rand
Another airport in Johannesburg, Rand is much smaller. It has a lot of stored airliners on site, plus the South African Airways Society Museum with types up to Boeing 747 in size. You have some views from inside the terminal, however it’s much more rewarding to organise a tour from the fire crews, which cost 20 Rand. These take in all ramps and areas of the airfield, so you won’t miss much.

Lanseria
This is a smaller airport to the northwest of Johannesburg. It has a number of airlines flying domestic routes, and is also a popular place to see bizjets flying  into the city. One the airfield are also a number of stored and withdrawn airliners.

You can spot from the viewing deck area which doubles as a food court. However, it’s also possible to arrange an airside tour from the security office if you contact them in advance.

Wonderboom
One of the airports in the Pretoria area, Wonderboom is an interesting little place. It is home to a variety of

aircraft, from safari aircraft to Boeing 737s; bizjets to historic flight DC-3′s. It’s possible to see quite a few aircraft from a circuit of the perimeter, however it’s often possible to arrange airside access from the security office.

Durban King Shaka Airport
The new international airport for Durban opened in 2010, replacing the existing facility. It is actually over 20 miles from the city, but is ultra modern and one to watch for the future. At the moment it handles close to 5million passengers per year, with a mix of domestic and international. There are viewing opportunities from within the terminal.

News24.com is reporting that a plane spotter has been found guilty of illegally listening to ATC communications through an air band receiver.

Julian Swift was at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport in February when he was arrested. He had been observed taking photographs of aircraft, and listening to a radio receiver (which could no transmit). He has been ordered to pay a R5000 fine, or face 10 months in jail.

In South Africa, it is illegal to use scanners and receivers without a license proving you’re qualified as a radio amateur.

Despite this, air traffic control is streamed live from South African airports via the internet, and at the High Flyers Bar next to OR Tambo Airport.

So watch out if you’re in South Africa! Maybe I should put up a list of rules from different countries on this site to keep us all on the right side of the law. Anyone care to explain the rules that you know of for different countries? Leave a comment.

If any of you lucky people are off to South Africa this summer for the World Cup, perhaps you could benefit from a bit of information on spotting at one of the main airports in the country.

Johannesburg will handle the vast majority of international flights, given it is already set up and well-served by carriers from around the world. Cape Town will also handle a lot of flights.

Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport has two parallel runways. The airport also has two terminals – A (International) and B (Domestic).

Each terminal has its own viewing gallery, and each has views of both runways. The International terminal’s gallery is the best, as it also has views of the cargo terminal, and you can still see the domestic terminal and all movements from there. Sadly both viewing areas are behind glass, so it can limit photography potential.

I’m back from honeymoon now. Before I move on to details of spotting in Iceland and Copenhagen (stay tuned!), I’ll simply write this note I received about spotting at Rand airfield in South Africa – a very popular side-trip for spotters in the Johannesburg area.

Spotters are usually permitted to take an airside tour of the hangars and parked aircraft, escorted by the fire department at the airfield. You simply have to turn up at the Airport Manager’s office (ask at the Information Desk), sign a form, and they’ll organise it if possible that day.

I also got told that the Academy B&B nearby gives guests a key for the gate onto the apron and a token to get you through security. This seems a little unbelievable, so please let us know if you’ve found it to be true!