Leipzig has grown into one of Germany (and Europe’s) largest cargo airports. It is the main hub on the continent for DHL Airways and their various subsidiaries and partners, allowing them a central location to receive, process and send on packages from around the world.

Aside from cargo, Leipzig is a moderately busy airport for passenger services, with around 2.3 million passengers passing through each year on domestic, intra-European, and holiday flights.

But naturally the vast majority of movements are those affiliated with DHL, and cargo carriers such as Bluebird, Swiftair, Kalitta, Europe Air Post, Air Atlantique, ABX, RAF Avia, Aerologic, Aviastar etc. This sees a lot of A300, B737, B757, and B777 types, but most interestingly also a lot of AN-12, AN-26 and TU-204 aircraft operating from countries to the east.

Cargo movements are largely between 10pm and 2am, but some operate during the day and it’s often possible to see many aircraft parked up during the day.

Spotting
The best place to spot at Leipzig is the viewing terrace atop the Administration Building next to the terminal. The outdoor terrace is open 24 hours a day, making it ideal for catching those nighttime movements (if a little chilly in winter!). It costs €2.

You can also get good views from the top of the car park.

Hotel
If you want to watch the cargo movements from the comfort of your warm hotel room (with SBS or Flightradar24), try the Globana Airport Hotel. It has rooms facing the airport, but some have restricted views.

Elsewhere
Whilst in Leipzig, remember to look out for the former Interflug IL-18 and TU-134 aircraft at the airport, which are easily seen from the viewing deck. There’s also an IL-62 in the city used as a cafe, and an IL-18 at one of the city’s museums.

DHL Timetable
You can download a handy DHL flight timetable from this link.

Credit goes to Mark Allday for the information in this article.

Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast brought my attention to a great page on the website of Sydney Airport which is aimed at spotters and enthusiasts who want to know more about its history and where to watch aircraft.

The page, which you can visit here, gives a history of the airport. It includes pictures from key moments, such as the first Boeing 747 arriving, and the recent 787 Dreamliner visit.

It then goes on to give you technical details about the airfield (elevations, runways, identifiers etc), and a list of the best places to go and watch aircraft. If you’re new to the hobby, it even tells you what aircraft registrations are, so that you can start spotting!

I’m mightily impressed at this. Sydney is a fantastic place to spot at, with variety, good weather and great spotting locations. Having this information on their website to encourage the hobby only makes things better!

Here’s the link: http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/corporate/community-environment-and-planning/aviation-community.aspx

The 2012 edition of my popular Airport Spotting Guides Europe book is now available to buy through Amazon, Destinworld Publishing, and various airport and online shops.

I’ve completely revamped this edition, and added a bunch of new airports that weren’t included in the previous one.

The book is an ideal companion if you’re planning to do some spotting at European airports, and also handy to take on the road to help you get around and make best use of your time.

The book features over 40  airports in detail, and lists of all major commercial and storage airports in Europe.

Detailed guides cover:

- Airport map, with spotting locations and roads marked
- Descriptions of spotting locations
- Airport hotels with views
- Runway info, radio frequencies and other statistics
- Airlines which use the airport
- Nearby aviation attractions, such as museums or other airports

The book is out now, priced £11.99. Buy it online now from this link http://www.destinworld.co.uk/products-page/airport-spotting-guides/airport-spotting-guides-europe-2012/

Storage airports are a big draw for enthusiasts, giving them the chance to catch up with airliners before they meet the scrapman, or as they rest in between jobs. Quite often they’re stored a long way from their home, giving the spotter something unusual to see without travelling so far.

When you think of storage airports, chances are you’ll think of those in Arizona, California and New Mexico, where the desert keeps airliners in good condition. But in the UK we have a number of airports where you can go see stored airliners. Here are the top 6:

1. Kemble, Gloucestershire (Map)
Kemble has recently rebranded itself as Cotswold Airport, in honour of the area of natural beauty in which it resides. It’s located in south-west England, around 2 hours drive from London. Here you’ll find a steady stream of airliners coming to be scrapped, from B737 and A320 to B747. It is also a base for Lufthansa Technik, who deal with a lot of BAe 146/Avro RJ aircraft.

2. Lasham, Hampshire (Map)
Mainly a rework centre, where airliners come to get new identities, Lasham is nevertheless a place where you can often find B727, B737, B757 and A320 airliners in open storage. It is around 30 mins drive from London, and not far from Farnborough.

3. Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire (Map)
Home to the famous Cold War Jets Collection, including a DH Comet and Victor. Bruntinthorpe is also a place where airliners are scrapped. Recent examples include RAF VC-10′s and KLM B737s.

4. Cardiff, Wales (Map)
Cardiff Airport in southern Wales is a storage and maintenance base for British Airways. Recently, members of their B747-400 fleet have been stored here, and even scrapped.

5. Exeter, Devon (Map)
Near the south-west coast of England, Exeter is a small regional airport and home to Flybe. It is a place where aircraft are stored and maintained between operators – particularly those leaving the Flybe fleet, such as BAe 146, EMB-145 and DHC-8  aircraft. There are also some used as fire trainers.

6. London Southend (Map)
One of the fastest growing airports thanks to its new terminal and routes, London Southend is also a busy place for aircraft maintenance and storage. You’ll see a lot of B737 and A320 aircraft getting new identities, and BAe146/Avro RJ aircraft in storage.

Taoyuan is Taipei’s international airport and handles all the flights that come to Taiwan from overseas.

The airport is very busy, with an extensive mix of airlines from Asia, North America and Europe visiting regularly. It is also one of the world’s busiest cargo airports, and many cargo airlines pass through every day. In particular, it is a hub for China Airlines Cargo and EVA Air Cargo.

There are two parallel runways and two passenger terminals at Taoyuan. Terminal 1 has recently undergone an extensive renovation project. Terminal 3 is expected to open by 2014.

For the spotter, there are a few places that have good views. These include:

1. South Crash Gate
Where a rough taxiway links Taoyuan Airport with Taoyuan Air Base, a crash gate can be found in the fence alongside runway 06/24. You can drive, or walk if blocked, along the taxiway to the gate from the main road which runs between the airport and base. When heading away from the terminal, take the first left off the motorway and follow along. From here you’ll have a good vantage point of aircraft on the runway, and it’s possible to take good photographs. Other spotters congregate here.

2. “Miracle” Cafe
On the north side of the airfield is a cafe dubbed the “Miracle” Cafe due to the face it narrowly escaped damage when an Airbus A300 crashed alongside. It has views over the northern side of the airfield, and from its rooftop you can take acceptable photographs from afternoon till sunset. The cafe is situated on the main ’15′ road running along the northern perimeter.

3. Aviation Museum
You can see aircraft on the northern runway and taxiway from the Aviation Museum, although to photograph you’ll need steps as there’s too much in the way. Nevertheless, a good spot to note what’s coming and going.

Frankfurt is one of the world’s busiest airports, yet they still think of the enthusiast and people who are interested in how an airport runs.
Their airside tours have been running for many, many years. They used to operate from the Terminal 1 viewing deck (remember the DC-8 nose section where the tour started? It’s still there by the way).

Today, you can still take a tour at one of the set times between 11am and 4pm. It costs €8 for adults and lasts around 45 minutes. It will take you on a bus tour of airside areas, including Terminal 1, Terminal 2, maintenance areas and taxiways.

To take the tour, head for the Frankfurt Airport Centre in the corridor between Terminals 1 and 2. Follow signs for the Airport Experience Tour. Here’s the link to the official information page

Arizona is a great place to visit if you’re an aviation enthusiast. Not only does it have a couple of major airports, but it’s also home to many storage bases and the incredible AMARG collection at Davis Monthan AFB near Tucson.

Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona, and it has a number of airports in its vicinity that are easy to visit and definitely worth stopping by. Below, I’ve listed a few details of each, but please feel free to comment with your own opinions and details.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International
This is the main airport of the state, and certainly the busiest. It is a hub for US Airways and Southwest Airlines. All major US airlines, both passenger and cargo, visit daily, and there is a large enthusiast community who ensure the hobby is accepted. Try the top level of the car park for some good views.

Scottsdale
Technically another city, but you’d never know. Scottsdale is situated to the east of Phoenix, and it’s airport is a busy base for executive jets. You can view movements from the airport’s perimeter roads, and see aircraft on the ground from the main terminal area.

Haneda Airport in Tokyo is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance recently, with a bunch of new international routes granted (and now snapped up by some major airlines), and being at the centre of All Nippon Airways’ Boeing 787 launch.

The airport has four runways, including the new 05/23. It also has three passenger terminals and a cargo terminal. The new International Terminal is across the field from the other two, and is quite impressive.

But, despite the international growth, Haneda is the place to come for seeing Japan’s domestic aircraft, operated by ANA, Japan Airlines and their various connector networks.

The airport, as with most in Japan, is quite easy to spot from. It has official observation decks on all three terminals that are open from 6.30am to 10pm daily. Each is reached from within the terminal via elevator, and each is free to enter.

For photographers, it’s best to head to the decks on Terminal 1 and 2 on a morning, and the International Terminal on an afternoon. Unfortunately no deck in particular is 100% perfect for seeing all movements, so you may need to move around a bit.

You can read more spotting guides in Airport Spotting Guides Far East & Australasia

Cancun is a popular holiday destination and there are often a lot of requests about places to spot at the airport. Therefore we have this comprehensive guide which comes courtesy of a businessman who regularly visits Cancun, with additional information from Mike Nelson and Mark Birchenough.

Before going on holiday to Mexico, I sought the advice of a number of people on spotting at Cancun.  Back in 2000 when I first visited Cancun, there were one or two places inside the terminal which could be used for spotting.  Everything could be seen as long as it moved, because everything took off and landed on the one runway.  I again visited in 2006, not long after the hurricane which devastated the whole area, but I did not have the opportunity for any extensive spotting except on departure.  Since then the airport has changed substantially, particularly with the addition of the new runway.

I set out below the current situation based on information I have received from others, together with my own observations:

Moscow Domodedovo Airport is probably the most modern in Russia, and is attracting a lot of airlines. As Russian airlines modernise, they are taking on a lot of Western aircraft types, and the older Russian types are being withdrawn.

However, at Domodedovo it’s still possible to see a good array or Russian types in storage.  Paul Mitchell has recently been on a trip to the airport, and compiled a list of what you can see stored there. You can find the list under Storage Lists at the top of the page, or click this link: http://www.airportspotting.com/storage-lists/moscow-domodedovo/

We’ll try to keep this list updated, so please comment below with your updates or send an e-mail!