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 One the airfield are also a number of stored and withdrawn airliners.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.

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.

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

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/

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.

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

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.

Deer Valley
This airport is situated in the north of Phoenix. It is one of America’s busiest general aviation airports, so if you collect light aircraft this is the place to be. It’s quite hard to see everything, but the main access road is your best bet.

Mesa Falcon Field
Another airport to the east of Phoenix in the district of Mesa. Here you’ll find a lot of GA movements, and some services by Pet Airways. On the field is also a couple of DC-3′s and a DC-4.

Mesa Gateway Airport
This airport serves as a hub for Allegiant Airways and its MD-80s, serving various destinations around the country. It is technically Phoenix’s low-cost airport. You can see aircraft from the terminal area.

Phoenix Goodyear Airport
There are a lot of storage airports in Arizona, and Goodyear is the nearest to Phoenix. AeroTurbine is one of the main operating companies here, disposing of many older types that have reached the end of their life. It’s quite difficult to spot aircraft here, but a number of roads and tracks surround the field which give glimpses.

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

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:

Cancun airport now has two runways and the three terminal buildings are located between the two runways.  The approach road to the terminals goes under a bridge which aircraft landing on the new runway have to taxi over in order to get to the terminals.  As far as I can make out, the new runway (which opened in October 2010) seems to be used only for landings.  The old runway (which is longer) is used for take-offs and some landings.

Finally, choose a right hand window seat for departure as you will either taxi past or take off past Terminal 2 and its satellite, then the GA Terminal, next Terminal 1 – they still park some aircraft on the ramp there – and finally the remote parking area halfway to the threshold with several derelict aircraft.