When spotting in the USA, it is generally a good idea to let the authorities know that you are there and what your intentions are. In most cases, if you speak to the right person, you’ll be thanked for the information and given permission to carry on.

Here are some contact details for various airports:

Washington Dulles – contact Ops on (703) 572-2730 and you’ll be fine from the car park.
Washington National – contact dispatch on (202) 610-7515

For spotting information on nearly 70 US airports, check out our new book – Airport Spotting Guides USA

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.

Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport opened its new official spectator facility on 16 March 2010 on top of the new Terminal 2 building. Interestingly, this is the first official spotting location to be opened at any Chinese airport, and many hope this will pave the way for other airports to have such facilities incorporated – especially when new terminals and upgrades are built.

Terminal 2 is home to all domestic flights at the airport (apart from Spring Airlines), with international flights remaining at the older Terminal 1.

The new open-air spotting facility is on the 4th floor of the building with great views over the apron and runway beyond. It is 60 metres long and has a security check on entry.

To reach the facility, escalators from the check-in area will whisk you up in no time.

If you have any photos from this new facility, or experience from using it, please comment below.

If you’re heading to Cleveland, Ohio, there are two main airports that are worth checking out. The first, naturally, is Cleveland Hopkins International – the main airport, and a major hub for Continental Airlines. It also has services by other major US airlines, plus FedEx and UPS. Air Canada also provide links across the border.

Spotting is best from the 100th Bomb Group Restaurant. Situated just to the north of runways 24L/R, it has a large car park. It is located off Brookpark Rd. Excellent views can be had of aircraft arriving on these runways, or use runway 10/28. Remember to buy something at the restaurant if you intend spending any time here.

The other Cleveland airport is Burke Lakefront Airport. This handles biz and general aviation movements. It is situated on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. You can spot from Voinovich Bicentennial Park close to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

A great website for all things to do with aviation in Cleveland is OPShots. They have movements lists, photography tips, and information on places to spot and what the local security is like at the moment.

Jaunted have posted another great report of where to spot – this time a beach alongside Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport is the perfect location for watching the action, as heavies literally roll by your beach towel!

Take a Dip at This Beach Down Under for the Best Plane Spotting || Jaunted

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If you’re planning on spending any time spotting at Tokyo Narita, you might want to consider the information below on the best spotting hotels and which rooms work.

Holiday Inn
This is fairly expensive, but has some views. Room 1250 is the best, giving you a view of everything on the western runway. If aircraft are landing to the west then you can poll everything that taxis to the end of the runway. If you have a SBS box you get everything landing and departing.

You can also see everything that takes off on the other runway and visa versa if they are landing in the other direction, but aircraft are very high by the time they are visible.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/hotel/narja?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/pc/1/en/hotelsearchresults

Holiday Inn
Tobu Narita
320-1 Tokko
Chiba
Narita
Chiba
286-0106

The Rest House
A basic, cheap hotel with a few rooms that have very limited views. You can see about 60% of the cargo ramp and if they are taking off to the west then stuff taxying off to the runway on the North only.

You can walk to T1 from here as it’s only 5 minutes away. There are plenty of places to eat in both terminals. T1 is good for Ti and there is a free shuttle to T2 and T2 has two observation decks that allow you to see most of the stuff around T2

http://www.apo-resthouse.com/english/index.html

Rest House Hotel
Narita International Airport
Narita City
Chiba-Pref
Japan
282-0011
yoyaku@apo-resthouse.com

Nikko Winds Hotel
A great spotting hotel at Narita. Room 910 is noted as having the best views of the action on the ground. It also has a restaurant on the top floor with great views of the airport.

http://www.jalhotels.com/domestic/kanto/winds/

560 Tokko
Narita-shi
Chiba 286-0106
Apan

The Best Plane Spotting Happens Just Outside Of DC’s Restricted Airspace || Jaunted

Jaunted has posted a nice piece about spotting at Washington Reagan National Airport in the USA. The Gravelly Point Park passes the end of the runway giving some spectacular views of departing aircraft at close range.

The park is popular with cyclists and walkers, and shouldn’t draw too much attention if you want to watch the movements – as that’s what most people are doing anyway!

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The Sheraton Deira hotel is well known amongst the spotting community for its roof terrace under the flight path to Dubai Airport. What better than spending time in the sun, by the pool, with exotic airliners flying overhead all day?

Well, it had to happen – eventually someone would find another hotel with decent spotting opportunities in Dubai. The Nojoum Hospitality luxury apartments may not be as cheap as the Sheraton, but if you’re in a group they could be superior. It is located on Abu Baker Al Siddique Road, only a couple of roads up from where the Sheraton Deira is situated.

Most of the apartments contain 2 twin ensuite bedrooms, however there are some with 3 rooms, however I don’t think these over look the airport. Each apartment has a massive living area with plenty of sitting space and a table to eat at and a TV, kitchen and utility area which is full stocked with plates, cutlery and glasses, a cooker and oven, microwave, washing machine, iron and board etc., along with a 3rd toilet in the living area. Most importantly, each apartment also has a balcony, and rooms over looking the airport can be requested. The hotel also has a roof top pool area with sun loungers, tables and chairs, but no bar!

When it comes to spotting, the Nojoum could be considered superior to the Sheraton as it is much better for photography when aircraft are landing over the hotel (despite the Sheraton being closer to the aircraft). However once aircraft change direction you lose the ability for photography, and for those without the help of an sbs box it can be very hard to read things off unless the reg is underneath the wings.

From the rooftop, there is an opportunity to look over the wall towards the airport. You have a clear view of the airport and by using a strong scope things parked on Terminal 2 to the left and Terminal 1 on the right can easily be read off, along with things taxiing along the edge of the airport.

A link to the Nojoum Hotel here: http://www.nojoumhospitality.com

If you have any inclination to visit Machu Picchu – one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, and certainly the biggest tourist draw in Peru – you are almost guaranteed to pass through Cusco Airport.

Cusco was once the capital city of the Inca empire, of which Machu Picchu once belonged. The city is situated close to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and is a taxi/bus journey, plus a train journey from the ruined city.

This shot is taken from the departure lounge.

The airport at Cusco is well set up to handle the amount of tourists it receives every year, but due to the demanding terrain and the fact that it is situated in a built up area, operations are limited to mainly mornings. Night flying is not permitted.Therefore, most flights operate until early afternoon and then the airport falls silent until the next morning.

Airlines using Cusco are LAN Peru (Airbus A319s), Star Peru (BAe 146 and Boeing 737-200), Los Andes (DHC-6 Twin Otter), Aerocondor (Fokker F-27 and F50), Aerosur (Boeing 737-200).

Spotting from within the terminal is only possible once you go through to the departure lounge, which is situated in the pier. Even then, it is quite limited as jetbridges get in the way.

Around the airport, you can follow the road running parallel to the runway to get some good shots of aircraft on the runway and parked at the terminal. Some of the best photographs are possible along this road – which heads to Pisac – as it passes the end of the runway.

Jaunted‘s latest Plane Spotting blog post comes from St. Lucia – one of the most scenic islands in the Caribbean.

One of the best places to watch the action at St. Lucia is from the St. Jude’s highway running into Vieux Fort and passing the western end of the runway.

Alternatively, at the eastern end of the runway the beach offers a breathtakingly close view of aircraft departing over your head. Of course, this is a great place the enjoy the sun, sea and sand whilst on the island!

Read the full blog post here.