Enthusiasts at London Gatwick airport are encouraged to sign up to the ID scheme operated by Gatwick Police. To date over 200 people have signed up, and it has been free so far.However, now there is a £6 administration fee to sign up and get your ID card.

The police stress that you won’t gain any additional rights over other members of the public by joining the scheme, but it will help them recognise you, and also help their fight against criminals and terrorism.

These schemes are popping up all over the place now, but I’ve yet to hear of any positive benefits of them to either spotters or the police.

You can read more about the Gatwick ID scheme and sign up by clicking on this link.

It seems Travelodge have an offer on hotel rooms at their London Heathrow hotel. This would be ideal if any of your are heading over there for some spotting this year.

The hotel is not ideal for viewing aircraft, but is located in a convenient place.

See this link

It seems the spotter-friendly scrooges at London Heathrow have come up with a fantastic scheme to encourage people to use their visitors centre, and to encourage the spotter community in general.

The prices to park at the visitors centre, which is the only official viewing location following the closure of the Queens Building terrace a number of years ago, are set to increase. They are as follows:

£2 per hour
£10 per day

This is not cheap. Therefore we suggest you park elsewhere (Hatton Cross tube station is a slightly cheaper option), or use public transport entirely.

Remember, buses that travel around the perimeter of Heathrow are free to use, and stop at Hatton Cross. So you can get the tube in from elsewhere in London and get to the visitors centre free on the bus.

Did you know there are some free bus services around London Heathrow that are ideal for spotters moving around the various perimeter locations?

Bus service between Hatton Cross and Terminal 5 are:

423 via northern perimeter road, Bath Road and Longford village.
441 between Central area and Terminal 5 via northern perimeter road
482 and 490 via Terminal 4 and cargo along southern perimeter road.

All of these buses are free between Hatton Cross and the terminals. They will help you travel between spotting locations at Runways 27L, 27R and 09L for viewing when runways change.

After all the speculation, Gatwick has finally been put up for sale by the BAA. The price tag is estimated at £1.8bn.

BBC News story about the sale:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7620293.stm

With BAA out of the picture, might the new owner (which could be Fraport or Manchester’s owners) provide facilities for spotters once again?

Virgin Atlantic are also interested in buying Gatwick as part of a consortium.

Many people have enquired about what the spotting facilities are like in the new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport.

I’ve compiled the following information from reports received:

Car Parks
The short stay car parks have views over runway 09L/R arrivals from the upper floors.

Landside
Costa Coffee on the north side of the terminal has windows overlooking the threshold of runway 09L
A view of runway 09R is possible from the south side of the terminal.

Airside
Once airside you can freely move between piers.
The best views can be had at gate A7 over the northern runway.
Gate A18 has views of the cargo area and runway 09R threshold.
Pier B has some acceptable views, but these will decrease as Pier C is built.

As always, please post your comments and reviews of travelling through Terminal 5. It is new to Heathrow, so information is needed on good spots and experiences with your binoculars!