Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan has opened a new observation area for watching aircraft.

Built for people to wave off family, and watch them arrive, it’s also perfect for the enthusiast with its views over one of the runways and many of the parking stands at the terminal.

The area is believed to be indoors, which makes it sheltered and air conditioned, but it’s likely to mean photography is through glass.

Have you visited? What’s the observation area like?

Perth Airport in Western Australia has a brand new viewing area built with the aviation enthusiast in mind.

The special paved area, with shelter, seating and interesting information boards has been constructed alongside the main runway, and is very close to the action.

It is perfect for logging movements, and is great for photography.

The viewing area is open daily between 6.30am and 7.00pm (October to March) and between 7.30am and 5.30pm (April to September).  It is accessed from Dunreath Drive (the link road connecting the International and Domestic Terminals).  A signed entry point is located approximately half way along Dunreath Drive and car parking at the site is free.

Fantastic news for spotters visiting Perth! Have you visited?

Perth Airport is featured in Airport Spotting Guides Far East and Australasia.

I recently flew to Cartagena in Colombia for a short trip away from Bogota. We flew on AeroRepublica EMB-190 and had a great experience – although the flight was a little bumpy going out, with the afternoon thunderstorms brewing around the coast.

Cartagena is a lovely old walled city, full of Caribbean charm, colourful buildings, endless vistas of the sea, sunsets, and great wining and dining experiences. But you’re here for the aircraft, so I’ll carry on.

The terminal at Cartagena Airport is very modern. And sadly it does not knowingly cater for the spotter at all. When arriving or departing, passengers funnel through a walkway which leads between the aircraft and the terminal. If you’re in the departure lounge, your view out of the window is of this walkway and its slatted wall. In order to see aircraft, you have to wait until they move, and with binoculars focussed on a gap, hope the registration passes by.

Nevertheless, once you walk to/from the aircraft, you do get a chance to see what’s on the smallish ramp. This usually includes MD-80s and F100s of Avianca, EMB-190s of AeroRepublica, 737-700s and DHC-8s of AIRES, and the odd US airline such as Spirit. Movements are fairly quiet – maybe 4 per hour at peak times.

Cartagena does play host to a number of biz jets each day, however. They park either to the side of the airliner ramp, or on the ramp on the opposite side of the runway. Also, there are a number of Air Force and Navy aircraft in residence, including Casa CN235s.

Around the terminal there are no obvious views of the aircraft, apart from on the road passing the end of the runway, where you’ll see aircraft just as they depart or land. I wouldn’t venture much around looking for holes in the fence, as there ‘s a strong military presence, and the housing area is quite poor around the airport.

AeroRepublica HK-4506 at Cartagena

AIRES 737-700s fly from Bogota

These two biz jets were in Cartagena in July 2009

Cartagena Airport from above

Manchester Airport’s Aviation Viewing Park now has multiple entry tickets available for those who visit regularly and want to save a bit of money on the entrance fee. The TAS Manchester site has full details.

The tickets come in batches of 25, 50 and 100. These are priced £25, £50 and £100 respectively. I’m sure you can work out that means entrance is therefore reduced to £1 per visit. You can buy tickets from the entrance kiosk, but if you present your TAS membership at the Aviation Shop on site, you’ll get 10% off the ticket cost.

There’s no mention whether the tickets are for pedestrians only, or include car entrance. Perhaps someone could comment if they know.

Sunderland Air Show takes place this year on Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 July, with flying from 10am-6pm.

Since Sunderland has no airfield these days, the visiting aircraft tend to stay at Durham Tees Valley and Newcastle Airports overnight, and quite often put on a little display at each as they depart/arrive for the seafront show at Sunderland.

Newcastle has announced there will be a small viewing area at Samsons on the south side, where the Wings bar used to be. This will give a good view of what’s in, since it all parks on the south side. Click here for a map.

If you’re at Durham Tees Valley, there’s usually ample places to watch the action. The best is probably from the layby at the end of Runway 23, on the A67 road. Click here for a map.

Dusseldorf Airport’s railway station observation is currently closed. The whole building seems to be going through reconstruction. Sadly this is probably the best viewing area at the airport, but all is not lost since the observation deck in the terminal building is still open.

Manchester Airport’s excellent Aviation Viewing Park’s entrance prices have changed. They are now:

£2 for pedestrians
£5 for cars + driver (extra cost for passengers)

Barcelona Airport has showed a step towards welcoming spotters by erecting a tower giving enthusiasts a great view over the runways and aprons.The tower has been put up by the airport authority AENA, and the local council in a bid to provide somewhere official for spotters to congregate.

It can be found alongside the threshold of Runway 25R, and will require driving or a lengthy walk to get there. However beggars can’t be choosers, and this really is the best spot for viewing and photographing aircraft at Barcelona, as the sun is always behind you.

A Spanish website has run an article on the spotting tower. You can read it here.

The viewing decks at Zurich will now close on 1 November for building work.

The deck on Pier E will re-open in January 2009.

Thanks to Thomas Jaeger for the information.

Why not purchase Airport Spotting Guides Europe to find out alternative spotting locations at Zurich?

After a while of speculating the future of the viewing decks at Zurich Airport, which are invaluable spotting locations at this airport, I can now confirm that the original Deck B will close from October.

Deck E will remain open, with a shuttle bus ferrying passengers across to it every 30 minutes.

Keep an eye on the airport’s official website for more details closer to the time.

Thanks to Thomas Jaeger at CH-Aviation for this information.