6 European Airports With Preserved Aircraft to See

If you’re travelling for vacation, business or spotting, it’s always great to come across an airport that offers a little bit more for the enthusiast to see.

Whether it be a based military squadron, a taxiway full of stored airliners, or a collection of preserved museum aircraft.

Across Europe there are many airports with such collections, usually related the history of the airport itself, or the country’s aviation heritage.

Here are six of these airports across Europe that offer a collection of preserved aircraft within the airport grounds for you to see or visit.

Munich Besucherpark

DC-3 at Munich. Photo (c) Ashwin Chandrasekaran

Munich Airport is the second busiest in Germany. It is a major long-haul hub for Lufthansa, and is served by many airlines from across Europe and the rest of the world.

Thanks to its dedicated viewing facilities (as is true of many German airports), Munich is popular with plane spotters.

Just alongside the main access road to the airport is a collection of preserved aircraft to visit. Known as the Besucherpark, it comprises a Lockheed Constellation, Doulgas DC-3 and Junkers Ju-52. You can wander among them and take photographs.

There’s also a good viewing platform alongside, the chance to take airside tours, plus play areas for the kids and a café.

Open daily, free of charge. See website.

Malaga Airport Museum

Convair 440 at Malaga. Photo (c) Colin Cooke

Hidden away near the entrance to Malaga Airport – popular with holidaymakers visiting Spain’s Costa del Sol – is a small museum collection of preserved aircraft.

The Malaga Airport Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, plus Spanish bank holidays (except Christmas and New Year) from 10am to 2pm (8pm on Tuesday).

The collection includes some classic types like a Beech 18, Convair 440, Douglas DC-3, and the forward fuselage of a DC-9.

Free entry. See https://aeromuseo.org/

Manchester Runway Visitor Park

Manchester has long been a favourite among aviation enthusiasts and spotters in the UK. In recent years it has continued its growth with more flights than ever and more interesting airlines to see, among the usually low-cost and leisure carriers it was always known for.

The Runway Visitor Park is a dedicated area for those that wish to come and watch aircraft movements. Despite losing some of its view thanks to neighbouring building work, you can still enjoy good views of aircraft close-up.

Also at the Runway Visitor Park you’ll find a café, aviation shop, and a collection of preserved airliners. These include a Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B, a Nimrod, an Avro RJX prototype, the forward fuselage of a Douglas DC-10, and start of the show – British Airways Concorde G-BOAC. Tours are available of most of the aircraft.

Open daily from 8am (closing time depends on time of the year). Free for those on foot/public transport, but charges apply for car parking. See https://www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk/visit-us/opening-times-and-prices/

Budapest Aeropark Museum

Photo (c) Erik Ritterbach

For fans of Soviet-era airliners, Budapest Airport in Hungary has a special treat awaiting you.

Just alongside the airport’s main terminal is a collection of preserved aircraft which includes a good selection of the country’s aviation history. Among them are classic types like the Ilyushin Il-14, Il-18, Tupolev Tu-134, Tu-154 and Yakovlev Yak-42 among many others.

For details of opening times and prices, see https://aeropark.hu/en/museum/

Budapest Ferihegy Aircraft Museum

Amsterdam Schiphol

Amsterdam is another of Europe’s major airports to provide facilities for those wishing to enjoy watching and spotting aircraft movements.

The airport is huge, with six active runways spread all around the expansive site.

Part of the fun of Schiphol are the various official and unofficial spotting locations around the perimeter. Among these is the Panorama Terrace on top of the terminal, which is home to a preserved KLM Cityhopper Fokker 100 aircraft.

Elsewhere around the site you’ll find a former KLM Boeing 747-400 in Corendon colours at the Corendon Hotel just to the north of the airport.

To the south of the airport, near the threshold of runway 36R (where there is a spotting location), there is a preserved Fokker F-27 rising from an artificial lake. This is to commemorate the former Fokker factory at the airport.

Finally, inside the terminal itself you’ll find the forward fuselage of a Douglas DC-9 (before security, near the entrance to the Panorama Terrace), and a Learjet that has been turned into a children’s play area in the departure lounge.

Spotting Preserved Airliners at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Paris Orly

Photo (c) Alec Wilson

The second busiest of Paris’s main airports, Orly is to the south of the city and is an interesting place to see many French airlines and aircraft that don’t usually fly from Charles de Gaulle airport – airlines like Corair and French Bee. It’s also popular with many foreign airlines from countries linked to France, like Algeria and Morocco.

The airport has a good viewing terrace on top of the terminal for viewing and photography.

Just to the south of Orly (and within sight of the viewing terrace if you don’t want to travel to it) is the Museum Delta. It is not the largest aviation museum in the world, but for fans of classic jets it packs a punch.

Star exhibit is former prototype Concorde F-WTSA, which wears vintage Air France colours. Also here is a Dassault Mirage III and other fighter aircraft. Preserved on the airport site, and soon to relocate to the museum, is a Sud Aviation Caravelle airliner.

Open Wednesday and Saturday, 2-6pm. See https://museedelta.wixsite.com/musee-delta/home

Have you visited any of these preserved aircraft collections whilst spotting at or flying through these airports? Do you know of any other airports with aircraft collections to visit? Leave a comment below!

Title image: Uwe Schwarzbach

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