Samedan/St. Moritz (SMV/LSZS)

Europe's highest airport at 1'700 meters sits in a narrow mountain valley. When the snow starts falling, the quiet aerodrome turns into a busy biz-jet hub, welcoming the rich and famous visiting nearby St. Moritz. With its stunning backdrops, good photography spots and the popular apron access, Samedan is a true insider's tip!

Bern-Belp (BRN/LSZB)

The airport of the Swiss capital has for a long time been a sleeping beauty. But the arrival of the new home carrier SkyWork has brought new swing, and together with passenger figures, the numbers of visiting spotters are skyrocketing, too. The charming setting, great spots and respectable traffic mix are just too good to pass up on!

Geneva (GVA/LSGG)

Geneva Airport is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get... But there will always be a sweet surprise! Apart from being a base for Swiss and Easyjet, the city's many assets also attract myriads of Biz-Jets in all shapes and sizes, making Switzerland's second largest airport a great place to visit.

Basel-Mulhouse EuroAirport (BSL/LFSB)

The airport, located on the Swiss-French border and catering to passengers from France, Germany and Switzerland alike, offers a decent variety of charters, cargo traffic and business jets. Guest author and local spotter Joel Vogt reveals the best locations to spot at his home airport.

Zurich (ZRH/LSZH)

Switzerland's busiest airport - and my home - has several attractions to make spotters happy: Great spots, a brand new observation deck, decent traffic, a daily A380 service... And one of the most extensive spotter guides on the web - at least that's what I'm aiming for!

Norwegian Regional Airports UK Crown Dependencies Corfu (CFU/LGKR) Skiathos (JSI/LGSK) Phuket (HKT/VSTP) Osaka Itami (ITM/RJOO) by Bike Hong Kong (HKG/VHHH)

Move straight to: Asia | Europe | Various

Guides: Asia

Hong Kong (HKG/VHHH)

Hong Kong's Airport which opened up in 1998, with upwards of 800 aircraft movements per day, is the second busiest in Asia in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest of the world for cargo operations. Hong Kong resident Edwin Chai shows us the spots to get the most out of a visit to this fascinating place.

Beijing (PEK/ZBAA)

Beijing's Capital Airport has rapidly ascended the rankings of the world's busiest airports, and currently comes in second. Over 500'000 aircraft movements per year and some well accessible photo spots make for an easy glimpse into Chinese and Asian aviation.

Dubai (DXB/OMDB)

DXB can be considered the shooting star in the airport world. Handling 66 million passengers per year (+15%!), it just jumped to second place in the world's busiest airports ranking. While a new, larger airport is built outside of the city limits, it's best to visit Dubai's "old" airport while it's still at its busiest!

Abu Dhabi (AUH/OMAA)

With its two runways and 17 million passengers, Abu Dhabi airport is the second largest in the United Arab Emirates. It is the hub of flag carrier Etihad Airways and welcomes another 50 airlines from nearby countries as well as from places in Africa, Asia and Australia.

Phuket (HKT/VTSP)

Spotting in paradise! Take pictures from a lovely beach and watch lots of exotic planes!

Osaka (ITM/RJOO) by Bike

Guest editor Edwin Chai presents a fun way to go spotting at the domestic airport of Japan's second largest city, Osaka: By bike, like the locals do. So come along on a ride!

 

Guides: Europe

Ibiza (IBZ/LEIB)

The Balearic island, which is mostly known for its pristine beaches and vibrant nightlife, also offers a mid-sized airport with pretty good photo opportunities.

 

Barcelona (BCN/LEBL)

Barcelona isn't just a top-notch tourist destination, its airport is becoming a planespotter's favorite, too! A generous amount of Russian charter traffic is definitely the main draw, but good spots, a clear and predictable runway system, decent public transport and good weather are other contributing factors. And hey, one spot's even located right on a beautiful sandy beach. What are you waiting for?

Norway's secondary Airports

Apart from Oslo, there's not too much information to be found about planespotting at larger Norwegian airports. So I packed my hiking boots and travelled up north to find out. May I present: A rough guide to spotting at Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø and Hammerfest.

UK Islands: Isle of Man & Channel Islands

A rough guide to spotting on some beautiful British islands: The Isle of Man (IOM/EGNS) and the Channel Islands, consisting of Jersey (JER/EGJJ), Guernsey (GCI/EGJB) and Alderney (ACI/EGJA), are all very charming and offer nice places to spot. Traffic won't blow you away, but give it a try!

Nice Côte d'Azur (NCE/LFMN)

Feel like stalking VIPs? The gateway to the famous city of Nice sees the usual blend of European traffic, and occasional heavy - and of course biz-jets in all sizes and colours. All you need is a long lens and a little bit of luck!

 

Guides: Various

Track your flight with a GPS watch

By taking a GPS watch along on your flights, you can not only record your routing for later use, but also use it as your live route computer while on board. Here's a short report about my experiences using a GlobalSat GH-625m GPS sport watch.

 

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