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Planespotting Guides for Norway's Airfields and Airports

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Spotting locations and the best spotting hotel rooms for planespotters travelling to airports and airfields in Norway. Use the hotlinks above or scroll down for spotting information on spotting locations, airfield hangar access, aviation museums, preserved aircraft. Plus all the information has been plotted as Points of Interest and can be downloaded to your SatNavs, Google Earth and Google Maps to make planning your spotting trips abroad so much easier and helping you log many more


OSLO AIRPORT (ENGM/OSL)

Spotting Info
  • One terminal with one long pier split into two - a domestic side and an international side. You do not need a boarding card to access the domestic pier but you do for the international pier. If you have one, you can walk nearly the full length of the pier and log everything bar those beyond the non-Schengen security area. Either side of the terminal is a parallel north/south runway and generally one is used for arrivals and the other for departures, with most commuter aircraft usually using the western 01L/19R runway. Being a part of Scandanavia, food and drink are typically very expensive. Oslo is great for a short transfer or maybe a day trip, but for those who have already seen all or most of the SAS, SAS Norway and Norwegian 737s, it will seem very slow.

  • The fire training area, housing LN-MAP CV440 with wings clipped, is very close to the 01R runway threshold and will probably only be visible on arrival and departure. If arriving on 19L and you're sitting on a port side window seat you may catch a glimpse of it through the trees. On taxi out to 01R, a starboard seat will give great views as you taxi straight past it, a port seat will give views as you take off.

  • The Forsvarets Flysamling (Norwegian Armed Forces) Museum is on the western perimeter, alongside the 01L threshold and close to the Comfort Hotel RunWay detailed below. Entry is 75NOK, it's open every weekend from 1200-1600, it's also open during on weekdays but at different times depending on the month of the year, it's best to check their website. To get here from the airport, take shuttle bus S-33 from Stop 25 to the car park (2nd stop) and then it's a short walk. You can walk here from the terminal if you wish, logging movements as you go, it should take around 35 minutes. The walk takes you past a couple of smaller hangars which sometimes have one or two aircraft parked outside. As well as the exhibits on display, you may see an aircraft or two at the back of the hangar under restoration, and there are usually a couple of frames stored round the back of the museum.

    Landside Spotting
  • Leave the terminal on arrival as views are minimal, and go to the departures level at the main entrance to the airport. There are good views of the ramps and runways either side of the terminal - the west end is of this side of the domestic pier and runway 01L/19R and the east side has views of the international pier and runway 01R/19L. By regularly walking along the frontage of the entrance, you can log anything that parks on this side of the pier, however you can miss a fair amount of traffic using the runway opposite to where you are. If 01s are in use, you can monitor both runways but if they're using 19s, you cannot see any aircraft landing at all as they are hidden by the terminal building. If this happens, it's best to log the departures if you can't get airside. You also can't see what is parked on the other side of the long pier and therefore you can only get them when they depart - you will need to listen very carefully for their engines spooling up before they disappear. Being near to the terminal is good for the facilities, but you are spotting outside and therefore open to the elements. No problems from security or police spotting from here. You can also catch Bus S44 over to the Comfort RunWay hotel and spot from the fence there.

  • You also get no hassle from spotting from level 7 of the main terminal car park. Views of both runways and you also look out over the GA, biz, military ramps.

  • The cargo ramp requires a reasonable walk from the arrivals level, which may not be worth it as the apron is often quiet.



    Airside Spotting
    If you are airside, there is a good vantage point at gates 1-7 with views of the commuter, biz and cargo ramps. There is a commuter lounge here for the flight and no problems sitting just outside the commuter lounge for the day, right at the end of the domestic terminal. No boarding card is required to go into the domestic pier but one is required to enter the international pier. Once into the international area there is no return to domestic. At the far end of the international pier are the departure gates for the non-Schengen departures with their own passport control. Once into that area there is no return to the ordinary international area and the cafe at that end closes at 1800. The aircraft parked on these gates can only be read off from inside this area. Most aircraft land on the eastern runway 01R/19L by the international pier and all aircraft use the western 01L/19R runway for departure. The small commuter aircraft land on the western 01L/19R runway by their domestic pier.

    Planespotting Hotels
  • The Radisson Blu Hotel is right next to the terminal so a great location. It generally faces out towards the west runway 01L/19R but if you ask for a high floor (6th for example) room facing the terminal you can log all arrivals if 19s are in use. Departures are difficult because of the angle so an SBS or equivalent is required. If 01s are in use, arrivals may exit the runway before they come into view so you'll either have to wait for them to taxi past onto stand, or get them on departure. Room 6507 looks out to the west across the western runway and has good views of both the GA ramp and the ATP ramp. You also get a view of the cargo ramp, albeit through trees. There are also windows in the corridor with views over to 01R/19L, so if you know something is on final for 01R, you can nip out of your room to quickly see it on approach.
    The Radisson Blu Hotel features on for reviews, prices and room availability

  • The Park Inn Hotel is close to the airport terminal and looks out east over runway 01R/19L. Room 6130 has good runway views, but the other runway is out of sight from this hotel.
    The Park Inn Hotel features on for reviews, prices and room availability

  • The Comfort Hotel RunWay is alongside and overlooks runway 01L/19R. Superb views of this close runway and the terminal building, providing that you have an odd number room, preferably on the 4th floor. Avoid 4107-4111 as these are only good for 01L departures and arrivals because of the way they face. You can see movements on the far runway (01R/19L) but you'll need an SBS or equivalent to tie them up. You can go outside into their courtyard and view from the perimeter fence. Don't get the dedicated hotel bus from the airport as it's expensive - there is a normal public service Bus S44 that does the same route every 30 mins for half the price.
    The Comfort Hotel RunWay features on for reviews, prices and room availability



    STAVANGER AIRPORT

    Spotting Info
  • Inside the domestic terminal, gate 30 has good views, and you'll get no problems from the top of the car park, where all movements can be seen, including the busy helicopter ramps. To the side of the domestic terminal is an open fence area that looks straight onto the helicopter ramps. From the car park, looking across the main runway, you'll see a couple of hangars and ramps that sometimes have helicopters and aircraft parked out. The cargo and GA ramps are within walking distance from the terminal.

  • The Flyhistorisk Museum is located just north of the airport boundary and the GA ramp, and is alongside the water. Open Sundays (but not during winter) 1200-1600, entry is 70NOK. A third of the hangar is occupied by the Sola Videregaende Skola (technical school), housing a few aircraft. The technical school are friendly to visitors, just ask for access although there's usually no one there on Sundays. Most windows will have curtains drawn across, but there should be some windows with unobstructed views of their aircraft. Just beyond the museum building, there are often seaplanes parked up on the water's edge so make sure you have a look. The museum is about a 25 minute walk from the terminal, which takes you right past the cargo and GA ramps to add to the log, or there is a public bus, frequent during the week, less so at weekends, from the terminal to Stavanger which stops at the museum entrance. Make sure you don't get the very expensive SAS coach which runs between the airport and the city.

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    NOTE: This site in no way gives permission to enter any airfield or private property and stresses permission should always be sought before visiting any airfield.
    © Copyright 1997-2017 C.Blackmun. If any information from this site is to be used in any way, in any form of communication, be it printed or electronic, then permission must be requested and granted by me, prior to publication. You are welcome to use the information on trips but credit MUST be given to me, as I have done to all who have contributed. If you can update or add to any of the airport spotting locations please contact me. This site exists because the very social planespotting hobby is one of sharing and, I hope, your planespotting trips, whether you are a civil planespotter, a military aircraft spotter, or both, will benefit greatly from the spotting locations and spotting information contained within. My site contains airport spotting locations and airport spotting hotels and rooms at airfields and airports in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia, North America, South America, Oceana and Africa.