Planespotting Guides for Turkey's Airports and Airfields
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Spotting locations, viewing areas, the best spotting hotel rooms and advice on access for plane spotters travelling to airports and airfields in Turkey. 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
A visa is required to enter Turkey, but a 3 month tourist visa can be purchased on arrival for £10
PRESERVED & STORED AIRCRAFT IN TURKEY - their locations are marked in the Spotting in Turkey download
69-7448 RF-4E Phantom is preserved in Seka Park, Izmit
TC-BDR Aerophille Balloon is by the pier in Kadikoy
ANTALYA AIRPORT (LTAI/AYT)
Spotting Info
Antalya has 3 terminals and 3 runways. Terminal 1 is at the north of the airport and its gates lookout over the thresholds of runways 18C and 18R, the domestic terminal next to it but Terminal 2 is quite a
way south and faces south. The 3 runways are parallel, 18L is to the east of the terminal areas, with 18C and 18R to the west of them. Due to the wind direction, between 1000-1800 18s are in use, between
1800-1000 36s are in use and they land over the sea. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays tend to be the busiest days with a lot of Russian and a fair amount of eastern European flights, though there are a fair amount of Russian flights every day. Wednesdays see a lot of Scandanavian flights and Tuesdays are very quiet. Traffic is mainly the Turkish airlines - Pegasus, Freebird, Onur, Sky, Sun Express and Turkish Airlines. The military base is alongside the western perimeter. At the entrance is gate guard 63-12718 F104 Starfighter.
Planespotting Hotels - their locations are marked in the Spotting in Turkey download
The IC Hotel just off the main E90 highway on the main road into Antalya airport can be expensive but is the best place to stay and has the best views. Rooms 2557 and 2563 have good views of departing traffic if they're using 36s. If on 18s then maybe rooms 2503-11 would be better. SBS will also be very useful too.
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The Club Hotel Sera is a 5* resort with a good all-inclusive rate. Situated at the western end of Lara Beach, it's south of Antalya airport and slightly offset to runway 36R final approach. Room 1711 is a family room (all family rooms are at the southern end of the hotel), and when runway 36s are in use, both tracks are right towards you. Odd numbered rooms face east, away from the flightline, so an even numbered room would allow longer to read aircraft off. 18L departures often turn left before they reach the hotel, so even numbered rooms would miss around half the departing traffic. However this is just for spotting from your room. From the various sun loungers, pools and private beach you're not going to miss much at all. The hotel staff appear at ease with our hobby, with small telescopes, binoculars and cameras used discreetly and without hassle. Arrivals carry on throughout the night, and cloud-free moonlit nights allow the aircraft to still be read off in many cases.
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DALAMAN AIRPORT (LTBS/DLM)
Spotting Info
From the departure lounge of the International Terminal you get unrestricted views of all movements. The biz ramp is at the northern end of the airport, beyond the Domestic Terminal as looking from the International Terminal. Just south of the International Terminal and car park is the entrance to the military base, where gate guards 8060 F104 Starfighter marked "9-2000" and 66-9224 F5 Freedom Fighter are preserved.
ETIMESGUT AIR BASE & MUSEUM (LTAD/ANK)
Spotting Info
There are a couple of pull ins along the road that runs just to the north of the base, and parallel with it. This will give views of the apron though they may be parked almost tail on and difficult to read. Just east of the main apron, 6073 C-47 is preserved. In the east corner of the base is the museum. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 0900-1630. Heading south from the museum, turn right past the runway threshold for the Aeronautical Association where there are various small roads to turn down and read off any aircraft parked out on the ramps. Continue along here as far as you can as there are numerous parking areas with their storage area right at the very end. The best place to read off the aircraft on the main air force ramp is along the road that runs along the western perimeter - Etiler Cd. Head north along here and after you cross the river you can pull in at various places for the northern air force ramp. Heat haze can be a big problem though.
ISTANBUL-ATATURK AIRPORT (LTBA/IST) - TWR 118.1 / APP 126.4 & 120.5 / GND 121.8
Airport Information
The two parallel runways 17/35 are mainly used for departures with some arrivals, with 05/23 at the southern end of the airport used for military movements at the air base and airport arrivals. Being Turkey's main airport and Turkish Airlines' main base, you can expect to see most of their fleet over a few days.
The Fly Inn Shopping Mall
Located towards the southern end of the parallel 17/35 runways, on Yesilkoy Caddesi, is the balcony on the top floor of the Fly Inn Shopping Mall. A fantastic location for reading registrations, watching movements and photographs. It's regularly used by spotters and the general public so no problems with spotting or photographing from here, and you can make good use of the amenities and facilities on offer. Views of aircraft parked up at both terminals and distant views of cargo and maintenance areas but the biz/storage ramp are out of sight to the left. Walking up and down this road will obviously give you different views across the field, and walking north should bring the biz/storage ramp into view.
Terminal Spotting Info
Landside, in the arrivals part of the international terminal you can spot from where Burger King used to be, just follow the signs, though this isn't a great place. Very poor view of one runway and you can only read off between gaps as the aircraft go past. You can see all movements in departures upstairs. Airside after dark, you can freely walk the gates logging as you go, a necessity as it's difficult to log the movements. Discretion is required using binoculars in the terminal but you shouldn't encounter any problems. It's better to stay airside as long as possible, though if you're flying to England you're not allowed to check in more than 2 hours before departure, so head to the domestic terminal spot below until then.
In the domestic terminal, to the left of the cafe bar next to the passenger screening are some steps up to a number of dirty windows with a limited view of movements and part of the maintenance area.
Generally, you're not disturbed though be discreet as there are a lot of security around and some people have been asked not to use binoculars here.
Other Spotting Info
There are numerous aircraft stored around the biz area - parked either side of the buildings are 6 A300s: TC-COA, TC-OIM and TC-OYC all in BEA colours, TC-FLA has a green tail, TC-FLJ is all white and
TC-FLM 'Fly' titles and engines removed. TC-KET An12 is in the southwest corner of this area and is probably only visible on arrival or departure. Make sure you get the 'A' window seat for arrival and departure as 35L and 35R are usually in use and will provide the best chance of viewing the storage areas. Just south of this area and just outside the airport perimeter is an unmarked fuselage of possibly a B707 - can anyone provide an ID please? Also stored at the airport are MD82s TC-TTA, TC-TTB and 9A-CBH, usually found over near the maintenance hangars and adjacent apron.
On the northern perimeter, either side of the Radisson Blu hotel detailed below, are a couple of footbridges - the eastern footbridge (exit the hotel to the left and it's in front of you) has similar
views than you get from the hotel room, just from a different angle that may help you log a few more but the western footbridge has views of the other side of the biz/GA/storage area. Turn right out of the
hotel and follow the road for a couple of minutes and it'll come into view shortly. Please note there are numerous watchtowers around the airport, two or three of these have views of these footbridges so
be very discreet and exercise caution whilst spotting from here.
If it is photos you are after, the well documented Florya beach area, as well as the Fly Inn shopping mall detailed above, are the places to head for. The Turkish Air Force T41s are flying way off to
the east and too far to read them off.
On the southern perimeter of the airport is the Havacilik Muzesi (Istanbul Aviation Museum) - you have to hand your bag in before you enter. Entrance is 4TL (about £1.50) and if you want to take photos you'll need to purchase a camera permit for 16TL (about £6.40). The museum is open from 0900-1600 Wednesday-Friday, 0900-1700 at weekends and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. If the museum is due to be closed whilst you're visiting Turkey, you can email the museum in advance as their opening times/days sometimes change. If it is closed, nearly all exhibits are outside. The Turkish Air Force T41s can't be seen from here either - when they're not flying they're parked in the HASs. Walking along the road towards the fountain roundabout (with the Turkish Air Force Academy beyond), you'll pass the helipad on the left containing the based Hueys though you should advise extreme caution in trying to read them off. At the roundabout, a road runs north alongside the helicopter ramp which then brings the HASs into view, with maybe the T41s parked outside them, though you may not be able to read anything off from here. If you're staying at the Radisson Blu hotel detailed below, or a hotel that's not close to the museum, your hotel can arrange a taxi to the museum - they're very cheap, and will return if you ask them to and at an agreed time. Visit the information desk on arrival and ask the person there to write a note that you can show to a taxi driver to explain what you want, and agree the rate in advance if you are doing this. Note that the locals pronounce the area around this museum side of the airport as Yeshilkoy as the s or c characters with a hook underneath are spoken as if there is an h following them. It's also opposite Yesilkoy train station.
The Turkish Air Force Academy is further up the road from the museum above, the other side of the roundabout with the large fountain on and easily walkable. Guarding the entrance are 28816 F84 and 42059 F100. Photographs are not advisable as this is a military base and armed guards are present. At the back of the buildings, by the sea and helipad, you'll find the parade ground with preserved F104s 5711, 9078 marked "078" and 9083 marked "083". These F104s aren't visible from the main road though the housing estate just to the south of it may have views. They are visible, however, from a high, airport-facing room at the expensive Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel detailed below, or from a long distance across the water from the Galaria Atakoy area with a good telescope, or from a boat trip across the bay.
Planespotting Hotels - their locations are marked in the Spotting in Turkey download
At the Radisson Blu Hotel, room 350 overlooks the threshold for the parallel 17 runways. A large number of the rooms face the airport, so getting a suitable room should be no problem, just ask for a high floor room facing the airport. Rooms 324, 328, 330 offer these views, as will the same room numbers on the 4th and 5th floors: rooms 441-450 and 479-487 are very good examples. The suites here are fantastic, though expensive, but worth it if a number of you are travelling and can split the cost of the one suite to be used for spotting, and your other cheaper rooms. Windows are tinted and very dirty: fine for spotting and you're shielded from the guards in the nearby watchtowers, but terrible for photography. Do not be tempted to stand outside the hotel taking photos though, there is a watchtower opposite the hotel which is manned by an armed guard. These parallel runways are mainly used for departures, with some arrivals, so everything departing during daylight hours can be read off regardless of whether they're using 17 or 35. You can't read the arrivals on 05/23 as it's way off in the distance - an SBS will tie these up, though the hotel can block the signal until the last minute if they're using 15s, or you can log them on departure or tie them up later as long you have the callsigns. Take a radio - all non-Turkish Airlines aircraft are asked for their registration when landing and when requesting start up about 15 mins before departure. Monitor the tower and ground frequencies above. If they're using 17s you get an excellent view of the aircraft as they queue for departure. If they're using 35s, they'll be in the air by the time they reach the hotel and, depending on the position of the registration on the fuselage, often you have to rely on reading the reg on the underside of the wing. However, they're so close this isn't too much of a problem, although the sun can get in the way during the morning. Looking down the runways, to the left is the cargo area and maintenance, with the domestic terminal a bit further away. The heat haze can be a problem, but when it's cooler you can read a lot of these parked up on stand. Keep checking the maintenance area, as things are moved about quite a lot. The main biz area is to the right of the parallel runways and therefore right in front of the hotel. There are a lot of hangars in this area with biz being towed in and out of them throughout the day so keep an eye on here. Free shuttle bus to and from the airport, runs every 30 minutes. Outside the hotel are a couple of footbridges - the eastern footbridge (exit the hotel to the left and it's in front of you) has similar views than you get from the hotel room, just from a different angle that may help you log a few more but the western footbridge has views of the other side of the biz/GA/storage area. Turn right out of the hotel and follow the road for a couple of minutes and it'll come into view shortly. Please note there are numerous watchtowers around the airport, two or three of these have views of these footbridges so be very discreet and exercise caution whilst spotting from here. Food and drink at the hotel is very expensive - the restaurant next to it comes recommended by many as good quality at a good price. If you leave the hotel and go to the Shell petrol station just along to the right (about 150 metres), you can buy some cheap and drinkable beer and snacks at the shop. There is a local shop further down the road past the Police station as well as a number of food places.
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The Istanbul International TAV Airport Hotel is landside within the International Terminal but it has its own separate entrance, with X-ray machines before reception. No views from the rooms but there is a ramp view from the bar/restaurant of a couple of the southern stands plus movements on runway 05/23. No views of parallel 18/36 runways either so it's best not to spot from here but it's location is ideal for the other spotting areas. After dark it's not possible to read off anything.
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The Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel is located just to the southeast of the airport and on the coastline. Room 1110 has excellent views of the Internation Terminal apron and movements on 05/23 plus the parallel 17/35 runways depending on wind direction. You will need a good scope or binoculars though as the windows are tinted and some movements can be a way off. SBS will obviously be useful. From high, airport-facing rooms, you also have views of the preserved aircraft at the Turkish Air Force Academy detailed above, particularly the 3 F104s at the parade ground, out of sight from the main road that runs past. You also have views of the Turkish Air Force T41s that fly circuits all day using the southwestern part of the main Istanbul-Ataturk airport. The Havacilik Muzesi (Istanbul Aviation Museum) detailed above is about a 20 minute walk from here.
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ISTANBUL-HARBIYE ASKERI MUZESI
Spotting Info
A short walk north from Taksim Square along Cumhuriyet Cd. Three aircraft exhibits amongst the military and historical exhibits and displays - you'll see TC-CDJ Cessna U-17 come into view before the main entrance. The OH-13S is where you enter and the CF-104 is outside at the other end. All 3 are visible from outside althought the F104 is only just. Open Wednesday-Sunday 0900-1700, entrance is 3TL and an additional 6TL for a photography pass.
ISTANBUL-HASKOY RAHMI M KOC MUZESI
Spotting Info
You can visit by boat, it's very cheap, alight at Haskoy Pier - you can see the Submarine and DC-3 TC-ALI as you approach this stop. Walk through the Haskoy Parki, turn left and the entrance is 100 metres along on the left. If you have a car, parking is free, and there are bus stops nearby. Open Tuesday-Friday 1000-1700, summer weekends 1000-2000, winter weekends 1000-1800 and entrance is 12.50TL. Most of the exhibits are outside, 3 are inside and there's a Bell AH-1S on the ship deck. Don't forget to also visit the building across the road as you look to the right, as it has a Blackurn Type D Monoplane and a Vampire.
ISTANBUL-SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT (LTFJ/SAW)
Spotting Info
Pegasus' hub, so usually good to spend several hours here. On the GA ramp west of the main terminal area, down towards the 06 threshold, 9L-LDU B707 is stored, derelict, following a major fire here in December 2005. Best views are airside. Landside there's nothing of note in or around the terminal.
Planespotting Hotels - its location is plotted in the Spotting in Turkey download
The Airport Residence Hotel is less then a 4km taxi ride away. Ask for room numbers ending 00 or 01, the higher floor the better. From room 701 you can read aircraft taxiing for departure when runway 24 is in use with a good pair of binoculars. If they're using 06 then it's more difficult but SBS will tie most movements up. As the rooms have their own lounge and kitchen they're more like apartments and you can get a good per night rate that includes breakfast. This hotel is preferable to the ISG Hotel at the airport as the ISG is the same height as the terminal buildings, and therefore there are no views.
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SAMANDIRA AIR BASE (LTBX)
Spotting Info
The gate guard here is 11050 U-17. Head past south the U-17 and take the next right. Along here on the right is a road alongside a residential area that provides the best views of the U-17 and helicopter aprons. Heat haze can be a big problem here so get here early.
SELCUK-EFES AIRFIELD (LTFB)
Spotting Info
Along the D515 just a couple of miles west of Selcuk town. TC-ZYG An2 fuselage is pole mounted near the entrance to advertise for the parachute club. TC-EAN SIAT S223 is pole mounted by the car park. Any parked outside can be read off as you drive down the road towards the airfield.
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