FDH-Spot 1
Friedrichshafen Bodensee Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on October 28, 2026
In 2022 the airport handled 340.000 passengers. Air Uniqon and Wizz Air are the only carriers serving FDH the whole year round. During the summer expect several summer charters by Ryanair, Corendon, Aegean and many more. During the winter easyJet and Norwegian serving FDH as mainly Skitouristflights. During the World Economic Forum a couple of big Buisenessjets are parked here. Also when there is the fair AERO Expo there are houndreds especially probs arround the airport. Also the “Klassikwelt Bodensee” is an interessting fair. The Dorniermuseum is also worth a visit and last but not least the Zeppelin hangar!
Written by Patrick Weis and Alex Hofmann (Spot 8). Last Update: October 2026, Spot 8 added
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 06/24 | 2.356 m (7.729ft) |
| Terminals | One for all civil flights. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Helpful at spots 4 – 6 with 3 steps. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is not neccesary, but makes it easier. Also good accesable via public transport. There is a train station directly at the terminal. |
| Restrooms | In the Terminal and at the marked bakery. |
| Drinks/Food | As shown on the map. |
| Hotels | There is an IBIS Hotel directly at the airport. |
| Season | The best month to travel are during the summer as there is not that much rain. More intresting traffic during the winter |
| Runway Usage | |
| 07/25 | Depends on the wind direction. Used in both directions. |
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Spot #1 – Long Term parking – 24 arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located on the longterm carpark of the airport. Park at the Terminal Parking as this is a bit cheaper for one day. Also you can reach this spot easily from the trainstation. Walk up to the fence at the longtermcarpark. Check this link for the parking fares. |
| WHAT | Best spot for 24 arrivals but 06 depatures are to high here. In the summer month there is often heat haze due to the distance here. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from sunrise till 08:00 |
| MISC. | All you need you’ll find in the Terminal |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 55-300mm |
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Spot #2 – Observationdeck – 24 arrivals and departures, terminal ramp |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Park as written in spot 1. Just go into the terminal and follow the sings to the Observationdeck. It is free of charge and before security checks. There is a fence and sadly the gaps are very tight and taking pictures is very difficult. |
| WHAT | This spot is especially good for planes using runway 24 on arrival or depature as they taxi close past you. But also aircraft for 06 will pass here when they’re parked at the terminal, for departures if they are not heavy the’re to high. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are good from sunrise till 15:30 |
| MISC. | All you need you can find in the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 15-300 |
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Spot #3 – Dornier Museum mound – All movements |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is next to the Dorniermuseum and the Terminal. You can park your car at the Dorniermuseum or at the Weekends for a short stop at the Ringeltaubeshop and walk up the mound. |
| WHAT | From this spot you can take all plane movements on both runway directions. During the Aero Expo many planes are parked here very close so you have to go to the highest point of the hill. Sometimes it’s slippery here! |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from sunrise till 15:30 |
| MISC. | The next facility is the Dorniermuseum with restrooms and a restaurant inside. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-400mm |
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Spot #4 – Hangar – All movements, apron |
|---|---|
| WHERE | For this spot you have to park your car at the carpark next to the Bakery and the BMW car dealer and walk to the fence at the hangar. Position yourself along the fence with a ladder. |
| WHAT | From this spot you can take pictures of all runway movements better for 06 than 24. Sometimes they are taxiing very close to you here. Shots of the apron in front of the hangar are possible as well. |
| TIME | Best light conditions are good from sunrise till 15:30 for the runway and sunset for parked aircraft |
| MISC. | There is a bakery shop nearby. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 18-300 |
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Spot #5 – Carbon Fibertech – 06 lineup and arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located next to the Company ‘Carbon Fibertech’. Park your car at the side of the road and walk up to the fence. |
| WHAT | From this spot you can shoot all plane movements on arrival and lineup to runway 06 |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from sunrise till 15:30 for arrivals and 14:00 till sunset for the lineup. |
| MISC. | No facilitys nearby. Ladder is needed. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 18/50-200 |
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Spot #6 – Driveway – 06 lineup and arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located at a driveway of a main traffic road through Friedrichshafen and here is a lot of traffic. Park your car as marked on the map at the street in the industrial zone |
| WHAT | From this spot you can shot all arrivals and line-ups on runway 06. Some aircraft unrolling runway 24 are possible as well. |
| TIME | Literally possible the whole day for arrivals on 06. Just postion yourself on the north or south of the runway axis. Line-Ups for 06 from early. afternoon |
| MISC. | No facilitys nearby. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-300 |
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Spot #7 – Schlätterstraße – 06 arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located next to the Schlätterstraße on the side of the road. Just park your car at the side of the road. |
| WHAT | All aircraft on arrival to runway 24 in the evening |
| TIME | Best light conditions are from sunrise till 17:00 till sunset during the summer months. |
| MISC. | No facilitys nearby. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300 |
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Spot #8 – Tankstelle -Apron and Taxiway |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The location is called “Tankstelle” among locals as its located at the GA-self-service fuel pump and is a gravel/concrete area close to the apron. The airport fence at the location is generic construction-fence with additional mesh on top. Therefore most lenses comfortably fit through and no ladder is needed. Sometimes (mostly in peak summer season) the area is used as additional long-term-parking, so be careful with parked cars if present. Also there might be glass splinters around so be careful. |
| WHAT | Primarily for parked or taxiing aircraft on Apron 3, especially on the southwestern end. Apron 3 is used for GA-parking an the southwestern end especially for bigger VIP-Aircraft like 737/A320 Fam or Military (e.g. GAF A400M) and Cargo even though pretty rare. The bigger aircraft are mostly parked facing southwest and parallel to taxiway N. During Aero Expo and WEF (World Economic Forum Davos) Apron 3 is used as parking space for a lot of small GA and Businessjets. They are also parked really close to the fence, even sometimes reaching over the fence, but not to useful for taking pictures as the aircraft are parked too close, close together and are partly covered almost all of the time. Taxiing aircraft on N are also visible, but the area between the spot an taxiway is often used for parking of airport vehicles and therefore the view is blocked. Departures on 24 might work if airborne at the right time, on 06 the aircraft is not yet airborne and the gear will be covered by terrain. Not worth for departing or landing aircraft, use spot 3 (Dornier Museum Hill) instead. |
| TIME | From morning till afternoon all year round. Best from 1200 until the sun is aligned with the runway. |
| MISC. | Pretty much nothing right there, but the terminal is not too far as well as a bakery further to the south. You will stay pretty short at this spot anyways as its mostly for parked aircraft so not much needed. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | B727 100mm, CRJ9 130mm; AN12 70mm; FA8X 120mm, A220 50mm |
Hey, it would be really nice to know wether the Sun Air Do328 are stored at FDH during these hard times or they were flown to one of Sun Airs bigger bases eg Billund. And if yes, they are stored at FDH, which spot would you recommend?
Thanks in advance and greetings straight out of Memmingen,
Lars