Bogota International El Dorado (BOG/SKBO) is Colombia’s biggest and busiest airport serving roughly 30 million passenger a year. The airport was opened in 1959, the second runway was added in 1998 and since 2017, there are discussions about a third runway as the capacity was increased lately by extending the apron/parking possibilities. Bogota El Dorado is home to major local carriers like Avianca or Viva, but is also the international gateway which connects the Southamerican country with the rest of the world. Thus you will be able to catch various Southamerican airlines here like JetSmart or Wingo as well. Apart from the passenger traffic, BOG also offers lots of cargo movements liek Avianca Cargo A330s for example. Furthermore, you may be lucky to see some rare aircraft types thanks to the military/state authorities or cargo carrier – for example B727s or DC3s.

However, spotting is absolutely not easy here. You can take pictures at some positions between powerlines, houses and trees, but those are not super easy to reach, not as comfortable and safe as one may be used to and in addition sometimes only offer a little shooting window or bad angle. In the following, we still want to share the best spots around BOG with you.

Written by Severin Hackenberger in cooperation with Marc David Bach and Guido Allieri. Last Update: 2019

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
14R/32L	3800m – Asphalt
14L/32R	3800m – Asphalt
Terminals
Terminal 1	Modern facilitiy in the middle – used for all heavies and most bigger aircraft.
Terminal 2	Small and old facility in the (south)east – used by small aircraft like ATRs.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not useful and thus needed anywhere. Also not recommended at all!
Car/Public Transport	A car is definitely needed as public transport is poor and not as safe as a personal vehicle.
Drinks/Food	There are some shops around the airport (mainly south, east and north). For spots 3-5 take everything with you!
Hotels	There are no spotter hotels around the airport but obviously plenty other without special views.
Season	Weather and light is frankly very much the same the whole year around.
Security	Spotting is not prohibited in general, but you may get to know some officers anyway who think they need to send you away. So always keep a low profile, which we recommend in general as cameras may not just attract authorities, also thieves, as you are out in the public at almost all spots!
Runway Usage
General Info	There is no preferred direction, nor a preferred runway for cargos/military, lot of variety rather.

	Spot #1 – Park – 32L Arrivals
WHERE	This spot is located in a small park southeast of the airport just next to  some tall living blocks. Just head for a basketball court next to Calle 23h.
WHAT	From here you can shoot 32L arrivals.
TIME	Around December: from later morning till sunset. Around June: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time.
MISC.	Some shops/restaurant northeast of the spot.
FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm 160mm = B763

	Spot #2 – Avenida Calle 24 – 32L Arrivals
WHERE	Just before Avenida 24 and Carrera 103 bump into each other in the junction here, you will find a small gravel stripe along the roadside of Avenida Calle 24 northwest of the junction. This is where you can stand and shoot.
WHAT	From here you can shoot 32L arrivals.
TIME	Around December: from later morning till sunset. Around June: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time.
MISC.	Some powerlines and lorries passing in front may disturb your view onto the arrival path. Thus haze may also be an issue here. There are some shops around here.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm B767 = 80mm

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	Spot #3 – Calle 22C – 32L Departures
WHERE	Fairly in the middle of the runway 14R/32L you will find this little industrial area just along Calle 22C, which turns off the major Avenida Calle 24 a few meters northwest of the spot. Just shoot from the roadside here then and position yourself somewhere nearby the industrial area.
WHAT	From here you can shoot 32L Departures, but as the airport is surrounded by a mound, you can only see aircraft in the air here. Mostly these are ATR72s or similar, 727 and 732 need way more runway and won’t be shootable here. The mound is also the reason why you cannot shoot 14R movements here at all.
TIME	Around December: from later morning till sunset. Around June: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time.
MISC.	You are far away from anything, take care!
FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm ATR72 = 230mm

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	Spot #4 – Unnamed street south – 14R Arrivals
WHERE	If you come from bogota airport you will pass road toll gate and immediately after that take the far right lane to get on the gravel road that leads towards the finals. You can only shoot the southern side from the junction as the area around offers no shooting window due to trees or private properties you cannot enter, so the possibilities are quiet limited. But you can easily switch sides by just passing the runway axis on the street here. So on the northern side you have more space to choose between.
WHAT	From here you can shoot 14R approaches.
TIME	Actually all day as you can switch sides and move with the sun.
MISC.	Shooting window is very limited here! In addition, the Street is in bad conditions here with lots of bumps. So you cannot drive fast (25 at most) which is why one needs quite a bit to move around by car here.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm B738 = 70mm / DC3 = 120mm

North of the 14R arrival path:

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	Spot #5 – Unnamed street north – 14L Arrivals
WHERE	Just move up the street northwards from spot 4 to reach this area, where you can freely choose a position again.
WHAT	From here you can shoot 14L approaches.
TIME	Actually all day as you can switch sides and move with the sun.
MISC.	Shooting window is very limited here! In addition, the Street is in bad conditions here with lots of bumps. So you cannot drive fast (25 at most) which is why one needs quite a bit to move around by car here.
FOCAL LENGTH	100-400mm A320 = 180mm

North of the 14L arrival path:

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	Spot #6 – Calle 63 Mid – 14L Departures
WHERE	This spot is no exact position again, rather the area. Take the busy Calle 63 and then search yourself a nice place in any of the side streets or parking areas along the street. Depends on what you wanna shoot and the surrounding area (power lines, trees, …).
WHAT	From here you can shoot 14L Departures, but as the airport is surrounded by a mound, you can only see aircraft in the air here. Mostly these are ATR72s or similar, 727 and 732 need way more runway and won’t be shootable here. The mound is also the reason why you cannot shoot 32R movements here at all.
TIME	Around December: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time. Around June: from later morning till sunset.
MISC.	Some powerlines, trees, the mound and lorries passing in front do disturb your view onto the departures here. Shooting is tricky here.
FOCAL LENGTH	Should be 70-300mm as well

Unluckily we cannot provide any good examples from here. If you have some, please send them over, so we can include them here!

	Spot #7 – Calle 63 East – 32R Arrivals
WHERE	Same as the previous spot, but now move just a bit to the southeast till you reach the short final.
WHAT	You should be able to shoot 32R approaches between some obstacles here.
TIME	Around December: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time. Around June: from later morning till sunset.
MISC.	Some powerlines, trees, the mound and lorries passing in front do disturb your view onto the departures here. Shooting is tricky here.
FOCAL LENGTH	Should be 70-300mm as well

Unluckily we cannot provide any good examples from here. If you have some, please send them over, so we can include them here!

	Spot #8 – Terminal  1 – Nearby apron + taxiway, runway
WHERE	The main terminal 1 offers a nice landside (before security) location to watch the traffic. To reach this place use entrance 2 or 3 into the domestic departure hall. Walk straight in and pass the Avianca check in counters. After a few more meters you will reach a glass front with some nearby stores. Airside (after security), at the internatinal gates you can watch the traffic from any of the windows along the glass front.
WHAT	Domestic Hall: All nearby domestic apron and taxiway movements to and from the southern aprons and runway. Intl. Gates: very good to photograph the traffic on the northern runway as well as taxiway movements to terminal 2.
TIME	Usually all day as it otally depends on where exactly you stand and what angle you shot.
MISC.	All facilities inside this terminal like restrooms or foodshops.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-200mm

Pictures from the domestic departure hall:

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Pictures from the international gates:

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	Spot #9 –  Courtyard by Marriott
WHERE	If you are looking for a good hotel with a nice view of the ruwnay action we recommend the Courtyard by Marriott Bogota Airport. The hotel is located close to the threshold of runway 32R, along the main access road to the terminals. Ask for a upper room with runway view at the desk. The windows cannot be open so you have to shot through the glass.
WHAT	Best for 32R arrivals and departures.
TIME	Around December: from later morning till sunset. Around June: not useable at all, backlit or light from the top all the time.
MISC.	All facilities inside this hotel.
FOCAL LENGTH	Unknown

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