KUL-Spot1
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May 10, 2015Kuala Lumpur Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on August 4, 2026
The largest Airport in Malaysia handled 47,2 million passengers in 2023. KUL is a hub for AirAsia, AirAsia X, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air and Maskargo. The majority of traffic is obviously generated by AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines.
During daylight there are Asian airlines like AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Zest, Thai AirAsia, Lion Air, Cathay Dragon, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Cebu Pacific, JAL, Jetstar Asia, Vietnam Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern etc. The African/Middle East carriers like Saudi Arabian Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Royal Jordanian, Egypt Air, Uzbekistan Airways and Ethiopian Airlines are regular guests during the daytime. From Europe, Air France, KLM, Swiss, British Airways, Condor and Turkish Airlines are regular during the daytime as well. Highlights visiting KUL are rare carrier like Mahan Air, Iraqi Airways, Himalaya Airlines or US Bangla. Cargo planes during daytime are Maskargo, Cargolux, FedEx, UPS and Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines.
You can look up the official airport website for the upcoming arrivals and also ETAs for the flights. The schedule there also includes the charter flights and some freighters. Otherwise check Flightradar24 or flightstats. As there are two runways in use for arrivals (see Runway Usage) we also recommend using flightradar24 on your mobile (local SIM cards with internet are cheap and easy to buy) while spotting. This way you can actually see when specials are coming in and still switch the runway in time for the arrival. The road around the airport has no traffic lights and very little traffic, making it possible to switch in 3-5 minutes.
Written by Patrick Weis, Jan Seba, Julian Rodriguez, Firat Cimenli, Konstanty Dobrzyński, Philipp Schütz, Jesse De Jonghe and Marcus. Last change: June 2026 – Spot 9
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 14R/32L | 4.019 m (13.186 ft) concrete |
| 14L/32R | 4.000 m (13.123 ft) concrete |
| 15/33 | 4.000 m (13.123 ft) concrete |
| Terminals | |
| KLIA 1 | All the major international carriers |
| KLIA 2 | Lowcost carriers including AirAsia (from all countries), Jetstar, Cebu Pacific and Scoot |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | No spotting directly at the fence allowed, a ladder is not necessary. |
| Car/Public Transport | A car is absolutely necessary to get arround the airport, also very important to have a place to go to during a spontaneous rainshower or thunderstorm. We strongly advice not to go spotting without a car in KUL; getting one with air conditioning is recommended. |
| Restrooms | Nothing at the locations outside. Only at the observation deck and in the terminal. |
| Drinks/Food | In the terminal and as shown on the map. Several nearby villages also have local restaurants. |
| Hotels | Tune Hotel KLIA2 is very convenient and quite reasonably priced. The Sama Sama Hotel offers an open terrace for guests on the 9th floor with views on 32R departures. There are also many other hotels around the airport in the nearby villages. |
| Season | The weather in KUL is always unpredictable and you will very likely have rainy days and lots of clouds during your stay. There is no real ideal time to visit, just a few months to avoid because of heavy rain. The best time to visit is from January to August. |
| Security | As of 2024, there are several reports about problems with the police, especially for the non official locations in the south east. Be very careful and keep a low profile! |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | As the airport generally experiences very calm or no winds at all, the airport sometimes freely decides whether they use 14/15 or 32/33 direction. The preferred direction can change from time to time, depending on construction sites and more. KUL has three parallel runways: 33 and 32L (center) are used extensively by Air Asia. |
| 14L/32R | Landings only (east side approach, over land) |
| 14R/32L | Takeoffs only |
| 15/33 | Takeoffs (almost primarily traffic from T2) and landings from the west side approach (over the ocean) all traffic, even T1 traffic such as OD and MH. |
Dirt Road - 33 Arrivals Afternoon
| WHERE | This spot is located as marked on the map on the dirt road next to the road arround the runway. Another option is to stand directly next to the road behind the crash barrier. In this case you are a bit closer to the aircraft but also closer down the approach path. You can park you car on the eastern side of the road infront of an unused boom gate. |
| WHAT | Here you can take all arrivals onto RWY 33 in the afternoon. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from 14:00 till sunset. In Summer you have to start later, probably around 16:00. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need, no toilets, no food, no drinks. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70mm for the A330s (usually no larger aircraft land here) and 115mm for an A320. |
Rocks - 33 Arrivals and Departures Morning
| WHERE | This spot is located on an road to an airport crashgate at the new runway 15/33. Park your car at the side of the road. As of 2024, stay away from the rocks if there is nothing special as the security might come and send you away! Instead to stay near the rocks, take pictures along the small river and near the small forest for the landings. |
| WHAT | From the marked point on the map you can take arrival and lineup shots (though with a fence in the picture). The example images of the AirAsia A330s below show the difference between a shot taken from the hill and from the street. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need, no toilets, no food, no drinks. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 160mm for an A320 on lineup. 220mm for a landing A320 and 130mm for an A330. |
Airport Road - 32L Arrivals Afternoon
| WHERE | Along the airport perimeter road there is a dirt road running behind the crash barrier, which is accessible a bit north of the marked spot. |
| WHAT | Good location for RWY 32L arrivals. Shooting lineup is not possible here due to the high fence. The marked spot is a good location for Runway 32L arrivals where you won’t have the fence in the picture and still have a great angle for the aircraft. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from 14:00 till sunset. In Summer you have to start later, probably around 16:00. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need, no toilets, no food, no drinks. Police is also sending people away when they are standing there and move them to the official spot 9. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 75mm for an A380 and and 140mm for a B738. |
Airport Road - 32L Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | There is a sand/gravel area next to the airport perimeter road which you can use for spotting. Choose your location so that you can shoot the arrivals between the lamp posts. As of 2024, there are red/white barriers put up that prevents cars from entering the gravel road behind the barrier. Park at the official spot and walk back. |
| WHAT | This spot is good for all aircraft arriving Runway 32L in the morning hours and for lineup shots until 9:30 as later there is too much heathaze. For lineup shots you will have the fence in your pictures, as can be seen in the example shots. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need, no toilets, no food, no drinks. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Depending on your location it’s around 100mm for a B747 and 180mm for an A320, but you can also get closer. Police is also sending people away when they are standing there and move them to the official spot 9. |
Observation Deck - Taxiway and ramp movements
| WHERE | This spot is located landside on the top floor (Departure level) of Terminal 1 (KLIA 1). There are sings in the Terminal showing you the way to the “Observation Deck”, which is at the end of a long hallway. |
| WHAT | From this spot you can take pictures of aircraft parking at the terminal and for aircraft taxiing on the taxiway to runway 32R or 32L. But there is a lot of heathaze and you have to spot though glass. Also this location is facing south and thus the sun for the winter time of the year, making it somewhat unusable for longer photography sessions. |
| TIME | In winter you are backlit almost during the whole day (expect for shots on the eastern or western aprons, which are either good in the morning or evening). Taxiway shots become acceptable from 16:00 (but are never really pretty). In summer this spot becomes more usable, as the light is now on the correct side, but sadly the sun is too high around noon. The light will get great from around 16:00 as well. |
| MISC. | Everything you need is in the terminal, there are toilets just around the corner. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Varies strongly. Pictures on the taxiway opposite the observation deck are at 130mm for a B738. |
Observation Decks KLIA2 - Taxiway and ramp movements
| WHERE | This spot is located landside nearby the entrance to KLIA2 terminal area at the departures level 3. |
| WHAT | From this spot (or spots, as there is the possibility to spot on both sides of the entrance) you will easily get a view on planes taxiing to/from their stands and those standing at the stands. It is also possible to take photos of aircraft using Runway 15 from the deck on the west side but heat haze is likely to be an issue. |
| TIME | More or less the entire day. It partially depends on the season. You might have to adjust your position in order to get most of the photos with the sun. |
| MISC. | Everything you might need (lavatories, shops, cafe’s etc.) is nearby. This is a generally available area to which you can get even when not flying. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50+ [Big Points at 165mm, nose close-up at 300mm, QPR plane at 155mm, spot overview at 18mm] |
Bridge inside the terminal - Taxiway and ramp movements
| WHERE | This spot is located inside the terminal and is accessible after passing the passport control. This is a bridge linking piers of the terminal. Very easy to find. |
| WHAT | You can easily spot from here waiting for your flight. All the movements at the taxiways are clearly visible. |
| TIME | All day, you just have to adjust to the location of the sun. |
| MISC. | As this is inside the terminal all you might need (lavatories, shops etc.) is somewhere nearby. At some areas you will need to stand behind a row of chairs in order to be close to the window. Dirty windows may be bothersome. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50+ [A320 taxiing at 170mm, 3xA320 at 86mm, The Apprentice at 95mm] |
Meteorologi - 14R/32L movements
| WHERE | This spot is located next to the local meteorology station from where you have a clean view onto runway 14R/32L in front of you. You can drive up towards the station via a small road where you can park by the roadside and locate yourself next to the station. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on 32L and departures on 14R. |
| TIME | Best in the afternoon until sunset, depending on the time of year it’s good from around later noon until sunset. Heat haze can be a problem at times. |
| MISC. | Keep a low profile as the spot is on airport property. There’re some trees that can provide some shade. No shops or facilities around here so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200mm A320 / 120mm B777 |
Viewing Deck - 32L arrivals and departures
| WHERE | Update June 2026: currently closed as a pole hit the deck!
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| WHAT | |
| TIME | |
| MISC. | |
| FOCAL LENGTH | |
Tune Hotel - 32R arrivals
| WHERE | The Tune Hotel KLIA Aeropolis airport hotel is a quiet, well-serviced hotel full of Air Asia staff. It is next to the cargo facilities on the opposite side of the terminals reachable from the major road 27 which leads to the other locations. The advantage of the hotel is that all rooms are accessable from an open corridor. The pictures are not taken from the hotel room itself, but from the outside hallway. The hotel has 6 floors and you can shoot from the floor you want. |
| WHAT | From this point, you can take the 32R landings very easily from noon until sunset. Departures on 14L may be possible but we did not test that. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from 12:00 till sunset. However, depending on the weather conditions in Malaysia, you may have to wait until 2 or even 3 o’clock. When the sun is on top, heat haze outside is a major problem. |
| MISC. | Firstly the prices of staying in the hotel are very cheap. Considering the incredible distance of the city to the airport, it would make sense to stay 2-3 nights to do the spotting and you can easily reach the other locations from there. The staff said that there is no problem with spotting from this point, even if you are not a customer at the hotel. The possibility of spotting is as close as a conversation with the reception. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A380 = 180mm; B737 =280mm Be aware of that, distance may be further than you expect. |
Cargo Area - Take Offs 14R Morning
| WHERE | This spot is located in the cargo area not far from Spot #4 between Sepang Aircraft Maintenance and Hangar 06. From the perimeter road turn at Sepang Aircraft Maintenance into Jalan KLIA S7. As soon as you reach the large open area park your car on the kerbside. |
| WHAT | As 14-operations are quite rare, this is a possibilty to get some pics. From this spot you can take pictures of aircrafts taking off on runway 14R. Most aircraft will be already rotated here. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need, no toilets, no food, no drinks, no restrooms. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Approximately 250mm for A350 and 400mm for B738 |
Labu Lanjut - 14L Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located in the village of Labu Lanjut. When coming from the terminal on Road 27 exit at “Kg. Labu Lanjut” and make a sharp left turn. After 100 meters trun right into Jalan Utama. The next road turn left into Jalan 8, cross the bridge and follow the road to the end. There you need to turn left again and drive until you’ll reach a right hand bend. There you can park your car. If you wanna get closer to the approach path just follow the farm road by foot straight ahead. |
| WHAT | From this spot you can take pictures of approaching aircrafts on runway 14L. You see the planes very late so use a app if you don’t wanna miss a flight. Otherwise continue on the farm road by foot straight ahead. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | There is nothing at this spot, so bring what you’ll need. You will hear the aircrafts before you can see them as they are approaching behind some trees. So always be on alert not to miss anything. Take mosquito repellent with you as the spot is located close to a small swamp river. Locals are very friendly, so no need to worry about security. It is possible, while spotting, you’ll get some company from wild monkeys and other animals. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-400mm 200mm = A330 / 320mm = A320 |
Jalan Pekeliling - 14L Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located next to the Jalan Pekeliling highway on a small pullover by the roadside allowing access to a small dirt road next to a lake. You can only turn off from the direction leading to the airport/to the west. Then stop your car by the roadside and you can start shooting between canal and road. |
| WHAT | From here you can see 14L arrivals. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | Nothing around here, you are directly next to the sort of highway. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm |
KLIA Terminal 2 Parking - Arrivals 15 & Departures 33, Morning
| WHERE | Go to the upper floor of KLIA Terminal 2 Parking Zone B. You can enter the parking via the terminal building, level 2. Then follow the signs to the parking, and take the elevator to the upper floor. Then walk towards end of the parking where you can see the Air Asia HQ. Of course you can enter the garage by car too and it’s really cheap. |
| WHAT | Runway 15 arrivals are visible from here. You can also see planes taxing to runway 15. Due to the Air Asia HQ it’s not possible to take side-on pics from here. Departure shots from Runway 33 are possible as well, but one will have to adjust by standing further back (in the open) and to the left(towards the wall facing KLIA2 terminal). Widebody departures (A330s and 787s) are much easier as they tend to use the full runway length, while this is situational for narrowbodies. From what I observed during my visit, shorter flights(domestic operations, flights to nearby destinations such as Singapore and Thailand) tend to rotate much earlier leading to a shot that has more underside, while flights to further destinations tend to use the full length and thus can be captured at an angle similar to what one can expect from a widebody, leading to a more side-on shot. If one is lucky, one can capture arrivals for Runway 33 as well as some aircraft may exit near the threshold of Runway 14 if their gates are at that end of the terminal, although heat haze may be present. |
| TIME | The best time in winter is from sunrise till 11:00. In summer you can spot longer, probably until 12:00 before the sun altitude is too high. |
| MISC. | There is a lot of shadow. The terminal is very nearby so plenty of drinks/food/restrooms are availlable there. Heathaze might be a problem but in general it’s doable. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | + 300mm is needed here. |
On 8 August 2026, I travelled by Grab to the parking bay on the end of the road facing opposite the runway bordering the cargo area buildings, which is on the way to Anjung Spotter but Anjung Spotter is too far for him. We never reached Anjung Spotter. The driver is kind enough to drop me at this area for plane-spotting.
There are lots of cars parking before the fence and one woman from a car was plane-spotting next to the fence although there is the sign warning cars will be towed away but nothing has happened.
I stood on the road to spot the planes takeoff.
The police at the kiosk at the end of the parking area did not interrogate me.
Here is the closest place to see and shoot photos of aircraft takeoff from KLIA without paying for the premium price to spot takeoffs by standing at the 9th floor plane-viewing area of Sama-Sama Hotel.
Spot 6 temporary closed, was there on 21-07-2026
Has anyone stayed at Sama-Sama Airport Hotel KLIA and gone to the 9th floor terrace to spot planes take off from the runway? If yes, what is the required focal length?
Please find my plane-spotting review on Tune Hotel KLIA – KLIA2 here : https://staygate.blogspot.com/2026/04/hotel-review-tune-hotel-klia-klia2.html
I am staying at Tune Hotel KLIA-KLIA2, the new Tune Hotel branch located adjacent to Gateway@KLIA T2 Shopping Mall and KLIA2 Car Park Building B, on 17 and 18 April 2026.
Tune Hotel KLIA-KLIA2 should be added to the list of plane-spotting sites in KLIA because at the entrance/exit of the hotel’s Assembly Point leading to the hotel’s public car park, I am able to spot planes from KLIA2 flying in the sky after takeoff or during their approach to KLIA2.
The Assembly Point is located towards the right after turning left from the hotel’s public toilet on the ground floor. The public toilet is of a few seconds’ walk after passing by the hotel’s Makan Restaurant.
Focal length is 100mm to 200mm.
On the upper floor corridor balcony (fifth to sixth floors), it is possible to see aircraft depart / take off.
On the KLIA2 Car Park Building B, it is possible to see wide-body aircraft take off from KLIA T1. Focal length is 300mm at least.
About KLIA2 Car Park Building (Spot 14), I visited this site on 4 April 2026. I can see A320 planes of AirAsia clearly flying towards the runway in the late afternoon after 5 pm and before 7 pm from the eighth floor open area on the rooftop of the car park building despite the hazy weather.
Tune Hotel KLIA2 is one road opposite Spot 14. It is very near. The planes can be seen flying past in front of the hotel from Spot 14. However, the hotel staff claim I cannot see planes flying from the hotel. They suggested to me to go to Anjung Spotter where I do not drive to.
It is a beautiful scene on Spot 14 when crows fly near the planes.
How to rent a car and how much does it cost to rent a car to go to the listed plane-spotting sites from Tune Hotel KLIA Aeropolis? At Tune Hotel KLIA2, has anyone seen planes flying and landing at KLIA2?
Can I know whether at Tune Hotel KLIA Aeropolis can I see planes flying towards KLIA2 in April? I do not drive. How do I go back to the hotel from the spots such as Meteorologi and Anjung Spotter since there are no taxis from the spots?
If i book a room at Tune Hotel KLIA-KLIA2, can I spot planes arriving at KLIA2 from this hotel?
Visit in the Week of 10 November – Personal Experience
I fully agree with the recommendation to rent a car. Taxis are virtually nonexistent around the runways, and having your own car is extremely helpful in dealing with the intense heat and sudden (thunder)storms. During my stay, arrivals were using runways 32R and 33, while departures were using 32L and 33.
Spot Updates
Can you advise me at which airport hotel can I see airlines landing at KLIA Terminal 2?