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January 31, 2016Mactan Cebu Int. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on September 9, 2024
Mactan Cebu International Airport (IATA: CEB, ICAO: RPVM) is located on Mactan Island in Metro Cebu which belongs to the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. Cebu is the second busiest airport of the Philippines with almost 90.000 flights and more than 10 Mio. passengers in 2023. All the Philippine carriers are serving Cebu and it is home of Cebu Pacific Air. Furthermore almost all major Asian carriers serving Cebu as well as Emirates, Turkish and Qatar with from the Middle East. There is one Seair B737-200 still in service, leaving CEB to Clark every evening with cargo for UPS and returning the next morning around 8/9am from Clark – during the day, the 737 is parked on the ramp.
As of 2024, spotting directly at the fence is not possible anymore as a second fence has been installed, especially on the south side of the airport.
Written by Dirk Grothe, Marcus Gianan and John. Last change: September 2024 (new spot 3 and 4 added)
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 04/22 | 3.300 m (9,320 ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | Domestic |
| Terminal 2 | International |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | No ladder necessary. |
| Car/Public Transport | No car necessary and not recommended due to chaotic traffic, taxis or trikes (kind of sidecar motorcycle) are very cheap or rent a small motorbike/scooter to move between the spots (beware of the traffic!) |
| Restrooms | Only at the terminal |
| Drinks/Food | small stores (Sari-Sari stores) are everywhere near by, but it is recommended to bring your own drinks to be independent (very hot temperatures, you need plenty of water) |
| Hotels | Lots of hotels in Lapu-Lapu City near the airport (e.g. Goldberry, Dulcenia, Waterfront Hotel) – search at hotels.com |
| Season | Best season is December until March (avoid Easter – holy week), June until November is rain-season incl. typhoons, the hottest time is April/May (holiday season in the Philippines) |
| Runway Usage | |
| 04/22 | 04 during the dry north-east trade winds (Nov-May) 22 during the humid south-west monsoon (Jun-Oct) |
 |
Spot #1 – General Aviation Road (04 morning) |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The spot is located at the General Aviation Road. Best spot for the morning arrivals 04. The aircraft fit perfect between the fence and the landlines. |
| WHAT | Morning approach 04. |
| TIME | From sunrise until noon. |
| MISC. | Less shadow, there is a wooden shelter you can use and the owners are friendly and will bring you a chair. It’s a very poor environment, so leave a 50 or 100 Peso bill (1 or 2 Euro) after using – that would be a complete dinner for the family. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 145mm (A320), 85mm (A330) |
 |
Spot #2 – Cebu Light Industrial Park (04 afternoon) |
|---|---|
| WHERE | +++CURRENTLY SOME WIRES BLOCKING THE SIGHT SO WE RECOMMEND TO STAY AT SPOT 5 INSTEAD+++
At Basak Road, main road between Lapu-Lapu and Basak. It is the entrance area to the Cebu Light Industrial Park. Stay at the right where the parking area for the motorbikes is located. |
| WHAT | Afternoon approach 04. |
| TIME | From around 3pm until sunset. |
| MISC. | Busy road with a lot of chaotic traffic, Sari-Sari stores with food/beverage on the other side of the road. Shadow place to sit at this time of the day. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 90mm (A320) |
 |
Spot #3 – Joaquin Runway View Grill |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Situated along the General Aviation Road. If you are going to the location by car, just look for “Joaquin Runway View Grill”. If going by public transport, take a bus headed to Mactan New Town and ask the driver to drop you off at Carmelites, then ride a pedicab or e-trike going to the place, which should cost you around 15-20 pesos per ride. The location of the restaurant is at the third floor, so there should be no issues in terms of anything blocking in sight. |
| WHAT | All movements from RWY22 should be visible from this spot. Takeoff and taxiing movements arriving from RWY04 side can also be seen here. |
| TIME | From sunrise till noontime. Heat Haze can be an issue especially during noontime. |
| MISC. | Everything you need should be right here. The restaurant offers grilled dishes and sizzling plates. Do note though that the place opens only at 12NN. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Between 50 to 300mm |
 |
Spot #4 – Highway – 22 arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located along the M. L. Quezon National Highway, near the threshold of RWY22 at the ocean. If going by car or Grab, you can pin “EMD Carmelite School” near General Aviation Road and start backtracking the road. If going by public transportation, ask the driver to drop you off at the same location and walk to the location. There are sidewalks on each side where you can stay. |
| WHAT | Runway 22 arrivals. |
| TIME | From Morning till Noon – Near MCIAA Staff House (Spot 4A) From Afternoon till Sunset – Near Arsenal Store in Google Maps (Spot 4B) |
| MISC. | There is literally no stores around, so bring everything that you need. While police may not be an issue, it is best to keep yourself in low profile. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-200mm 732 = 70mm; 788 = 100mm |
 |
Spot #5 – Lapu Lapu City College, afternoon arrival 04, line up 04 |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The Lapu Lapu City College is located at the Basak Road, opposite of Spot #2. Ask the guard at the gate to enter the courtyard of the college for taking photos (5a). If denied, go to the big empty lot right hand side of the College (5b). |
| WHAT | Arrival 04 possible at 5a and 5b. The line-up for 04 only at 5a! |
| TIME | From around 14.00 until sunset for arrivals, for the line-up light is good from noon. |
| MISC. | Busy road with a lot of chaotic traffic, Sari-Sari stores with food/beverage on the other side of the road. Shadow place to sit at this time of the day. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100mm (A320) |
For spot #5, the school Lapu-lapu City College) no longer allows planespotters (a.k.a outsiders) due to security concerns. Instead, you may go to Basak Barangay Hall which is right next to the gate of the school. There’s a basketball court where you can access the stage and it will give similar views / angles to that of LLCC. Been shooting line-up aircraft in this location since 2021.
Hope this helps!
The court is just good for the line-ups? What’s the best option for the arrivals? Spot 2 seems to be limited and the parking lot is gone?
Can you help us?
Thanks, Julian
Hello, the court is good for line-ups. Can shoot arrivals too but it will be a back left-side shot.
Kindly note however, that as of 2 weeks ago, we’d received warning from local government re: use of the basketball court as a spotting location. There had been a few spotters who were flagged by personnel of the nearby barangay hall to stop all planespotting activities due to national security concerns. We were advised to secure spotting permit from the airport authorities as well as the barangay leader.
Spot #2 is okay but there’s just too many wires. I attempted to shoot there once and never returned. Lol
Thank you.
Do you have any contact details for the permit and where can it be used?
Spot #1 is no longer available (Feb. 2025)
Why is this location no longer available. Just wondering as it is along the road.
-Julian
The house is no longer there. It was removed already. Thank you.
Ahoy there, I would like to say that Joaquin Runway Grill is more often than not an all-day spot unless it is a true clear and sunny day. It is very often overcast for periods of the day, at which time photos will come out great at any hour. I was very impressed with my results shooting here in rain storms, overcast weather, and even night panning! Just some obstructions to dodge, but the staff are so cool and friendly, the food is both so cheap AND fantastic (seriously, some of the best I had between MNL/CRK/DVO/TAG/CEB), and they even have fans you could ask to use as it gets so damned hot, even in the “Ber” months where Filipinos will call the heat “mild” haha. I will say, if it is a sunny day, backlit afternoon shots are the least of your worries at those hours. The blazing sun will make you downright uncomfortable (especially in the last hours of daylight). So plan for that but remember that night pans (and tripod night shots of planes lined up for takeoff) will yield great results if you know what you’re doing. If you do not know what you’re doing, its a very good place to practice night pans as you won’t need much zoom and can use the railing to stabilize your shot. They were open late into the night when I was there, and served me 2 hours before opening when I showed up (by mistake). Get the sizzling crab, it’ll change your life lol. For sure one of the best spots in the Philippines for spotting if the weather is good (similar spots in MNL have way more obstructions while the amazing Kuya Weng’s in DVO has a closer less obstructed view but DVO has much less traffic). It is a very safe location to have your camera equipment as well.
Is it possible to use this spot in November early December or will 04 be in use? I’m after close shots of aircraft.
I can tell you in October they barely used 04 at all in daylight. My advice is watch flightradar24 leading up to the trip. During typhoon season, it is common to have the runways switch around frequently, so they did switch to 04 often, but it seemed to mostly happen after dark and for short periods of time. All depends on wx of course
hi im looking for this mactan planespotters and i cant find it in facebook
Thank you for the details:-)
Does Cebu have a group of Airplane Spotters?:-)
Hi Kate,
sorry for late reply, never saw your comment.
Yes, there is a FB group called “Mactan-Cebu International Airport Planespotters”.
Join the group (272 members), helpful and friendly people.
Regards,
Dirk
update April 2016:
due to new landline wires, the spot #2 (entrance Cebu Light Industrial Park) is not working anymore – there will always be landline wires in the picture…
there is a big empty lot on the opposite site of the road, beside the Lapu Lapu City College – perfect place for the afternoon shots!