Macedonia Airport also known as Thessaloniki airport (SKG/LGTS) is 10km away from the city center and was opened back in 1930. The airport had a total number of passengers of 6,9 million in 2019.

There is only one terminal. This Terminal is used by all airlines flying to SKG. Fraport Greece will invest over 400 million euros for development works until 2021. They will build another terminal and modernize the existing one. The modernization is nearly finished (as of 10th of SEP 2020). The airline with the most movements at Thessaloniki is Aegean Airlines, a Star Alliance member. Other airlines operating flights to SKG are easyJet, Skyexpress, Olympic Airways, TUI, Ryanair, WizzAir and Eurowings. There is also a General aviation Terminal at SKG wich is operated by signature flight support.

The Airport is also used by the greek military. The name of the airbase is “Mikra air base”, where the 113th Greek Combat Wing and the 383 Special Operations & Air Fire Fighting Squadron is based. The CL-415 is the only aircraft of the military that is based here. Due to this usage, planespotters are not actually welcomed at Thessaloniki and not even really tolerated at most points around the airfield.

Written by Yannis Stanzl and “Doc”. Last Update: September 2020

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
10/28	2440m / 8005ft – Asphalt
16/34	2410m / 7907ft – Asphalt
Terminals
Terminal 1	There is only one terminal. This Terminal is used by all airlines flying to SKG.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Unnecessary because at Spot #2 you can stand on a small wall and otherwise there is no need of a ladder anway. You can also bring a ladder to spot #2 in order to have a safer obstacle to stand on if you want to, but that might attract some police officers to pay you a little visit.
Car/Public Transport	Bus line X1 and N1 (Night bus) of the OASTH, otherwise public transport is relatively poor here.
Restrooms	Nearest restrooms are in the terminal 1.
Drinks/Food	You can buy food and drinks in the Terminal. The cafe at the main entrance of the terminal is very recommendable, but pretty expensive as it is common at airports. The city next to the airport called Thermaikos is only 5 minutes away from Spot #2 and has many good restaurants.
Hotels	The nearest Hotels are either in Thessaloniki or in Thermaikos – no spotter hotels directly at the airport.
Season	The best seasons are spring and summer although there is a big problem with heathaze if you want to spot the lineups at Spot #2.
Security	Spotting at SKG is VERY RISKY and has to be done on your own risk! Especially as of 2020 due to the conflict with Turkey, planespotting here is absolutely NOT recommendable! Due to the local military air base, spotting is actually NOT allowed. There are “no photography” signs everywhere! There are policeofficers and cars patroulling around the airport at all times on the hunt for DSLRs. You should bring an ID with you to provide that you are not a spy what they may acuse you of, however if you get caught you will face charges and taken to the police station! So keep a low profile at all the time rather, spotting is very difficult in Greece – and very very difficult in Thessaloniki! Check the MISC box of each spot to get to know how recommendable/safe that spot is! However, there are no problems with criminalities as far as I know.
Runway Usage
General Info	In general, the direction of use depends on the wind direction, which is mostly from the northwest due to the mediterranean Sea, so mostly runway 34 is in use. If RWY34 is in use, they are departing and banking pretty early over the sea to avoid the City. But in general, all runways can be used for departures and arrivals.

Due to “security concerns” the greek government told google to pixelize the satellite images of all airports in greece with military presence. That is why you don´t see all positions as clear as usual. A good alternative is Microsofts Bing Maps where the airports in Greece are still visible…

	Spot #1 – Terminal road – Apron + 16/34 Runway parts
WHERE	If you walk out of the Terminal on the upper deck, turn to the right and walk along the street. After a few meters you should reach the spot which is at the curve, where you van see some apron positions (Status 2018). You can also vary the angle again here as you can walk along the roadside here and thus change the views a bit.
WHAT	Apron shots and early rotations, for example CL215 departures on RWY 34 and late rotations on RWY16.
TIME	In summer from sunrise until early afternoon.
MISC.	Food, drinks and restroooms in the Terminal, no car or ladder needed. This is a “shoot and go” spot. Take your pictures quickly and leave directly again. Do not let yourself be seen with a camera here where the police passes by frequently!
FOCAL LENGTH	50-300mm Apron shots about 50-100mm (B738 = 85mm), runway shots 150-300mm

SKG-Spot1

SKG-Spot1

	Spot #2 – Go-Kart Track – 28 arrivals
WHERE	WHERE: From the terminal , drive till the 1st traffic light and turn to the right , direction”N. MICHANIONA _ EPANOMI”. Keep following the road till you see RWY 28 to your right and a Go-Kart track to your left. At the traffic light turn left and follw the rod to the Go-Kart track. Park on the dirt outside and enjoy. This is the afternoon spot. For morning shots, at the traffic light turn left and try to make a U-turn and drive back towards Thessaloniki. After passing the Go-Kart track, turn right to the 1st exit to the right and then stay left or right along the road.
WHAT	28 arrivals only.
TIME	From early morning till late afternoon all year round, depending where you stay
MISC.	Nothing nearby, bring everything you need with you. Probably some refreshments at the cafeteria of the Go-Kart Business Since you are near the airport and the entrance of the Air Force Base it is best to remain in the car at all time and either shoot through an open window without giving any target.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-300mm depending where you stand

No photos available at the moment. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you can provide some pics from this location.

	Spot #3 – Field – 34 Arrivals
WHERE	In the extension of RWY 34 just west of a bigger sized 7-way-junction you will find some fields. From the terminal , drive till the 1st traffic light and turn to the right , direction”N. MICHANIONA _ EPANOMI”. Keep following the road till you find the entrance to the AF Base with the 2 HAF Gateguards (An F-84 and a colorfull F-5). There is a traffic light there. Turn to the left, pass a boat storage depot and follow the road till you meet a road sign “Geofil” pointing towards a small dirt road (it is the 1st dirt road to the right after the boat depot).
WHAT	34 Arrivals, maybe also 16 heavy departures, haven´t tried yet.
TIME	Sunrise till noon, but you can easily change sides on the field here once the sun is on the other side.
MISC.	East of the spot is a small city called Neo Rysio with restaurants, hotels etc. North of this spot are some shops/gas stations along the busy street running between Thessalonikis – Peraias. Advantages of this spot? You are still enough far away from the airport in order to avoid (most) problems with the police and you will have a better angle than at spot #4. In addition, you can switch sides also easily.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm A320=70mm / ATR72=100mm

SKG-Spot3

SKG-Spot3

	Spot #4 – Hill – 34 Arrivals
WHERE	In the arrival path of Runway 34, there is a little Hill. There is no exact point with the best angle. This spot is more about trying panorama shots of the airport. But you can also stand on the top of the Hill and get perfect shots of the planes.
WHAT	34 Arrivals, maybe also 16 heavy departures, haven´t tried yet.
TIME	Sunrise till noon.
MISC.	Nothing nearby except a Hotel and a coffee bar. East of the spot is a small city called Neo Rysio with restaurants, hotels etc. Advantages of this spot? You are fare away from the airport in order to avoid direct problems with the police and have a nice overview of the airport.
FOCAL LENGTH	70-250mm A320=100mm / ATR42=150mm / Airport panorama=70mm

SKG-Spot4

SKG-Spot4

SKG-Spot4

	Spot #5 – Irene’s Village – 34 Arrivals
WHERE	Take the road to spot 3, but instead of turning right keep driving till you find a crossroad (N. Ryssio to the left, Kardia straight ahead). At the cross road keep driving straight ahead on the uphill, towards Kardia village. After about 400m you will find on your right a huge parking of a Banquet Hall called “ To Chorio tis Irinis –). Park wherever you like and take pics from above the fence
WHAT	34 Arrivals
TIME	Sunrise till noon.
MISC.	They have an ex-HAF plane at the parking as an eye-catcher. Keep in mind that you are on a private property , so behave accordingly. Normally in the morning there is no one there, so no one will pay attention or in the rare case one of the staff is there will just ask why are you taking pics of the planes. Just be natural, tell them that you came to photograph the military plane and since being there you take some pics of arriving planes too, but remember keep shooting the planes and don’t point the camera to the airport which is visible from there or they ‘ll call the police.
FOCAL LENGTH	300-500mm

SKG-Spot5

SKG-Spot5

SKG-Spot5

	Spot #6 – Beach – 16 Arrivals
WHERE	This location is the only option to catch arrivals on runway 16. If coming from the terminal turn left at the big first junction and continue until you see a LIDL supermarket and an outlet mall to your left. Make a u-turn and drive back for 200 meters. Turn right into a small road and drive all the way down to the sea. From there continue along the “beach” as close as possible to runway 16. The road is a dirt road and in bad condition! Alternatively stay at the shopping center north of the beach where you find some shadow and some seats to relax. But it is too far for good photos.
WHAT	16 arrivals. 34 departures are visible but too high.
TIME	Sunrise till noon. As you photograph over the sea, heat is a problem!
MISC.	Keep in mind you are very far and the picture quality will be not the best.
FOCAL LENGTH	Unknown but at least 500mm

No photos available at the moment. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you can provide some pics from this location.