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September 15, 2017Maastricht/Aachen Airport – Spotting Guide
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- last modified on April 2, 2021
The Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST/EHBK) is situated 10 km northeast of Maastricht which means a 15 minutes ride by car. It was opened back in 1944 during the 2nd world war as a military Air Base and today the Airport is mainly used by LCC and Holiday Airlines. It also handels a few cargo flights within Europe and to other continents.
167.000 thousand passengers and around 87.000 thousand tons cargo used Maastricht/Aachen in 2017.
Following airlines fly to Maastricht in Summer 19: Passenger: Ryanair, Corendon (with either CAI, CND, OTF, PGT, and KKK (with A332) operating) and Enter Air with some LDE charters (sometimes carried out by Transavia).
Cargo: Emirates SkyCargo (frequently operated by CLX), Cargolux, Turkish Cargo (Either THY, CKS, MNG or ULS Cargo), Saudia Cargo, Royal Jordanian Cargo, Zimex (BDA), Qatar Cargo. In addition some special cargo charters sometimes flown by GeoSky or Astral for example.
Private jets will be handled at the Alpha apron on the south side, no longer on the Charlie apron on C5. So private jets will be harder to photograph as they don’t backtrack the whole runway anymore (exiting at W4 and W3 instead of exiting at Echo 1 of Echo 2 and use taxiway Echo).
SAMCO and MAAS have facilities at Maastricht Aachen Airport. Information about visitors and stored airplanes for either SAMCO or MAAS and exact news about traffic or special visitors can all be found on FlyMST.nl.
Written by Severin Hackenberger and Bas Velders. Some pictures provided by Pascal Lamberiks, Maarten Dols, Chris de Breun, Hendrik Schmitz and Matthias Buchheim. Last Update March 2021.
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 03/21 | 2.750m x 45m (tarmac) |
| Terminals | Used for all Acitivities, because there is just one terminal at MST. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Necessary and useful at the all locations. Photo holes installed at positions 4 and 8. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is recommended as locations are far apart and switching runway will take very long otherwise. The public transport around the Airport is poor. |
| Restrooms | Some gas stations and supermarkets around the airport. Restrooms are also available inside the terminal buildings. |
| Drinks/Food | Around the airport are a few supermarkets and you can visit the little cities around the airport or otherwise you’ll find a lot of restaurants and supermarkets in Maastricht. |
| Hotels | There are just a few motels/hotels around the airport (like the Holiday Inn or the Shandrani |
| Season | We recommend visiting the airport during the summer as the air cargo jets are rather to be encountered at late evening. As sun sets significantly later in the months around June, spotting is more efficient then. |
| Security | Do not touch the fences arround the airport and don´t hook the barbed wire |
| Runway Usage | |
| 03/21 | Nothing special. Used for arrivals and departures in both directions. |
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Horsterweg - Cargo Apron + 21 movements + Samco storage apron
| WHERE | From the terminal, drive on the Vliegveldweg and turn right at the first road you see. Walk alongside the fence to get a decent spot. You can also drive to the Australiëlaan and park near the roundabout on the end. Then you have two options: a) stand by the gate next to the concrete wall and spot with a ladder or… b) go to the building on the right (shown below on the first overview) and take pictures out of the red staircase. |
| WHAT | Taxiing traffic to/from the cargo apron. |
| TIME | Most of the time, you will have problems with the sun here. Probebly early mornings/late evenings in summer are the best moments. |
| MISC. | There is nothing here. Ladder needed for option a!
Option b is NOT recommended on weekdays and especially not for long stays as the local company does not like to have spotters hanging there at all. Weekends are fine therefore. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 18 – 200mm Example pictures below: Arriving 777 = 120mm / A330 on apron = 110mm |
General overview:
Option a – fence/wall:
Option b – staircase:
Western side - All acitivities
| WHERE | This spot is not just one location as you can choose between two options which both cover almost the same traffic, but have different angles:
a – parking lot: b – visitor terrace:
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| WHAT | All activities on runway 03/21 and overview of the passenger apron. You can also see parts of the storage aprons. |
| TIME | Late afternoon/evening. |
| MISC. | Heat haze is a big issue on hot days for the apron on the other site of the runway. Keep a low profile as the police sometimes kicks spotters out of the parking lot (mostly during the day – on late evenings it is calmer and cooler here). Everything you need is inside the terminal and a gas station is nearby too. However: most of the services are closed in the weekends. Very high (5 steps or more) ladder needed for option a due to a double fence at most points. Parking is tricky here. Police sends you away mostly from everywhere except the official terminal parking, which costs a bit. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30 – 200mm B742 = 70mm / ATR72 = 120mm |
a – parking lot:
b – visitor terrace:
Emergency accessroad - All activities on runway 03/21 + southern storage row
| WHERE | Around 1km south of the terminal there is an emergency access, you can park on slot on the other side of the bicycle path or along the roadside on the grass but don´t block the crash gate. Then search your favourite position next to the gate.
UPDATE MARCH 2021: Stay at the gate don’t walk on the farmer’s field as police will send you away and you will be fined too! |
| WHAT | Departures and arrivals on runway 03/21 as well as the storage area on the other site of the runway. |
| TIME | From around 3.30 pm till sunset. |
| MISC. | The taxiway just after the access is closed for aircraft movements. Smalls aircraft landing on 21 can exit via W4 so they don’t go on turnpad.
A ladder is needed otherwise you won’t get over the fence! Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Don´t block the crash gate or police will send you away. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | For aircraft on the runway : less than 70mm for 747/777 profil picture, 200mm for buisness and prop aircraft. |
Vliegveldweg - (Almost) All activities on runway 03/21
| WHERE | This spot is located at the fence and again not an exact position rather the area along the fence depending on the angle you wanna take pictures of. Just park your car a few meters to the south on the dirtroad called Meerssenerbergweg and walk here. Shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes depending on your prefered position.
UPDATE MARCH 2021: Photo holes has been installed at the southern end (see map) so a ladder is no longer mandatory. |
| WHAT | Departures and arrivals on runway 03/21, but small aircraft might be very high as 21 departure or might already left the runway as 21 arrival. All heavy activities should be seen from here. |
| TIME | From around 3pm till sunset. |
| MISC. | Cafe/restaurant nearby. Ladder needed, keep in mind that the fence changes in between at the spot here (see overviews below). Don’t block the mentioned road please, it isn’t that big. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-300mm (depending on exact position). |
Northern part – fence with barbed wire on the top:
Southern part – “metal fencewalls” -> view from a 5 stepladder:
Bridge - Arrivals 03
| WHERE | This spot is located on a bridge near the “restaurant bergrust”. Simply just leave your car there or at the marked position on the map and walk here. Stand on the western side of the bridge otherwise the trees might disturb your view, for heavies it might be a problem already. If so, you might walk through the few trees into northern direction to get an undisturbed view, but we didn’t take pictures from there yet! |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 03. |
| TIME | From around 3pm till sunset. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed! Take care of traffic as you’re standing by the roadside! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-200mm
Dash 8-300: 150mm |
Runway end - Back tracks: Heavy 03 Departure/ Heavy 21 Arrival + Arrivals on runway 03
| WHERE | If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Just after you turned left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” park your car nearby, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles/biker/people. Then choose your angle at the runway’s southern end, this depends on the angle you like the most and the fence (at some points the permiter fence isn’t as high as normally). |
| WHAT | Aircrafts which are backtracking runway 03 before their departure on the runway and aircraft landing on runway 21. Apart from this arrivals on RWY 03 face to face. |
| TIME | Depends on the position and angle of the plane, but “90-Degree-Pictures” should be okay from around 10.30am till sunset. |
| MISC. | Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder neccessary! Don’t block streets or paths with your car. In the summer months you may have heathaze. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-400mm |
Depending on where exactly you are standing for the pictures, the spot could look like this:
Nieuwe Vliekerweg - 03 Arrivals
| WHERE | If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Just after you turned left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” park your car nearby, but take care of not disturbing other cars/vehicles/biker/people. Make sure to be on the right side of the arrival lights and then choose your favourite position along the walkway depending on your favourite angle. |
| WHAT | 03 Arrivals from here. |
| TIME | Sunrise till later noon. In summer it may be bad light the first minutes after sunrise. |
| MISC. | Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Don’t block streets or paths with your car. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-200mm |
Bamfordweg - RWY activities and taxiway storage
| WHERE | This spot is no exact position rather an area along the fence depends on the aircraft you wanna take a picture of or the angle on the runway. This area is located infront/along a old taxiway which is used for storage parking sometimes. Parking your car is a bit tricky. You can park your car at the end of “Vilek” as long as you don’t block the small gate for pedestrians to the Bamfordweg. Parking in front of the entranceways from the houses is also forbidden. The Military Police drives quite often along the Bamfordweg, and they will either send you away or give you a fine if you park directly in front of the crash gate if you stay for a long time.UPDATE MARCH 2021: Photo holes has been installed at the northern and southern end (see map) so a ladder is no longer mandatory. |
| WHAT | Arrivals and departures on runway 03. Apart from this heavy arrivals on runway 21 and late rotates on runway 21, so almost all runway activities! |
| TIME | From sunrise till around 3pm. |
| MISC. | Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Don’t block streets or paths with your car, parking is limited for about 1/2 cars! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Pictures of parked planes without cutting off something is almost not possible, just with 10mm on fullframe it might be okay. Runway: 70 – 300mm |
The temporary parking/storage area:
And along the fence for runway/apron shots:
Europalaan - RWY 03/21 + Apron Delta
| WHERE | This spot is just the area along the fence in the curve of “Europalaan”. Park this by the roadside of Europalaan (as done on the overview shot) and then choose your favourite position along the fence. The western end might be better for the runway and the eastern one (depending on your prefered angle) for the Apron Delta. |
| WHAT | From here you can see all activities on the runway, for which you should use the western end of the “spotroute” marked on the map as well as all activities on Apron Delta. |
| TIME | Apron Delta: Early midday till late afternoon.
Runway 03/21: From sunrise till late midday. |
| MISC. | Ladder needed. Nothing nearby. It looks the airport wants to have a viewingwall our of plants between fence and apron/runway, so there might be some bushes in the lower part of your picture -> that’s why a ladder is very useful and recommended! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-250mm
B747 – Apron Delta = 60mm |
Luxemburglaan - Apron Delta
| WHERE | If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Then turn left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” and follow the street for about 1km, then turn left into Bamfordweg. Follow the road for another 1000m, but pay attention, the street becomes Europalaan (streetname changes). After around 1km turn left into Luxemburglaan and follow this street for about 300m. Park your car somewhere on the parking area, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles. Then choose your favourite position, this depends on the angle you like the most.
You can get to this spot by bus, too. There is a bus station nearby (marked on the map), where Bus 30 stops. |
| WHAT | Planes parked on Delta Apron. |
| TIME | Depends on the angle the planes are parked, but for example the light for the B737 was good from about 3pm till sunset. |
| MISC. | Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder needed! Don’t block streets or paths with your car and don’t park on reserved parking spaces. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm |
Samco Aircraft Maintenance - Apron Charlie
| WHERE | If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Then turn left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” and follow the street for about 1km, then turn left into Bamfordweg. Follow the road for another 1000m, but pay attention, the street becomes Europalaan (streetname changes). After around 1km turn left into Luxemburglaan and follow this street for about 300m. Park your car somewhere on the parking area, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles. Then walk behind the big building, which is just behind or above you (depends on the parking area you use) and then choose your favourite position, this depends on the angle you like the most and the plane you want to spot.
You can get to this spot by bus, too. There is a bus station nearby (marked on the map), where Bus 30 stops. |
| WHAT | Planes parked on Samco Aircraft Maintenance area, Charlie Apron. |
| TIME | Depends on the angle the planes are parked, but for most of the planes light is okay from sunrise till 6pm. |
| MISC. | Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder needed! Don’t block streets or paths with your car and don’t park on reserved parking spaces |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 18-200mm |
Jet Center - C apron + 21 movements
| WHERE |
Located at the parking of Jet Center Maastricht Aachen Airport and Brasserie de Hangaar (lunchroom). Parking is directly available at the spot all over the parking lot there at the fence. Then walk to the big black fence at the end and shoot from there…
|
| WHAT |
Departures from C apron. Line-up runway 21. Arrivals 21 and backtracking to cargo (B) Apron.
|
| TIME | Sunrise till noon. |
| MISC. | Don’t block the gate and don’t stay too long at the gate but stay at your car if you are planning to stay longer here. Military police can pass here and ask what you are doing here. Explain you’re spotting and it’s fine. In the summer the terrace should be opened sometimes. Then you can have a drink and some food there. Keep in mind that this spot is not recommendable when aircraft are parked directly at the fence. They will block the view. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-200mm |
Australielaan fence - 21 Line-Ups + 03 late vacators
| WHERE | Try to get rid of your car in the area where “Australielaan” ends up in “Europalaan” as there is no official/exact parking spot for this location as you will mostly only find company owned properties/parking bays here. So see where you can park your car at (for a short while you will find a space somwhere) and then come back to the junction with “Europalaan” – just south of this junction choose your favourite position along the fence on the “grassbank” to shoot from a bit farer away by the roadside on public space. |
| WHAT | Line-Ups for 21 departures or late vacaters after landing on 03. |
| TIME | On early summer mornings only. |
| MISC. | High ladder needed as you normally stand lower than the taxiway here. Nothing nearby except the tricky parking possibilities. The grass needs to be cut/short in order to be able to see the gear on your pictures. High grass may cause haze faster as well… |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm 100mm B744 line-up |
Company fencekink - 21 Line-Ups + 03 late vacators + cargo apron/taxiway
| WHERE | Try to get rid of your car in the area where “Australielaan” ends up in “Europalaan” as there is no official/exact parking spot for this location as you will mostly only find company owned properties/parking bays here. So see where you can park your car at (for a short while you will find a space somwhere) and then go to the fencekink next to the cargo apron (see the spot marking on the map) where you are closer to the movements and can also see the cargo apron in front. However, this is company owned territory, so they may sent you away. This spot is only located during early mornings and on weekends when no business is running here… |
| WHAT | Line-Ups for 21 departures or late vacaters after landing on 03. But even the cargo apron and nearby taxiways. |
| TIME | On early summer mornings only. |
| MISC. | Ladder needed. Nothing nearby except the tricky parking possibilities. The grass sometimes may disturb your view. Keep in mind that the second option is company owned territory, so they may sent you away. Keep a low profile, only be here for a short while and take yll your stuff with you again! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30-200mm |
9 Comments
Is the former observation deck gone?
Still closed now, but if all goes well it will be reopened again.
Thanks for the info.
sky gates and sil airways are noi regular visits any more
due to runway things and noice from the 7474
the moved cargo to frankfurt
Hi Patric!
Thanks, adjusted the guide now.
-Sev
Spot 6 is closed until further notice due to construction works.
Thanks, added.
-Severin
There is a mistake between Maximus pictures : spot #5 and #6 pictures had do be switched.
Thats correct. Thanks for the Info Eric!
-Julian