LCY-Spot
London Gatwick Airport Spotting Guide
November 15, 2017
Calgary Intl. Airport Spotting Guide
November 26, 2017London City Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on February 19, 2020
London City Airport is an international airport located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham. It lies approximately 11 km (7 miles) east of the City of London, and just to the east of Canary Wharf. Together, the City of London and Canary Wharf form the twin centres of London’s financial industry, which is a major user of the airport.
Detailed planning permission for the airport was granted early in 1986. Construction began shortly afterwards and the first commercial services started operating in October 1987.
London City has a single, 1,500 metre long runway and its licence only allows passenger transport and related training flights. Only multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft are permitted, and the aircraft and aircrew must be certified to fly the steep 5.5 degree approach path required to operate into the airport. The largest aircraft currently certified to use the airport are the Bombardier CS100 and the Airbus A318.
London City Airport served over 4.3 million passengers in 2015. This was an 18% increase over the previous year and a record total for the airport. It is the fifth busiest airport serving the London area, after Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton.
BA CityFlyer is the largest user and there are currently fifteen other airlines operating into to airport, albeit that several of them provide a service on behalf of other carriers.
The airport is closed between midday on Saturday and midday on Sunday, so this is not the place to visit on a sunny Saturday afternoon!
Written by Clive Grant. Updated by Patrick Weis. All spots checked July 2019.
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 09/27 | 1,500m (4,900ft) |
| Terminals | The airport has a single two storey passenger terminal serving all traffic. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not needed at any of the locations. |
| Car/Public Transport | Not necessary. In fact, at £23 for between thirty minutes and four hours, the long stay car park is very expensive indeed. It’s better to use the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) which serves several stations in the area, including London City Airport and King George V stations near Spot #1, as well as Cyprus station near Spot #4 and Royal Albert station near Spots #5 & 6. The 474 bus route also serves the airport and passes Spots #2, 3 & 4. If you do need to drive, it’s better to park free at Spot #3 or Spot #5 and use public transport to get to where you want to be. |
| Restrooms | In the airport terminal for Spot #1. As this is a largely residential area, there are some cafés, pubs and restaurants near most of the other spotting locations. |
| Drinks/Food | In the airport terminal for Spot #1. There are cafés, pubs and restaurants near most of the other spotting locations. |
| Hotels | As well as the very reasonably priced Metro London City Airport near the terminal, there are other hotels at the the western end of the airport and several more to the north and west of Spot #5. |
| Season | As it caters mainly for business related traffic, London City Airport traffic levels remain fairly constant throughout the year, although summer does see some extra traffic to typical holiday destinations, and the winter schedule provides an increase in the number of flights to skiing destinations such as Geneva, Zurich and Milan. However, these extra flights are generally laid on by the same airlines who operate regularly here, i.e. British Airways, Swiss and CityJet. Therefore, the longer days and hopefully better weather during the summer months may be the deciding factor in terms of when to visit. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | There is no preference for either easterly or westerly operations so the runway end in use will depend entirely on the wind direction. However, as the prevailing winds are westerly, 27 is likely to be in operation approximately two-thirds of the time. |
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Spot #1 – Long Stay Car Park – All arriving and departing traffic |
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| WHERE | From the terminal, walk eastwards through the Short Stay to the Long Stay Car Park. Spot #1 is about halfway through the Long Stay Car Park, at the end of the covered glass walkway. Although you can walk down to the end of the car park if you prefer, Spot #1 is roughly at the half way point of the runway, so it works well whichever end is in use.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020: There are ongoing constructions for the terminal and apron expansion which makes shots of planes on the ground/runway IMPOSSIBLE due to installed fence and other stuff (see pics below). |
| WHAT | All traffic on the runway is visible but you can only photograph aircraft in the air. |
| TIME | All day during the winter. In the summer the light’s OK from about 9am until about 4pm. |
| MISC. | There is shelter under the covered glass walkway. Food, refreshments and other facilities are available in the terminal. You have to ask for a photo permission at the info counter inside the terminal before you go there! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-300mm will pretty much cover everything from here. |
Current situation as of February 2020 (pictures by Thorsten Urbanek):
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Spot #2 – Bascule Bridge – 27 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | It’s not possible to walk or drive east along Hartmann Road from Spot #1, so you’ll need to head south to join the A112 Albert Road and follow this road to the east to get to Spot #2. Parking is possible at Spot #3 (read description below) By public transport: Take bus route 474 fron London City Airport or Cyprus DLR Station and exit at the Bascule Bridge (Stop J from London City or Stop K from Cyprus DLR) |
| WHAT | All arrivals and departures on Runway 27. |
| TIME | All day during the winter. In the summer the light’s OK from about 9am until about 4pm. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities at this spot, but the airport terminal is a short bus ride away. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-300mm should cover most things, though smaller bizjets on departure might require up to 400mm from here. |
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Spot #3 – Tereza Joanne Car Park – 27 departures |
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| WHERE | Head north on the Bascule Bridge from Spot #2 and take the next turning on the right. Follow the signs for the Tereza Joanne floating restaurant, turning left at the next junction and following the road back under the bridge to the Tereza Joanne car park. By public transport: Take bus route 474 at London City Airport or Cyprus DLR Station and exit at the Bascule Bridge (Stop J from London City or Stop K from Cyprus DLR). |
| WHAT | Departing traffic coming out of the loop to line up on Runway 27. It is possible to walk the 200m pier along the parking to choose angles you prefer and to avoid the ILS (see BA A318). Although it’s possible to walk to the end of the car park to take landing shots, the angle is not good from here as the traffic stays high until very late. |
| TIME | Mornings only. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here, so bring what you need. Possible that airport security will check you but they have absolutley no problem with planespotters (just carry your ID). |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-200mm should cover most things. |
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Spot #4 – University of East London – 27 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | It’s not possible to access the university grounds by car, but it is possible to access the dockside walkway to the south of the university campus. From Spot #2, head north over Sir Steve Redgrave Bridge and turn left to the east of the university, routeing back towards the dockside. By public transport: Take the DLR and exit at Cyprus Station and walk south for a few minutes to the dock. |
| WHAT | All 27 arriving and departing traffic. |
| TIME | Early morning and late evening, only in the summer. |
| MISC. | As it’s probably not possible to access the university campus facilities, it’s best to bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-300mm should be OK for most things. Departing small bizjets may need up to 400mm. |
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Spot #5 – Yi-Ban Chinese Restaurant – 09 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | From the terminal, take the A112, turning right at the roundabout to cross over the Connaught Bridge and then right again at the Connaught Roundabout. Turn right at the next roundabout, (the Royal Albert Roundabout), and then right onto Dockside Road in front of Newham Council’s offices. Turn left into the car park opposite the Travelodge Hotel and park here for free.
From Spot #2, head north over Sir Steve Redgrave Bridge and take the second turning at the roundabout onto the A1020, Royal Albert Way. Turn left at Royal Albert Roundabout and then right onto Dockside Road in front of the Newham Council’s offices. Turn left into the car park opposite the Travelodge Hotel and park here for free. From the car park, walk past the Yi-Ban Chinese restaurant towards the dockside path. By public transport: Take the DLR and exit at Royal Albert Station and walk south to the dock. |
| WHAT | All 09 arriving and departing traffic. |
| TIME | Early morning and late evening, only in the summer. |
| MISC. | You can choose your spot anywhere along the dockside to Spot #6. Next door to the Yi-Ban restaurant there is a small café for refreshments. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-300mm |
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Spot #6 – Newham Council Offices – All arriving and departing traffic |
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| WHERE | Walk east along the dockside from Spot #5. For parking and public transport see Spot 5. |
| WHAT | All arriving and departing traffic on the runway. |
| TIME | Early morning and late evening, only in the summer. |
| MISC. | Facilities are available at Spot #5. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm |
8 Comments
Here is a pic of the fence that blocks shots of aircraft on the runway from spot 1. Was taken from onboard an aircraft today:
https://ibb.co/hQtJtK
The fence mentioned above is one of those building site style temporary fences where there are concrete weights that the fence poles slot into and then the metal frames for each part of the fence are clamped together. Unless you want shots of the aircraft already airborne it’s not that great anymore. The fence itself is not on the dockside, its on the side of the ‘island’ the runway sits on in the dock. I may have a pic from the other side, I’ll see what I can find.
On the plus side, you can walk along the whole of the other side of the dock at the moment, spent time spotting from pretty much half way between spots 4 and 6 the other week.
Hi Jon!
Very sad to hear this. Linked your picture before showing the example shots, thanks!
Information added as well.
Cheers
-Severin
Is the fence being referred to for position 1 still in situ?
Hi John, we have been there for a month ago and its still there… 🙁
-Julian
Thanks
Updated for spot 1:
There is a fence around and cannot any ground shot anymore. However, it would still a good place for photo 09 take off and 27 landing/take off
Hi Kelvin, thanks for the (bad) news. Do you have a photo from the actual situation for us please? Is the fence installed around the parking?
THX
Julian