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August 5, 2014Antalya Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on January 9, 2020
Antalya airport (AYT/LTAI) is operated in Turkey’s primary holiday destination located on the country’s Mediterranean coast. The airport was built to accommodate the millions of passengers who come to Turkey’s Mediterranean beaches in summer. It handled almost 26 million passengers in 2017, more than 20 million of which were international passengers. The airport has two international terminals and one domestic terminal. Based on the projection from data from peak months, it currently has an estimated capacity of accommodating up to 45 million passengers/year, theoretically.
AYT has three runways. One is reserved for military and governmental aircraft. The two other are more interesting, as they are the two runways operating everyday to the other planes. There are many good photo spots for arrivals, but practically none for ground shots or departures. During our stay we did not have any issues with police or other authorities.
Antalya Airport is a hub for the Turkish carriers Anadolujet, Corendon Airlines, Freebird Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Tailwind and SunExpress. Turkish Airlines, Atlasjet and Onurair also operate frequently on domestic and international routes. Other than that, the traffic consists of a lot of different airlines which are hard to see anywhere else in Europe besides Moscow. Antalya attracts a lot of airlines from Russia (iFly, Nordwind, Azur Air, Rossiya, Ural, etc.) and CIS-states.
Furthermore you will also see plenty of airlines from Poland (Small Planet & EnterAir), Czech Republic (Travel Service, Czech Holidays), Germany (TUIfly, Condor, Eurowings) and the UK (Jet2, Thomson). Other European (charter) airlines also operate less frequent services to the airport.
A useful tool for AYT is a mobile device (good prepaid fares available at turkcell. Buy your card before your trip and not in Turkey) with FR24 installed and a radio scanner as you never no which runway a flight will use. With a scanner (Antalya Upper Approach – 124.350 at 120ft or 119.65 later) you have enough time to switch your position as the ATC tells the pilot long time before the final approach which runway is to use (approx. 5-10 minutes). In those cases switching the runway for the occasional highlight can be quite rewarding. But of course you can also stick to one runway and you should still have a quite rewarding day.
The official ICF Airport app for your mobile device is also very helpful! You find a detailed schedule including the airline, aircraft type and even the registration!
Written by Jeremy Denton, Peter Psenica, Julian Mittnacht, Yiğit Çiçekci, Firat Cimenli and Jan Seba (last update September 2019).
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 18L/36R | 3.963 m (13.002 ft) |
| 18C/36C | 3.985 m (13.074 ft) |
| 18R/36L | 2.990 m (9.809 ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 (Northwest) | Most International traffic and also for domestic traffic |
| Terminal 2 (South) | International charter traffic only |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not required and not recommend to use! |
| Car/Public Transport | A car is required. Its not easy to find the spotting location so it’s necessary to rent a car. It costs around 30 Euro per day. You can park your car easily at every location we provide! |
| Restrooms | At the hotels and gas stations around the airport. |
| Drinks/Food | Gas stations and small stores are near to some locations. Several restaurants can be found in the village north of the airport and near the sea, south of the airport in Lara city. There is also a huge shopping mall, great to make a break, just next to the northern spots 9 and 10. |
| Hotels | There is just 1 hotel near the airport called IC Hotels Airport (see spot #12). Rooms are not the cheapest and you can find many good alternatives within Lara, south of the airport at the sea. |
| Season | The best season is summer, from June to end of September, as the most charter carriers operate only during this time. |
| Security | There is an increased police presence this sommer season 2019. This is mainly caused by local farmers who called them. Usually the officers just check your ID and tell you to leave the place. In the worst case you have to follow them to the station but they will let you go! Be aware of this situation. Mainly occur at the southern morning postions. Safe places are the tennis academy #7 and spot #9. No problem reported at locations #13 and #5 too. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | The wind at AYT changes several times during the day and usually landings are from the south in the morning, then changing sometime during late morning (around 11:00) and changing again in the evening (after sunset) at around 19:00. But it can also happen that they switch back earlier before sunset. Unfortunately, while in the past they seemed to use one runway for landings and one for departures (with some exceptions), now it seems that they prefer a system of landings according to the terminal, so some portion of the traffic will be always lost. But even then the system is not 100% clear and while some airlines seem to have a preferred RWY, they have almost all been seen landing on both RWYs. |
| 18L/36R | Used both for Departures and Arrivals but tends to handle more departures than arrivals. |
| 18C/36C | Used both for Departures and Arrivals but tends to handle more arrivals than departures. Most of the domestic traffic use it as Terminal 1 is closer to it. |
| 18R/36L | Rarely in use and just for military movements. |
Parking - 18L Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | Spot 1 is at a parking place of a bus company. There are some other places in the area as well to park the car. To reach this from the entry road of the airport: Take a left turn at the traffic light, heading East and take a left after around 400 meters. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 18L. Compared to spot #2 the angle for arrivals is not so great here, but you will encounter less heat haze. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | There is a restaurant and a small market next to the bus company. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 155mm B744, 240mm A320, 270mm A319 |
Small Field - 18L Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | Getting here is a bit tricky, as there is no official turning point from the main road into this road if you are coming from the north. So either drive past and make a u-turn later or turn into the 1508 Sk and approach this locations through the side roads from the south. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 18L. Sadly you will most likely face slight heat hace from around 10:00 for smaller aircraft. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | There is a restaurant and a small market next to the bus company. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 210mm for a B738 and 150mm for a B753. |
Empty building - 18L/36R
| WHERE | From Spots 1 & 2 continue on the main road southward along the airport’s perimeter fence. After a few minutes turn right and behind the petrol station you will see a sand road; go straight until you see a huge unfinished building. There are some construction works around the building right now. The building can now be accessed without any danger, but of course the interior is always dangerous.. Park your car next to the building and go to the second floor. You can go higher in the building if you want to avoid the lampposts in your photos but be very careful as without any walls, the site is very unsafe! Also, be careful about the security tower in front of you, sometimes a car comes to drop off a man who stays some hours inside. |
| WHAT | You can take very nice pictures of arrivals, departures and aircraft taxiing to and from 18L/36R. Later during the morning you might experience strong heat haze in your shots. |
| TIME | In summer from May until the end of September, photos can be taken from sunrise until 9:30. It is possible to continue until the sun turns other way, however even the photos taken at 9.00 are badly affected by the heat haze. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. Keep in mind this is private property. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 155mm for a B744 and 260mm for a B738. |
Greenhouse Hill - 36R Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | If you are coming from the north, pass the petrol station which is marked and turn right into the Yörükoglu Cd. Follow this street along the airport fence and turn into the small housing area at the southern airport perimeter. The location is found in a small side street, where you can park you car on a gravel street, which is pretty much never used. For the photos you have to get out of the car and climb onto the small hill behind you, where you can easily shoot over the greenhouses. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 36R. You would probably have to deal with heat haze at this locations from 10:00 onwards, but as the RWY direction is usually switched before that, this will rarely be an issue. Otherwise (or if this spot is too far for you, use #5). |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | An A320 is about 250mm and a B747 is 150mm. |
Former Supermarket - 36R Arrivals Morning<
| WHERE | Follow the road along the airport fence a bit further until you reach the Asmali Sk, turn into this road. The spot is located right alongside the street, so try to find a suitable parking space without blocking the street. There was a local mini market which is now closed from where you can spotting from. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 36R. The angle at this spot is a worse compared to #4, but you are closer to the action. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | The neighbours of this market are informed about our hobby and you should have no problem with them. Sometimes the police can pass in front of you, but it was okay, there is no problem. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 789 = 120mm; A320 = 200mm |
Graveyard - 36C Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | Spot 6 is good for landings at 36C and most of the time you will use this location coming from #4 or 5. Follow the airport fence a bit and then turn left into the Zeybek Sk which leads you directly to this spot. Drive the Zeybek Sk carefully, as there are several blind corners. Turn right into the Yonka Sk and turn right after a few hundred meters trough a blue gate. Park your car on the area close to the trees. They are several power lines in your view, but with the right position it is possible to avoid those in your photos, even for heavies like the B744. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 36C. It’s best used for only one or two aircraft which you probably heard on the radio and gives a very good angle for shooting. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. This spot is good in the morning for arrivals on 36C. For photos directly after sunrise you can easily stay here for a while without any problems and take photos comfortable. After the first people are awake and the road is getting busier (at around 0800 am), you should switch your position to the tennis academy as the local inhabitants will tell you not to take photos. Always keep a low profile. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150mm for an A330 and 210mm for an A321. |
Tennis Academy - 36C Morning
| WHERE | Instead of going right to location #6 continue on the street until you reach the tennis academy to your right. It`s a well known position for local plane spotters and its on an grassy area behind the tennis courts. There is a gate at the entrance however it is open for anyone and they are very friendly even they ask you to drink or eat anything. From the gate just drive behind the courts to park your car. The big advantage of this location is that you won´t get bothered by locals who tend to call the police! |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 36C only. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | Absolutely safe place for plane spotters and the owners are aware of our website and that spotters are going to this place. Some shadow and even food and drinks are available (please by something!). Be respectful and polite to the tennis players so that everyone can use this position in the future! The academy opens at 0800 in the morning. We recommend to spot at #6 from sunrise and then move over to this place when it has opened. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 744 = 130mm; 752 = 180mm; 738 = 230mm |
Sandy Area - 36C Arrivals Evening
| WHERE | You will usually have to get to this location from the north of the airport, if they switch the RWY back in the evening before sunset. Use the fast road on the eastern side of the airport to get to the known locations and then either use the Zeybek or Ebru Sk to turn into the Havaalani Cd and then into Cesur-1. The spot is right on a large sandy area which you have to go towards the end of, in order to avoid cables and posts. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the evening for arrivals on 36C. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from 14:00 until sunset. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 110mm for a B747 and 200mm for an A320. |
Dirt Road - 18C Arrivals Evening
| WHERE | This spot is possibly the first you will go to after your lunch break. So coming from your hotel or any other place, use the D400 highway. Turn off into the Serik C. Yanyolu (running parallel to the D400). Once you exit the highway take on the left on Serik Cd. Yanyolu, pass under the bridge and continue until you notice on your right a small dirty road. You will notice also a line of trees on the left of that dirty road this is where you will park the car and stay here. You can also drive a bit further up the road until an empty building. Its not the “safest” place but the angle is slightly better there. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the evening for arrivals on 18C. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from 14:00 until sunset. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 145mm for a B763 and 200mm for a B738. |
Gravel Lot - 18C Arrivals Morning
| WHERE | Similar to spot #9, this location is located next to the D400 side road and you can park right at this spot as there is a gravel area next to the Serik C. Yanyolu which can be used to park and spot from. |
| WHAT | This spot is good in the morning for 18C arrivals. The aircraft are very far away at this location, but this is necessary as they are still very high. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from sunrise until 11:00. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 250mm for an A321 and 190mm for a B763. |
Boat Repair - Arrivals 18L Evening
| WHERE | As the two previous locations this spot is located on the known side road Serik C. Yanyolu of the D400 but pretty useless now. The reason is that you are no longer able to make a quick switch between Spots 9 and 11 as there is a new highway cutting the connection road into two parts and its impossible to cross the highway. But #13 is a great alternative and can be easily reached from #9. You can park your car on the right side of the street opposite the Boat Repair. |
| WHAT | This location is good for arrivals on 18L in the evening. Sadly the angle is rather bad, so you might consider the alternative Spot #13 if this bothers you too much. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from 14:00 until sunset. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so take what you need with you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 135mm for a B747 and 240mm for a B738. |
IC Airport Hotel - Arrivals 18L Evening
| WHERE | Spotting can also be done from the IC Airport Hotel roof, making it a relaxing place to stay, spot and enjoy the sun. Obviously directions are not necessary if you stay here… 🙂 |
| WHAT | This location is good for arrivals on 18L in the evening. The angle is pretty good, however there are a few disadvantages: First of all, you are committed to one runway, meaning that a quick switch is not as easily possible as with the other locations. Secondly, staying at this Hotel is rather costly compared to alternatives in the area. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from 14:00 until sunset. |
| MISC. | There is everything nearby! You have your room, toilets and even Wifi right with you and the hotel tolerates spotting from the roof. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-300mm lens will be fine for most things. |
Airport Road - 18L Arrivals Evening
| WHERE | On the road leading to the airport terminals there is an unofficial parking area right next to the road which is often used by cab drivers. You can also pull off here with your car and shoot arriving aircraft over the trees. Make sure to get a location where the trees aren’t that high, otherwise they will disturb your shots. Also take care to avoid the lamp posts and signs placed in the middle of the road. We don’t recommend to walk to this position as its not safe due to very fast cars. Taxis are available and newly build railway is possible too. |
| WHAT | This spot is a good choice for 18L arrivals in the evening. It can be reached from Spot #9 in just a few minutes, making it ideal for a quick switch if you heard a highlight on the radio for this RWY. |
| TIME | In summer the light is good from 14:00 until sunset. |
| MISC. | As can be seen in the video, this point is used by locals who do not want to pay for the parking fee at the airport. They are waiting there for the passengers and they will be picking up from the arrival part and then they take them back from the airport immediately. Naturally, this area can be monitored by traffic polices. Since it is a very busy point, it is recommended that you never, ever show your camera for a long period. Take the plane and put your camera away. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 180mm for a B738 and 110mm for a B747. |
Terminal 2 - 18L/36R, taxiway
| WHERE | This spot is very easy to find as it is situated just next to the Departure Hall of Terminal 2. Its outside on the eastern side where all the hotel busses arrive. |
| WHAT | You see all movements of runway 18L/36R as well as the taxiway next to the runway. |
| TIME | We recommend this location in the evening only as during midday there is a lot of heat haze. The taxiway is no problem but on the runway there can be still heat haze in the evening so we recommend this spot only if you have some time left before your departure back home. |
| MISC. | Burger King, Starbucks and Toilets are outside of the Terminal. This spot may be history soon as there are plants that growing fast and may block the sight one day. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 747 on runway = 170mm; 737 on taxiway = 170mm |
13 Comments
Firstly – thank you all for producing such a helpful guide – I would have been lost without it. I spent four days in Antalya without any problems what so ever. Spot 3 was perfect and such a nice breeze on the 6th floor. Spot 7 (the tennis club) was perfect as was spot 15 and 13. Spot 15 there is a new road where I parked up on the bend about 200 metres from the main road. I was completely confused by the logic or lack of regarding the arrival / departure runways in use. Sometimes they had dedicated arrival / departure runways and other times completely mixed traffic – this made for an interesting time.
Greetings,
Just a quick follow up referring spotting in AYT. Last Saturday (August 24th, 2019) I spent there several hours and didn’t have any problems neither with security nor with the police. I started the morning session at the tennis school (spot #7) and got few nice pics. I also talked to people from the tennis school and got an advice to stay near the car parking (behind tennis courts) as there are two pretty dangerous dogs running on a leash at the field behind the parking, so I bet that nobody wants the get in close contact with those fellows. In the afternoon I moved to spot #15 and got good shots, however the light was good from 1500hrs onwards.
Oh – btw – many thanks to Firat Cimenli for all the information provided just several days before my visit at AYT.
Cheers Tomasz.
I am hearing mixed reports on photo opportunities at Antalya. Sometimes the Police are bothered, sometimes not! Also, spot #7 is no longer possible due to a new power line but this is subject to confirmation.
Hi, any information about the current situatuin in Antalya? Any problems with Police/Security at the spotting points?
Thanks
Arnd
Hi Arnd!
We didn’t hear about any negative reports in the last weeks, but this might change from day to day in such countries.
Good luck in AYT.
-Severin
Many spotters enjoyed AYT this summer. There is no problem as locals get familiar with spotters day by day.
Best regards,
Mustafa
Currently waiting to fly home from AYT and worth noting that us and other spotters have very difficult time with local police! The current situation seems to be that they do not want people photographing planes, the biggest problem has been locals constantly seeing us despite trying to be discreet and phoning the police, having said that we have photographed plenty in the last few days but you need to be constantly aware what is going on around you.
Hi Simon, thats not really new that locals call the police. Happend already some years ago. From which position are you talking about? I know at #8 there was a problem.
-Julian
Hi just came back from Antalya and was able to do a little spotting. Firstly spot #14 is hard to photograph at as the terminal is closed and many security personnel are about. They told me it was the fact that the terminal was closed but I am still pretty sure that if someone went there when it was open you would still be kicked out as you would pose a threat to passengers. I decided to go to spot #9 were I was able to remain undisturbed as it is quite isolated but I am quite sure that if we stayed much longer I would have been kicked out. Before my flight while driving down the perimeter road I found another spotting location which was 2 expo bridges which provided good views of the terminal and gave good views of take-offs on 36c and 36r and landings and line ups on 18c and 18r I was only able to stay there for half an hour due to the fact that I had to catch my flight. For that duration of time I stood behind the elevator out of sight of the security box situated in the centre of the bridge but this didn’t affect my views at all. Even though security have told me that it is not prohibited to take photos of aircraft in Turkey I would never spend a day out spotting their as security are strict and tend to move you on if they are suspicious. In my personal opinion the best place to spot at Antalya is the terminal as you get good vantage points. People on this site need to be reminded that spotting in Turkey is not as accepted as the UK, the USA and the rest of Europe. These terror attacks have played quite a role in this.
Hi,
Terminal 2 is now reopened and Terminal 1 is closed for constructions. So Spot #14 should useable now.
Spot #9 is fine as we spent there 4 days and never saw a security.
We know spotters that were checked by the police and even had to went to the station but thereafter they were able to continue spotting.
-Julian
Hi Jeremy,
Another good location for 36R arrivals is at the following coordinates, 36’52 09.57″N 30’48 31.83″E. There is an opening in the trees and buildings. A little local supermarket is nearby(for drinks). The main advantage of this spot is that you are not in sight of the authorities and the people who live here are very used to spotters.
Hi Jeremy, AYT is a great airport and also my favourite. However I am surprised you havent encountered any problems with the police, especially spot Nr.3 seems to me to be quite problematic, as the watching towers of the airport are situated every few hundred meters. I was visited by the police on another locations in the past two years, luckily I had a stamped permission to take photos (on the apron) so it worked well with them, however I dont know their reaction in case I wouldnt have that. Probably they would send me away and maybe come to visit the place again to check that I left. Officially, it is forbidden to photograph at Turkish airports and especially if it is also a military base, they are very sensitive about that. I suppose that maybe some stupid local inhabitants called the police in my case. They are very poor and they dont understand our hobby and anybody hanging around with expensive camera looks suspicious. Nevertheless, with some discrecy, AYT spotting can be done without bigger problems. The second thing which you havent mentioned in your article is, that the wind at AYT changes several times during the day and usually landings are from the south in the morning, then changing sometime during late morning or midday and changing again in the evening at around 19:00 hrs. Unfortunately, while in the past they seemed to use one runway for landings and one for departures (with some exceptions, like Transaero you mentioned), now it seems that they prefer a system of landings according to the terminal, so some portion of the traffic will be always lost.
Hi Peter, thanks for your comment. When I went with my father we didn’t know that spotting wasn’t allowed. We know that there were a Military Base and some security towers so we stayed careful. We didn’t have any problems with people and police hopefully.
I will mentioned that spotting is not allowed in AYT and to be careful about police and people.
For the wind, you are reason, I missed to mentioned that thing.
Thank you very much to correct me and add some informations about AYT.
Regards
Jeremy