Toluca Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos Intl. Airport (TLC/MMTO) is a Mexican airfield just 30km west of the capital, Mexico City. While passenger numbers are quite little with only ~215.000 passengers in 2020, the airport is primarly famous for its business jet and general aviation traffic of any size: from Learjet 45 up to A345 or B727. But some occasional commercial (Viva Aerobus, TAR) and cargo flights (AeroCarga, FedEx) do happen so it is something to look out for as well. Due to its location closeness to the capital area, TLC is the main alternative airport beneath Mexico City’s main Intl. Airport MEX plus TLC also offers the longest runway in the country.

Mexico is quite infamous for its insecurity around the country and for places like these it is recommended that you go with a local to avoid any problems.

Written by Severin Hackenberger in cooperation with Ricardo Mungarro, Juan Carlos Alvarez and Ángel García. Last Update: 2020

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
15/33	4200m
Terminals	One building splitted into domestic and international
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not allowed, but not needed.
Car/Public Transport	Definitely recommended as spots are not in the areas with the best public transport coverage.
Drinks/Food	Some restaurants are north of the airport along the busy highway.
Hotels	There are only very few hotels around here and none of them is a special spotting hotel.
Season	Summer has lots of haze and storms, therefore the light comes more around the runway axis than in the winter which normally has more sun and less haze. Either period has its advantages, but best for traffic are the times of big meetings/gettogethers in Mexico City as TLC gets busy then especially.
Security	Mexico is quite infamous for its insecurity around the country and for places like these it is recommended that you go with a local to avoid any problems. So always get in touch with locals first, please. Futhermore just always keep a low profile with the camera as robberies are not unsual here. Also keep an eye out for aggressive wild dogs.
Runway Usage
15/33	15 is the major direction of traffic here and used by all sorts of aircraft.

	Spot #1 – El Mirador – 15 Movements
WHERE	This is a public obvservartion area located along Calle Avenida Independencia at the airport’s northwestern perimeter fence at the end of runway 15. When coming in from the Mexico City-Toluca highway take a turn at Miguel Alemán blvd and continue on driving until eventually turning right on “Avenida independencia” and driving in that street you will eventually arrive at the public observation area known to locals as “El Mirador”. You can park your car along the roadside and simply locate yourself directly at the fence.
WHAT	Runway 15 movements only: Arrivals + Line-Ups
TIME	From later noon till sunset. Heat haze is a huge issue on hot days for runway shots.
MISC.	Small Local Restaurants can be found around the area for food & drinks, for the actual spotting location it is recommended to bring what you need. Although there is shadow, it can be hot sometimes and you always have to shoot thru the mesh – ladder not allowed and useless as the fence is ~3m high.
FOCAL LENGTH	18-200mm Taxiway B727 = 35mm / Approaching Gulf = 180mm

TLC-Spot1

TLC-Spot1

TLC-Spot1

TLC-Spot1

TLC-Spot1

TLC-Spot1

	Spot #2 – Dirt mound – 15 movements
WHERE	This location is at the end of “Calle Miguel Hidalgo”, northeast of the airport. At the end of the stree,t in front of the fence, you will find a little dirt mound from where you can nicely shot over the fence.
WHAT	Runway 15 movements only: Arrivals + Line-Ups
TIME	Sunrise till early noon.
MISC.	Heat haze is a huge issue on hot days. Small Local Restaurants can be found around the area for food & drinks, for the actual spotting location it is recommended to bring what you need. Although there is shadow, it can be hot sometimes. Ladder not needed as you can easily shoot over the fence from the mound.
FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm

TLC-Spot2

TLC-Spot2