EYW - Spot 1
Protected: Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
May 25, 2020
Wuhan Tianhe Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
May 30, 2020Protected: Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
May 25, 2020Wuhan Tianhe Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
May 30, 2020Key West Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on November 24, 2025
Key West International Airport (EYW/KEYW) is located in the City of Key West in Monroe County, Florida and nearly 3,5 km east of the main commercial center of Key West. Flights departing from EYW often have weight restrictions, because the airport’s runway is only 1,547m long. In 2024 almost 1.5 Mio passengers passed through the airport.
Currently the airport provides commuter service to northeastern and southeastern US cities via American, Delta, JetBlue, United and s. Delta Air Lines currently operates mainline jet service into the airport. Key West’s 1,547m runway is one of the shortest runways in North America and the aircraft size is limited. There is also cargo traffic with regular service by Fedex as well as a number of charter and private aviation movements.
Written by Martin Rogosz and Pierre Knoblauch. Last change: November 2025, Spot 3 added
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 09/27 | 1.547m (5.076 ft) Asphalt |
| Terminals | One for all operations |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Do not use a ladder in any area adjacent to the airport perimeter. |
| Car/Public Transport | Bus or walking from the Terminal |
| Drinks/Food | Various restaurants or fast food are located in the near by. |
| Hotels | Various hotels are located in the near by. |
| Season | Best from November to March, when temperatures are still enjoyable. Avoid May through November even when it will get hot and humidity will increase, so thunderstorms and heat distortion can be a problem. |
| Security | At Key West it is not permitted to take photos of the ramp. If you take photos of the ramp, you do at your own risk. Keep a low profile while spotting in order to avoid any inconviniences. That’s why don’t show off your equipment if you very close to the fence al the time to avoid strange/suspicious looks. Always carry an ID with you as police can come by and check you. We already received one report that a visitor here was checked by the police during taking photos from the ramp. Around Key West are multiple Military restricted areas with Helicopter, please do not try to take any photos there. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 09/27 | Depending on wind direction |
 |
Spot #1 – S Roosevelt Blvd – RWY27 Approach |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The Spot is located on a sidewalk next to “S Roosevelt Blvd” which leads to the airport terminal. You can park your car on the left side in unpaved area or you walking from the Terminal (~15min). |
| WHAT | Arrivals on RWY27 only. |
| TIME | Sunrise till afternoon (around 4 p.m. in Winter) – depending on Season |
| MISC. | A Hotel is directly next to this position (marked at map), Supermarket is a bit far way so better bring with you what you need |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-180mm ATR72 = 130mm / B737 = 85mm |
 |
Spot #2 – Dennis St. – RWY09 Arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located next to the “Key West High School”. It is easy to reach by car (drive S Roosevelt Blvd in Western direction until Blance St. and turn right) or public transport (Bus Stop “Bertha Street & Venetia”), for walking from the Terminal it is a bit far (more than 30min to walk). |
| WHAT | Arrivals RWY09 |
| TIME | Sunrise till afternoon (around 4 p.m. in Winter) – depending on Season |
| MISC. | Nothing near by, bring with you what you need. Be careful with taking photos there keep a low profile while spotting in order to avoid any inconviniences. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-180mm (B737 = 110mm) |
 |
Spot #3 – Government Rd |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The spot is located on the other side of the airport. To get to there follow Flagler Ave and turn into Government Rd. It’s a gravel road and within a City Park (Key West Salt Ponds Little Hamaca City Park). The gate is open sunrise to sunset. There is no public transportation, so a bicycle or a car will be required. Stand on the trunk of the pick up car to get over the fence (or 4 step ladder which we do not recommend to use). There is heavy truck traffic (construction trucks, dump trucks) on this road. |
| WHAT | The view overs excellent possibilities to photograph arriving traffic from the west on runway 09. Also, you can get good shoots to the line up onto runway 09 as you are face to face with the line up spot. |
| TIME | Usually you face the sun all day long, especially the arrivals. Line-ups are fine in the morning and afternoon hours. |
| MISC. | No facilities in the area. Bring plenty of water and maybe some snacks. Make sure to keep a low profile, the police is regularly patrolling the are but never had any issues. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm are fine 737 = 150mm |
Howdy, I live on one of the Islands north of Key West and watch the military fighters fly and practice formations and dogfighting. I am into aviation but have not plane spotted yet for EYW and these spots look great. I actually attend the high school which in in the landing path of runway 9. My only question is being in front of the high school a better spot instead of behind it for landings at runway 9. Thanks
Great post, thank you very much. I’ll be going down for a week’s stay and will be going to both spots (if able).
Just an update now that COVID is happening. Delta now flies A-319s with 4-5 flights daily to Atlanta. There is also 1-2 Delta E-175 flights from Atlanta. Jet Blue has also started service in E-190s with a 5 time weekly flight to Boston and JFK. Allegiant will start service from Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati in June of 2021 and American will launch LaGuardia service in June. American has also started flying A-319s on routes from Chicago and Philadelphia along with Dallas.
Thanks for the info, I have updated the text.
-Julian