Belfast International Airport
| Continent: Europe | Country: United Kingdom | Region: Northern Ireland |
| Belfast International Airport (Aldergrove) | |
| Location | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| IATA code | BFS |
| ICAO code | EGAA |
| Airport type | Mixed-Use Commercial |
| Website | http://www.belfastairport.com |
| Overview map | Google Maps |
| Communications | |
| Tower | 118.3 |
| Ground | 121.750 (summer busy periods only) |
| Clearance | 121.750 (summer busy periods only) |
| Approach | 128.5 (also Director 120.9; busy periods only) |
| Departure | 128.5 |
| ATIS | 128.2 |
| Departure | n/a NB Menzies Handling 131.4 |
Official Spotting Locations
Terminal Viewing Facility
Belfast International Airport is currently undergoing significant renovations with landside access severely limited as more of the terminal is taken into the airside. There was a dedicated viewing lounge within the terminal which is currently closed (October 09) due to the renovation works. There is no confirmation as to whether or not this facility will re-open when work is complete. It is possible that access to the lounge may become available from the domestic baggage reclaim area (landside) at some stage in the future. Ordinarily, entrance to the lounge is free and views are relatively good across the active passenger apron and onto runway 25/07. However the freight ramp is hidden behind the international arrivals pier. Photographs from the viewing lounge can be reasonable but you will have to avoid the grubby windows as the gallery is completely enclosed!
In August 09 the security search area was moved closer to the checkin area, therefore limiting the landside views of the ramp from the central terminal complex. If you have a passenger ticket there are still limited views from the bar area in the terminal towards the GA ramp. You can get a view of one or two of the Easyjet stands and the remote stands near the GA area.
Biz-jet parking is mainly on "Delta" ramp, out of view of the terminal although occasionally they will park next to the GA area.
Further into the passenger lounge, there are limited views from the windows at the "Rankin" cafe & wine bar. You can see the international pier and a section of the main runway 25. Most lounges have views of some sort with the best being from the international departure gates. The Easyjet lounge (the old BA Shuttle lounge) also has reasonable views although it can be very busy at times.
Other Spotting Locations
Runway 25 Approach
On approach to runway 25 there are a few places where photos are possible. 25 is the most commonly used runway. Try this link for a photo of 25 finals:
Upon exiting the airport, follow the main road towards Belfast which runs parallel to runway 25. After 3/4 of a mile you will come to a lay-by on the left-hand side. This is level with the end of runway 25 and you can see the threshold, albeit from slightly below. You can stop here for a few minutes although there are double yellows along the edge of the lay-by. Unfortunately you are also looking south so the sun can be a problem. There is a disused road here which used to be the main road to the airport from the south of the province, but during Northern Ireland's "darker" times it was closed for security reasons. People can be seen walking here so there is no real problem going through the barrier (However it is not recommended you leave your car unattended). NB A new low-level security fence has been erected here (as of April 2007) to limit car parking by taxis and private cars. New "yellow-box" road markings have also been painted which appears to suggest parking will be less tolerated.
If you continue a short distance along the road towards Belfast you will pass Ballyrobin Country House on the right hand side. 100 yards after this there is a road to the right called Drennan's Road that runs between the landing lights. There is a no-stopping zone directly under the approach but if you drive towards the church at the far end (Killead Church), you can pull in and take reasonably good air-shots on finals at the gate opposite the church hall. If the sun is out, especially in winter, this can produce some nice shots with a 300mm lens.
If you turn left at the church (away from the airport)onto Killead Road, after another 300yards you will see the main road (A26) from Nutts Corner to Antrim. Just before this there is a road on the left leading up to some houses and a furniture business ("Creative Furnishings"). It's a public road and you may pull in here. The council have even provided litter bins! You get decent views of aircraft on short finals although photos aren't great as you are a bit "underneath". It was once possible for you to be able to see the threshold of 25 about 1/2 mile away but the hedge has grown up too high now.
There are other spots along the main road to Templepatrick/Belfast, but obviously the further away you go from the airport, the higher the aircraft are.
Freight Ramp
If you want to see the freight apron, turn left out of the front door of the airport and walk past the Park Plaza Hotel towards the long-stay car park. Once at the car-park entrance turn left and walk down towards the airfield past the car hire outlets. One of the car hire businesses has expanded onto the road here (during 2007) limiting the proximity to the airfield, but you can still stop for a few seconds and identify anything on the freight ramp, albeit through various fences and other bits and pieces of airfield equipment. There are no chance of photos as a result. You may also want to walk into the long-stay car park to get a different view onto the freight ramp.
Seacash Road
Turn right at the long-stay car park entrance. After 50 yards you come to a cross-roads at a mini-roundabout - turn left into British Road. You will pass the entrance of the Cargo Centre and after another 300m you will see the landing lights of runway 17 to your left. Turn left immediately into Seacash Road. This is a dead-end road but there are a couple of spots where you can pull in and look across the airfield towards the runway intersection, the Woodgate Hangar area and the RAF site. If you carry on along this road to the end you will find yourself at the back of the Woodgate hangar. You can normally see one or two of their light aircraft parked up outside as well as a withdrawn RAF Wessex hulk and Aldergrove's Rescue Training ex-BA Trident G-AVFE.
The airport Police patrol here regularly, but even though it is a control zone, they will sometimes let you stay for a while if you talk nicely to them :). During 2007 it appeared that work was going to commence along Seacash Road to develop airport hanger and industrial facilities. However this work has failed to materialise (as of March 08) with only a builders storage area left to "threaten" any existing views.
Runway 07 Approach
Follow British Road from the airport until the end, when you come to a T-Junction, and turn left. Follow this road a few km, until you come to a staggered junction just before a railway bridge, with some buildings to your left hand side. This is Aldergrove village, you can see it on the map accessible from the top right of this page. The road to your left is a control zone, so you cannot take the car up it ( it leads to the army base ), but you can leave your car at the buildings on the main road without a problem, and walk up. Views of aircraft approaching 07 can be got here whenever it is in use. There are a lot of trees in the way etc,,, but its OK for air shots, and the sun is on your side. -=UPDATE=- 27/05/2007 , there are road closed signs on this road now with some work going on preventing you from walking up here.
Runway 35 Approach
If you go to the nearest 35 approach road, this has 'Control Zone' signs on it from a fair distance back. However, there is a road called the Crosshill Road which gives splendid views overlooking the 35 threshold. This can be found just off the Manse Road on the South side of the airport. Coming from Nutts Corner, take the Nutts Corner Road, signposted to Crumlin, the one before the road to the airport, and turn off at the Manse Road junction on the bend. Crosshill Road is the first on your right after that. There is a signpost to Crosshill B & B at the corner. You can drive right up near the end of it, and still be in a no restriction area, and have great views over the 35 T/H beside a farmers field with a large grass verge.(you are on a hill, so look down upon the airport)
Runway 17 Approach
This is within a 'Control Zone' so is generally a no go here. It is however possible to park just outside the 'Zone' beside a gate (before the railway bridge) and see the approaching a/c from there. However, you are not that close and the pictures won't be that good. It's not used often for Jet Traffic either. Mostly Helicopter traffic.
Locations to Avoid
Southern Perimeter/RAF Camp
Avoid the road on the south side of the airport leading to the RAF camp. There are security cameras mounted along here and anything more than a 10 second stop is likely to result in you being stopped by the military. The "south side" of the airport in general is out of bounds unless you have permission from someone within the RAF camp. If runway 35 is in use (not often) do not be tempted to locate a spot near the threshold as this is well within the unofficial security zone for the RAF site.
Security is reasonably tight around the perimeter in general and you might be stopped by either airport police (most common), PSNI (Northern Ireland police force) or British Army. The airport police are fine if you explain what you are doing. They might even offer some advice! The PSNI and army are less regular visitors but you would undoubtedly run into them if you stopped anywhere around the south side of the airport. The locations on approach to 25 are fine as long as you adhere to the signage, you shouldn't have any bother.
Regular Traffic
Movements are dominated by Easyjet, BMi Baby and Jet2 although Thomas Cook and First Choice usually have a based A320 or A321. Continental Airlines has a daily flight to Newark throughout the summer which reduces to 6 days per week in the winter schedule. Manx2 operations to the Isle Of Man usually see a Let 410 or Metro at least twice daily.
Summer charters operators include Futura, Air Europa, LTE, Air Transat and Monarch. Winter ski charters are usually operated on Saturdays by Austrian and Bulgarian airlines.
Military movements are dominated by based helicopters (gazelles, pumas & Lynx's) with occasional influxes of RAF Hercules/VC10/Tristar troop carriers.
Also a regular is the PSNI EC135 Helicopter, Callsign Police 44 Zulu, which is based at Aldergrove, along with a fixed wing Islander (Scout 1). They have a hangar on the AAC side of the military apron.
Facilities and Transportation
Ulsterbus run a bus service to Belfast City Centre (Europa Bus Centre) every ten minutes from the front of the terminal. The service number is 300 and the journey takes about 30 minutes. You can get a connecting minibus from Europa Bus Centre to Belfast City Airport, departures every thirty minutes (if not more frequent), journey time is about 10 minutes.