It's all part of whether (or not) an airport is a good neighbour to the surrounding community.

Some airports fail to see that this, too, ultimately affects their bottom line, even if the bean-counters are incapable of making that connection.

The rooftop viewing areas above Tokyo Haneda airport's domestic terminal 2 are vast and crowded with families at weekends. However there's plenty of space, and many aircraft movements to watch. The shops, cafes and restaurants are busy (strangely there is a particularly nice Italian as well as those offering Japanese fare) and there is no charge for access. Families arrive on the Metro (Subway) trains and seem to spend the day there. However the aircraft are essentially clones and for an enthusiast it starts to get a tad repetitive. But it is a great way to introduce young children to the wonders of flight.

In the mid sixties, as well as spending the day on the top of the Queens Building at "London Airport", I recall a day trip to Southend which included a visit to the airport and a tour around the airfield on a Southend Transport double decker bus. I recall seeing a couple of Ansett DC-4 noses which had been chopped off for Carvair conversions by Aviation Traders. Of course, in those days Southend was the fifth or sixth busiest in the UK!

Doesn't Heathrow incorporate solid panels into its perimeter fencing at what would be eye level in order to obscure the view of those interested in looking at aircraft?

I think that that was implemented more as a safety feature (to stop motorists becoming distracted) than to thwart those of us afflicted with spotteritus ;-)

Airports should be enouraging spotters in particular those who are regulars, such as at Manchester or Coningsby. They are the eyes and ears of the place.

http://www.tasmanchester.co.uk/man-airport-watch.html

https://www.raf.mod.uk/rafconingsby/...visitingus.cfm

Both sites have phone numbers people can contact the police in case of suspicion of criminal acts.

One other idea that comes to mind is like Pal-Waukee Airport, in the north Chicago suburbs. I don't think they have a viewing area on-airport but at the south end of the field they have a parking area and set of 'bleachers':wooden tiered seating like you'd find at a sports stadium.
https://binged.it/2EJY3oC
Cheap and effective, the top rows having a view over the fence. Not sure if it'd work in the UK though, someone would mention the 'liability' word.

Manchester has raised areas for views over fence.

...and 'spotting' areas on the Bath Road side are either behind glass in hotels or utterly pointless.

A viewing deck on the roof of a hotel would be perfect for 27R / 09L.

Probably the best current hotel facility for stuff on 27R short final has been mentioned earlier - the customers only outdoor seating area adjacent to the car park at the back of the Bath Road Premier Inn ( not the T5 Bath Road Prem Inn, the one at the eastern end of the airport.). No view over the fence to be had but at least in summer you can indulge in your spotting whilst nursing a warm beer

Yup, my favourite place around the airport. Has all the conveniences there as well as 2-3 hours free parking. The purple car park next door to it would make good money from a small corner space on the roof for spotting I reckon. That would have a great view over the fence.

Photography is OK but the commentary is dire.

They are old enough to know better but there is extensive use of "awesome", "no way", "fantastic", "cool" and "wow" for bog standard shots of rotations. Language I'd expect to hear from an enthusiastic 13 years old. One of the presenters is apparently the son of a pilot and should be far better informed.

On the footage filmed at MAN on Valentines Day they didn't know where Hurghada was (surely a pretty common package destination); introduced one aircraft as a TUI Boeing 757-400 series (new one on me); commented that the Icelandair 757-300 was "super-stretched" (stretched - yes, but super?). The 15 knot crosswind had many aircraft apparently "struggling to get off the ground". One aircraft 787 I think - "had to have a longer spool up than normal - said to be 30 seconds - because of the colder conditions" - all of maybe 2C.

Glad my PC has a mute button.

Yep, I've been past that place more than once when using the the perimeter road and can only assume at the moment their security must keep a close eye on comings and goings because that would be a heck of a spotting spot for 27R....;)

A Red Rover bus pass oft found me on top of the Queen's Building in the late '60's. I recall seeing two brand new BOAC 747's on the tarmac below. With a pal, we somehow got ourselves lost in the T2 offices only to be rescued by a nice Iberia lady who gave us some rather nice DC9 lapel badges.

If you take a paranoid, small minded idiot with a poor education, bully them and then give a job where they are answerable to nobody then you have described the average security clown at an airport. After receiving abuse for several years from everyone around them because they lack social skills, promote them to a level where they can stipulate what can and cannot go on around their airports. Then is it any surprise that a spotter cannot get a direct view of an aircraft let alone close to one - "for security reasons". How stupid can you get? Their belief is that terrorists will flock to these places and shoot down aircraft with MANPAD's. Couple that with the average spotter's on-site spend on a day out and you'll see why there are so few spotting spaces. Short-sighted management greed means that opportunities for passengers to see aircraft will also be limited - after all, we can't have these unpleasant people looking at aircraft instead of shopping, can we?

PM

Don't get me started, security got to the stage of stopping us going airside with a a Burger King. Answer chuck it over the the fence to a mate and pick it up there. You coulf shoot down anything wiyh a MANPAD from Ringway Road, Has anyone ever attempted to target a stationary aircraft?

The IRA lobbed some mortars over the fence at Heathrow from a truck in a hotel car park on the Great West Road. They went over the roof of the police station.
No aircraft damage was done.

Towards the end Heathrow's viewing area became really run down, the glass house on the top was always full of strange caricatures like Herman the German with top secret information.

I was there for that and for the time car park 1 was the site of some scary explosions. Great fun to read about it next day from the safety of home..... but not such fun if you work in the middle of it. I'm a spotter and spent many hours of my youth on the roof gardens but on balance I prefer security.

What security? Or do you mean the window dressing that is in place to assure the public that they are safe! Any suicidal group of terrorists could mount a catastrophic and deadly attack on Heathrow if they had the means. It's not security that keeps us safe but the fact that they haven't yet got their hands on the necessary weaponry to do it with.