Heathrow spotters balcony...
 

Eeee...when I were a lad, I spent many a summer holiday on the terminal roof with airband radio and enjoyed just being close to aircraft and learning what was going on.

For security reasons it was closed some years ago of course - which is a shame in my view. How many young people now don't get the chance to be inspired into aviation by 'spotting' or have that magical invitation onto the flight deck while going on holiday with their parents?

Why can't all major airports have a 'proper' enthusiasts area? Would people be willing to go through some sort of security and pay to have access? I can imagine a nice 'roof' area at many airports close to the runway making a charge for entrance and with food and facilities?

Why not?

Is it something I should pitch to Dragon's Den ;)

Schiphol still has a very (very) large roof garden...check it out on Google Maps. Great views over most of the airfield, with the nearest gates only a stone's throw away (maybe not an appropriate descriptor!). Last time I was there, an MD11 was literally only metres away. Brilliant place to spend a couple of hours...

Germany is arguably one of the top European countries which provide good facilities to watch aeroplanes, be it from the terminal or designated areas away from the terminal. Some require security control and others don't depending on the location. Some charge a fee whilst others don't. Where they have to, the public is willing and happy to pay an entry fee, which pays for maintenance and staffing. In the UK, Manchester Airport continues to provide good family facilities. Unfortunately airports like Heathrow and Gatwick are not interested in providing anything which won't bring in zillions of $$$!

Manchester has a pretty good viewing area. Ideal for kids too, along with a Concorde.

I certainly echo your sentiments Martine . I spent many a day spotting at Guernsey Airport in the 60s. My parents would have preferred me to spend more time at the beach in the summer, or playing football. They were also, with good reason, fearful of the lack of attention that the spotting caused to my school homework ! However, spotting, & the airband radio, got me hooked on ATC & directly led to me becoming an ATCO. During my career, I met many more ATCOS who had followed the same path. Far from providing us with an unnecessary distraction from schoolwork (& an alternative desirable profession) , spotting provided us with a totally interesting, rewarding, & fairly lucrative career. And, as I always say, it was better than working !

I would mention that the enclosed viewing area at Prestwick is still open and free to enter, however, there may be times when there is not much to see.

Terminal 2 at Frankfurt has a large open-air viewing terrace (free) overlooking the apron and runways.

Unfortunately, the land and space around a place like Heathrow is at a premium, so it'll likely be used for retail space or whatnot. Also, as it's a really busy place, I'd imagine the management won't want non-passengers milling around the place as it's more people to manage.


These days the only way to see aircraft at LHR is either at the gate or (depending on your Terminal) in a restaurant or part of the departure hall.


Obviously, there are also places around the perimeter fence that afford a good view of arriving or departing aircraft, but these also require you to make extra arrangements with regard to refreshment, toilets etc.


I always thought it would be a great idea if someone built some sort of viewing deck on the perimeter of the airfield, ideally in a space between the runways. I'm sure there is some property available but the development of such an area would mean spotters incur some sort of entry fee to pay for rates, cleaning, parking etc.

....but it has shrunk recently. The long haul pier areas are now sealed off. But on the positive side open access, free entry.

The rooftop viewing area on Queens Building was closed off to the public in about '78 and left derelict for many years. There was no reason it coulldn't have been retained with suitable security checks.
Mind you there was a nice empty building next to the bus station; used to be called the 'control tower; gave superb views; most distractng when you were there on 'management' courses.

I might be mis-remembering, but I'm sure that I nipped up there on sentimental grounds in the late 90's whilst between flights at LHR. It was greatly reduced from times of yore.

Wasn't the Queens temporarily closed for a while (for repairs possibly) in the late 70s? I know for sure that I have slides taken in 1989 from the Queens.

My (ex) wife worked for BA in Queen's Building in '78 and I sometimes used to pick her up from work or have a meal in the staff restaurant next to the viewing area. It was definitely closed off then and for several years after but may have re-opened for a short while later. I vaguely remember there was a ticket machine for entry or am I thinking of somewhere else?

Zürich also has an excellent observation deck landside above the B gates. I seem to recall it costs 5 francs however if you are flying on the day you are visiting it is free. There is also an observation deck airside over the E gates.

I have some bad, and somewhat old, news for you.

http://photolibrary.heathrow.com/preview/CHE12958d.jpg

:O

Doh! There was me looking forward to my next visit... :*

It's still pretty good by UK standards.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/238Ggan]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/...63a36ec0_z.jpg

The LHR spotting area on top of T2/Queens Building was open in 2000 as I took my one and only trip there that summer. It must have closed not long after. I also recall LGW still had it's spotting area too.


EDI must have closed it's gallery around the same time, if not pre-2000. I remember going to it many a time, but on a quick visit to the terminal in round Autumn 2000 I went looking for it only to be told it was closed. That's around the time the terminal underwent a huge renovation and the viewing gallery disappeared for good. It is still there, in theory anyway, the doorway that led out to it is still there, but it's in an area only accessible to staff and the area where people used to stand still exists, only it's now full of air conditioning pipes and miscellaneous cabling. The terminal extension also blocks the view of the stands quite considerably. Thankfully EDI has plenty of places around the airfield where you can get a good view of the aircraft.

I agree about German airports, they all seem to have viewing galleries, even the smallest.

Martine - couldn't agree more. A real shame that the superb facility at BHX has also gone, especially how given how busy the airport is now compared to say, the early 1990s.