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The airport at Arrecife on the
island of Lanzarote must be one of the best in Europe for aviation photography.
I spent a week there from the 29th January to 5th February and the following
report on my experiences will hopefully help those other "first
timers" get a feel for what they will find.
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The airport is located to the south-west of the main city of Arrecife - between the resorts of Playa Honda and Puerto Del Carmen. It has a single 2400m runway orientated 03/21 which runs parallel with a wide sandy beach. In 2002 over 5 million passengers passed through the modern multi-level terminal which has six air-bridges and a number of remote coach-served parking stands. The terminal and apron are located at the north-western corner of the runway and there is a small general aviation parking area at the northern end of the airport. Mid way down the runway on the west side is a military apron and two small hangars. There is no development of significance to the east side of the runway enabling uninterrupted views from the beach area. The airport isn't "busy" like Manchester of Gatwick and there are long periods when little happens. In winter, Thursday is "UK" day and probably the busiest with up to 14 aircraft on the ground at once. Saturday and Tuesday are "German" days with Friday and Mondays being "Scandinavian" days. Wednesdays are very quiet. The 03 end of the runway is only a matter of metres from the shoreline and the approach lights extend out in to the sea - new approach light mounting plinths are currently under construction. At the 21 end of the runway is the main Arrecife to Tias highway - a dual carriageway, so there is little room for any runway extensions beyond the current length. Consequently the largest aircraft you will see are B757, B767 and A330 although B747s have been known to visit now and again. In the week I was there everything landed on runway 03 coming in over the sea. I believe this is the norm as the "overland" approach is complicated by high terrain. About 95% of departures were also on 03 with a few aircraft choosing to use 21 (even with a strong tail wind) presumably due to take-off weight and engine-out performance being hampered by those hills. I stayed in downtown Puerto Del Carmen, a safe and pleasant location with lots of shops and restaurants - an ideal base less than two miles from the airport. I hired a car for just £63 for the week which enabled me to explore the island on a couple of the "quieter" days at the airport. A popular hotel for enthusiasts is the Beatriz Playa in the suburb of Matagorda which is located less than 1/2 a mile from the airport with views over the approach - you can walk from here to the end of the runway in less than 15 minutes. The resorts of Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca on the island are also popular with the Brits but you will need a car as they are a considerable drive from the airport. |
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Morning Photo's taken from mid-way down the runway on the beach side (click on any photo for a full screen enlargement) |
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This shot shows the footpath under construction, the
boulders and the dip in the fence near the mid-runway photo spot.
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The hills/mountains in the distance make a dramatic
backdrop to landing and take-off shots.
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Full power to clear the hills as this Air Berlin B738
climbs away from runway 03.
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So, where to take photographs - there are three places which favour different times of the day. All are accessed from the same spot. From the airport take the road south-west to P Del C, pass between two petrol stations on each side then take the first exit for P Del C. This will bring you to a roundabout (the airport VOR beacon is on your left) which has three exits - P Del C, Matagorda and Zone Militaire - take the Matagorda exit heading towards the sea and after about 500m there is a dirt track off to the left leading towards a walled complex with aerials bristling from it. Go around the left hand side of this wall and you will come to a large sloping stoned area at the 03 end of the runway. From the centre of P Del C, follow the road along the beach pas the San Antonio hotel on your right, then past the huge beach (Playa de Los Pocillos) to a roundabout outside the Los Jameos Playa hotel - the road goes inland parallel with the beach here for a while and after crossing a mini-roundabout then McDonalds on your right, you come to another roundabout outside the Sol Lanzarote hotel - take the 3rd exit for Aeropuerto/Arrecife which goes inland then curves round to the right to eventually come to another roundabout with three exits - Aeropuerto, Zone Militaire, Matagordo - take the Matagordo exit then proceed as above.
Security vehicles make frequent sorties around the internal peri-track but not once did they stop to question what I was doing in the whole week I was there - I guess they are used to it by now as there were at least 4 photographers there at any one time during my visit. Not sure what their attitude to ladders would be but you really don't need them. |
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Early afternoon photo's taken from opposite the runway 03 holding point (click on any photo for a full screen enlargement) |
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Holding at E4 waiting for landing
traffic. Yes, the taxiway really does slope like this !!
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Cleared to line-up for 03.
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The weekday shuttle service
between Arrecife and gando is operated by the Air Force's Casa 212 -
its usually a different one each day so don't ignore them !!
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So, what can you expect to see? Here's my photo log for the week 29 Jan to 5 Feb . . .
Binter Canarias ATR-72's are regular visitors with virtually the whole fleet being noted during the week. There seems to be a Futura B737-400 based and Iberworld A320's are also regular visitors. Iberia also operate a B757-200 through each day. Military movements are few but interesting - a Spanish AF Casa 212 visits most weekdays from Gando (T.12B-58, 71 and ??/46-35 noted), there were three Bell 212's (HU.18-15/18/19 coded ET-276/279/280 respectively) flitting in and out on weekdays too. A Spanish AF Falcon 20 TM.11-4/408-12 visited on the 30th and a Spanish Navy SAR Fokker F.27 D2-03/802-12 came circuit bashing on the 4th. Also based is a Police Bolkow 105 EC-DUZ. Light aircraft often stage through for fuel and noted during the week were a Swiss PA.28 HB-PIV (1st), a German Mooney D-EIGB (4th), an American Akro Sport (presumably locally based or a long way from home!!). The local flying school LANZA AIR operates C.172 EC-GLO. Visiting Spanish GA on the 30th were C.172 EC-BNE and brightly coloured King Air 200 EC-GHZ, Metroliner EC-GXJ and C.172 EC-IEO (advertising the local plastic surgeon!!!) on the 1st, . NAYSA Beech 1900 EC-GZG visited on the 2nd, with sister machine EC-IAH visiting on the 3rd. Presumably island hopping was PA.28 EC-HMM on the 2nd. |
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Late afternoon photo's taken from atop the stoned hillside close to the 03 holding area (click on any photo for a full screen enlargement) |
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One of the few ex Airtours aircraft
in new colours - what a superb scene with sun, sand, sea and the white
houses of Arrecife in the distance.
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Lined up on the 03 piano keys
- brakes on, full power (its only 2400m), brakes off and away.
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A rare 21 departure allows the photographer as many
superb opportunities as does a 03 departure !!
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I flew to Lanzarote with Britannia Airways from East Midlands Airport on B757s G-BYAK (outbound) and G-BYAY (return) - cost £139 return booked through www.britanniadirect.com Temperatures were in the upper 60s throughout and every day except one (Sat) was wall-to-wall sunshine but with a steady breeze. I stayed in a privetely owned bungalow in Puerta Del Carmen and hired a car for a week through www.holidayautos.co.uk (a clapped out Citroen saxo that had done 42,000 miles - but it served its purpose!!). A week was plenty - 14 days just looking at aeroplanes would have got tedious - and there's not a lot else to do on the island apart from sunbathe !!!! The camera equipment used were a Canon D60 and Canon 100-400 / Tamron 28-200 lenses. I took 412 pictures in total so the above are just a representative sample to give you a feel for the place. Lanzarote certainly ranks highly in my list of destinations for aviation photography - it was my first visit and I found that it was the ideal combination of a relaxed atmosphere, good weather, great vantage points, not a million miles from the UK, lots of english speaking establishments, safe to walk out at night, good quality cheap food - a superb break. If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail at goodweather.flyer@btinternet.com
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