Mudboy From United States, joined Jan 2006, 150 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 years 11 months 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 1308 times:
Hello, this is first post, so I will start with a question I have wanted to ask after months of reading this great site. What airport in the world, is the "MECCA" for every airline/cargo plane enthusiast to visit, at least once before they die? I have been to: ORD,JFK,LAX,DEN,SAN,ATL,MEM,JAN,MDW,LGA,BOS,MCO,MSP,CVG,LHR,AMS, and FCO. The specifics of this question would be: Large planes, Busy, Multiple Airlines/Cargo,and Multiple Terminals.
YOWza From Canada, joined Jul 2005, 3921 posts, RR: 20 Reply 1, posted (2 years 11 months 3 days ago) and read 1280 times:
Well if you want cargo carrier variety and lots of big birds FRA and AMS are good for sure. But if you want to see cuthroat world cargo ops I think Sharjah in the UAE has to be up there. Lot's of carriers (or should that be couriers) huge variety of metal, Western and Soviet. Well worth a visit.
Lono From United States, joined Apr 2004, 1260 posts, RR: 3 Reply 2, posted (2 years 11 months 3 days ago) and read 1233 times:
Fly to ANC....
They all stop here (Well many anyway!).... get a "AS Board Room" pass and watch many 747'a turn... very cool... plus they have a good bar..!!!
LPLAspotter From Portugal, joined Jan 2005, 682 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (2 years 11 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 1178 times:
MIA gets alot of cargo carriers from South/Central America. Used to be the best place to see old converted propliners. Don't know if that is true anymore.
LPLAspotter
Mudboy From United States, joined Jan 2006, 150 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 11 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 1172 times:
What I meant by this question was a large commercial airport, exp.(JFK, ORD, LHR, etc.) that has a diverse amount of Commercial and Cargo ops, that is a must see for every aviation enthusiast.
Sabena332 From Germany, joined May 2001, 13920 posts, RR: 87 Reply 10, posted (2 years 11 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 1140 times:
Definitely Sharjah if you want to see something different (lots of African/Asian airlines and Russian aircraft types). There were even ramp tours (for 100 USD IIRC) available in the past but I don't know if it is still possible nowadays.
Sharjah is by car only approximately 30 minutes away from Dubai, so it is perfect to combine a vacation on nice beaches with a shopping and spotting trip!
A388 From Netherlands Antilles, joined May 2001, 5193 posts, RR: 8 Reply 12, posted (2 years 11 months 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 1053 times:
I think there is no 'one' airport in the world that can be considered the best or Mecca airport for aviation/cargo enthusiasts. Besides the fact that it depends on which aircraft you prefer seeing, there is no airport that can truly be compared to each other. To give an example, MIA is the best airport for people who love to see Latin American airlines, in that case MIA is the Mecca of all airports. If people want to see almost (if not all) major airlines from the rest of the world (excl. Latin America) than LHR and FRA would be the better locations. If you like to see most (if not all) African airlines, than CDG would be the best place. If Asian airlines are your thing, SIN, BKK, KUL, HKG, SYD, NRT and LAX are the best places. If you want to see all the A380 airlines, LHR would be the place to be. If you want to see most 777 operators, LHR would probably be the best place as well. If you want to see Russian 'rare' aircraft, SHJ (Sharjah) appears to be a good place.
So it depends on what your priorities or favorites are. As for me, I would love to go to LHR again one day. This airport has a lot of variety in my opinion, but I also wouldn't mind going to MIA as this airport is the Latin American 'hub' as some people call it
B742 From Spain, joined Mar 2005, 3605 posts, RR: 14 Reply 20, posted (2 years 11 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 560 times:
N. America - JFK and LAX/SFO
S. America - GRU and EZE
Asia - BKK and HKG
Europe - LHR and FRA/CDG
Australasia - SYD and AKL
Africa - JNB and SSH (Sharm el Sheikh)
Middle East - DXB and maybe SHJ/BAH
SSH is awesome, you get aircraft such as IL-86's, 747's, 767's, 757's, A320's, A310's, A330's, IL-96's, TU-154's, TU-204's....
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