CPH-Spot1
Phoenix Sky Harbor – Spotting Guide
January 1, 2013Phoenix Sky Harbor – Spotting Guide
January 1, 2013Copenhagen Kastrup – Spotting Guide
- last modified on August 12, 2024
Copenhagen Kastrup Airport, the home of SAS, served 30 Mio. passengers in 2019 and is always worth a visit. You get some interesting airlines, which you won’t get this easy at any other airports in Europe like Air Greenland A330, Widerøe Dash or Atlantic Airways. Also Norwegian, DAT – Danish Air Transport are regular visitors in CPH, with Norwegian operating a large hub and the 2nd most flights after SAS. easyJet also has a strong presence and Ryanair has just started to start several routes from here.
It’s a little bit tricky to get to the spots because they are far apart from each other and a car can be very helpful here. Sadly parking is very difficult at some locations and public transport (or walking by foot from the terminal) is also a possibility. And keep in mind, Denmark is not the cheapest country to live and everything is pretty expensive.
Written by Julian Mittnacht, Marcus, Severin Hackenberger and Jan Seba. Last change: August 2024 (Spot 3 updated)
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 04L/22R | 3.600 m (11.811 ft) |
| 04R/22L | 3.300 m (10.827 ft) |
| 12/30 | 2.800 m (9.186 ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | Domestic flights from Norwegian & SAS |
| Terminal 2 | International Flights of all carriers not in terminal 3 |
| Terminal 3 | International Flights of SAS and Star Alliance partner airlines |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not really needed. 1-2 steps are recommended at a few locations for ground photos but not mandatory as the fence is only 2 meters high. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is recommended as locations are far apart and switching RWY will take very lon. But public transport is possible to spots 3,8,9, 10 and locations 1,2 and 6 are in walking distance from the terminals. |
| Restrooms | Gas stations and restaurants around the airport (see map) |
| Drinks/Food | McDonalds/Gas station (see map) and the Flyvergrillen (spot 3) |
| Hotels | All around the airport but very expensive. |
| Season | Best time is between May and September with more sunny days. Also due to the RWY direction summer is a favorable season, as there are great locations for the early morning and late evening. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 04L/22R | With 04 in use, this is the main landing RWY and with 22 in use it is the main departure RWY. |
| 04R/22L | With 22 in use, this is the main landing RWY and with 04 in use it is the main departure RWY. The A380 always use rwy 22L if this direction is active and not 22R as all other aircraft, except it is closed due to constructions or checks. |
| 12/30 | Not often in use. Mostly it is used for landings on 30 with strong NE winds and also if ships are blocking the 22 approach sector. |
Parking Lots - 22L Arrivals (morning)
| WHERE | This spot is located on the north side of the airport and is next to the Long Term Parking Lots P17 (morning – afternoon) and P15 (evening). Its easy to find as there are signs showing you the way if you use the car. If you don’t have a car just use the shuttle bus to get to these spots. If you wanna walk (15 Minutes), exit Terminal 3 and follow the signs to Parking P12. Pass these until you will reach a roundabout. On the left hand side is a Statoil gas station and a McDonalds. Follow the ‘Kystevjen’ road along the SAS hangars to the right until you will reach the Parking Lot P15 first. You will see the planes on the left passing the ocean. Follow the road until you will see the signs for Lot P17. Cross the road and find a place along this unamend, dead end road. |
| WHAT | You will get 22L arrivals only. The location is pretty close to the threshold, so you don’t need a long length. There are many light poles, so you have to struggle with these a little bit. You can stay at the mainroad as well but IMO you are too close to the aircraft and you will get more belly like shots. |
| TIME | The parking lot is perfect for spotting in the morning until noon. |
| MISC. | There are no restrooms, benches, shops at this location. So please visit the facilities at the Statoil Station before you go to this location. You can use the shuttle bus to get there and return to the terminal if you need a restroom. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 130mm for an A320 and 85mm for an A343. |
Parking Lots - 22L Arrivals (evening)
| WHERE | Later the day, when the sun has turned, go back to parking Lot P15, which you passed before. Alternatively you can also spot directly from the street (2b) in the evening or the grasshill above (2a). |
| WHAT | You will get 22L arrivals only. The location is pretty close to the threshold, so you don’t need a long focal length. There are many light poles, so you have to struggle with these a little bit. The sample pictures below were taken from the pathway next to the street. |
| TIME | The location is perfect in the evening from around 5 PM. |
| MISC. | There are no restrooms, benches, shops at this location. So please visit the facilities at the Statoil Station before you go to this location. You can use the shuttle bus to get there and return to the terminal if you need a restroom. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 130mm for a B738 and 90mm for an A343 from the walkway next to the street, but you can also move closer or a bit further away. |
Pictures taken from 2a:
Pictures taken from 2b:
Flyvergrillen - 22R Departures, 04L Arrivals
| WHERE | This is the most famous spot in Copenhagen. The Flyvergrillen is a small restaurant, with some benches and tables outside. Its a popular place for the locals and you will find not only plane spotters there. If you don’t have a car use Bus 35 from the airport. If you have a car, use this address for your GPS: Amager Landevej 290, 2770, Kastrup Parking is available directly at the Flyvergrillen. You can either spot from the terrace (limited!) or if you have a tall ladder, it is easy to take up a position by the end of the dead-end road, directly at the fence.
UPDATE August 2024: An An-2 aircraft has been installed directly in front of the viewing terrace. Unfortunately from the grill the sight is partially blocked. There is a gap to the left everything else is off limits. You can go down to the perimeter fence and spot from there if you have a ladder. |
| WHAT | Either you get the planes taking off on 22R, or you see them passing by on the taxiway when 04L is in use for arrivals. You can also get the 22L arrivals at this place as the planes exit the runway usually exactly opposite of the grill. But a long lense is needed and you have to struggle with heat distortion and this ist probably only good for the heavies. With 04 in use you can also shoot the departures on the taxiway very late in the evening when the heat haze is gone. |
| TIME | Only okay in the afternoon (depends on the time of the year) |
| MISC. | You get everything you need at the Flyvergrillen! No ladder needed as the terrace here clears your view (take a look at the overview linked below to get some visual evidence). |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 20-300 mm, 140mm for the B738 on the RWY. 300mm for an A320 on the taxiway between the runways and 240mm for the B773 on the RWY 04R on takeoff. 250mm for the GRN A330 turning after landing on 22L. |
Tømmerupvej - 04L Arrivals
| WHERE | This one is placed next to the approach lighting system of 04L. If you start at the Flyvergrillen, make a left turn into the ‘Tømmerupvej’ and stay on this road for 4,5 km until you have reached the end of the runway, so follow it until you see an empty area on the left (check the map). Do not park your car in the area, as this is private property and will cause problems with the police. There is a small grass strip in front of one of the ‘Parking prohibited’ signs, on which it is still allowed to park. There is space for about 3-4 cars here. For shooting you can move along the road, but stay close to it and do not go onto private property. For those who know the location from the past: The overhead power lines are gone! You can get to the location by bus, but the bus only comes every 1-2 hours. |
| WHAT | Only good for Arrivals of 04L. |
| TIME | Light is good in the morning until noon. |
| MISC. | Its in the middle of nowhere so you will get nothing here. Try to use the facilities at the Flyvergrillen before you get here or visit one of the supermarket or gas stations which you have passed before. Behave and smile to others who live there that spotting remains tolerated at this point. Danish always say ‘hej’ by courtesy and in deference to you – greet them back. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 180mm for an A320 and 85mm for a B773. |
Tømmerupvej - 04L Arrivals
| WHERE | The location is found along the Tømmerupvej right next to (or behind) a bus stop. It is prohibited to park anywhere along the street, so turn into the side road Nøragersmindevej and park on the left side of the road between the road and walkway. Alternatively you can also go a bit further and park in the Tillburg Alle. From there just walk to the bus stop and you can spot from here. The bus only comes every 1-2 hours, so you won’t disturb anyone here. This also means that this it is difficult to get to and from this location with public transport and you would need to plan your journey in advance. |
| WHAT | Only good for Arrivals of 04L. |
| TIME | Good photo location in the evening from around 5:30 PM. |
| MISC. | Its in the middle of nowhere so you will get nothing here. Try to use the facilities at the Flyvergrillen before you get here or visit one of the supermarket or gas stations which you have passed before. Behave and smile to others who live there that spotting remains tolerated at this point. Danish always say ‘hej’ by courtesy and in deference to you – greet them back. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 180mm for an A320 and 110mm for an A343. |
Cargo Area - 04R Departures
| WHERE | Its located pretty close to Spot 1 and Parking Lot P17. Just follow the road until you will see an big, empty parking area. Turn right here and park in the middle of the place. Stay next to your car as its private parking. |
| WHAT | If you don’t have a ladder and want to get the 04R departures, this is the place to be. Smaller aircraft are already a little bit too high at this spot, but its okay for the heavies. You will see the aircraft very late as the cargo building is on your left side and obstructs a view of the runway. So be always ready to make your picture and listen to the aircraft sound. |
| TIME | Best in in the morning hours until noon (depends on the time of the year). |
| MISC. | There are no restrooms, benches, shops at this location. So please visit the facilities at the Statoil Station before you go to this location. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-400 mm |
Dortheasmindevej - 22R Departures
| WHERE | If you come from any direction, go the same way as set out at Spot 3 just follow the street course for about 600m and turn left into Dortheasmindevej. Follow the street for about 300m and a horse ranch will appear on your left. Choose a suitable and comfortable place for you. |
| WHAT | Heavy departures from runway 22R are visible from here, we can recommend this spot for the Air Greenland A330 departures which is at 09.00am every day. Air Greenland is usually on time so do not bid for delay if you are late. The runway is visible as well in the distance making it possible to prepare for it. |
| TIME | From sunrise until noon. |
| MISC. | There is nothing to mention at this spot. Behave and smile to others who live there that spotting remains tolerated at this point. Danish always say ‘hej’ by courtesy and in deference to you – greet them back. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300 mm – Airbus A330: 280mm; Boeing 737-800: 310mm |
Magleby - Line-up 04R, 22L deparutres (rare)
| WHERE | To get here, you have to drive into the town Magleby and turn left at the big crossing (if you are coming through the tunnel). Follow the road almost until the end and turn left before the road turns to the right. Park your car next to the airport fence here or on the small grass area on the left side. Do not drive straight through to the spot, as driving there is prohibited. Instead take your ladder (3 steps should suffice to shoot through the wires, 4 steps to shoot over) along the paved path until you reach a convexity in the fence.Take up location here. When the sun goes around more, you can also go further along the fence to have better light on lineup.
By public transport take bus 250S from Amagerbo Station (city center) or bus 35 from the Airport Terminal and exit at Store Magleby station. From there it is a 8 minutes walk. |
| WHAT | You will get the line-ups using the last taxiway onto RWY 04R. These are mostly heavy aircraft or those flying a long distance (for example to the Canaries). Around 30% of the aircraft would enter the runway via the entrances before the final two, including all turboprops, half of the European narrow-bodies, and even some wide-bodies flying long-haul. Sadly sometimes even heavies like Qatar can take a taxiway earlier onto the RWY, but this is rare as well.
Sometimes also smaller aircraft flying short distance come here in (arriving on runway 04R as the SAS ATR example shot), but that’s a rare occasion. In the rare case 22L is in use for departures you can also photograph them from here but move a bit back towards Amagermuseet to avoid a belly shot so close to the aircraft. But A380 always departure on 22L if southern winds! |
| TIME | Runway: Sunrise till later noon. Line-Up: Late morning till afternoon. |
| MISC. | There is nothing here. 1-2 steps recommended to use but the fence is only around 2.2m high, so you can hold your camera high and view from the foldable LCD screen. You might face strong heat haze at this location, especially in summer around noon and if the winds are too calm. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150mm for a B738 and 75mm for a B773 from the marked spot. |
Farm Road - 22R Departures
| WHERE | This spot is located right a farm road. It can easily be reached from “Englodsvej”, where you can park your car by the roadside. Then just follow the dirtpath into “tunnel-direction” for about 100 meters |
| WHAT | Good for 22R departures. |
| TIME | From sunrise until later noon/2:30 roughly. |
| MISC. | There is nothing here. No snack posibilities nearby, therefore visit Dragor or similar villages. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300 mm |
Field - Touchdown 04L
| WHERE | The spot is at the airport fence along the Tømmerupvej, a dirt road in the fields. Unfortunately it is strictly forbidden to enter the dirt road with your car. Police passes by regularly, so it might be clever to park your car in the village of Store Magleby at the Strøbyvej and walk to the spot at the fence. In general you can stand anywhere along the fence between this spot and number 9. Don’t park at the riding club as your car might be towed.By public transport take bus 250S from Amagerbo Station (city center) or bus 35 from the Airport Terminal and exit at Store Magleby station. From there it is a 20 minutes walk. |
| WHAT | You can get all touch downs on 04L. Nothing else. |
| TIME | From early morning until noon. |
| MISC. | There is nothing here. 1-2 steps recommended to use but the fence is only around 2.2m high, so you can hold your camera high and view from the foldable LCD screen. There is absolutely nothing here, so bring whatever you need. Sometimes police will approach you. So carry your ID and smile.. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 80 mm for A330 and 150 mm for A320 |
Is there any meetups by group spotting is planning any near by?
Hi i just have a question regarding spot no.10, I am not from denmark so will police show the same level of friendliness and do i have to carry my passport
Thanks in advance
Rudr
Hi, you should always carry an ID with you, no matter where are you from and where are you going to 😉
-Julian
thanks so much
Just a few updates. I spotted in CPH Oct 2023
Spot 3: It is correct they did place a AN2 there however it does not obstruct the runway. If you stand on the far side of the gravel pit (?) you can easily view the runway however I imagine on beautiful summer days that corner will get busy. For video a lot of widebodies rotations off 22R are blocked by a large hill
For spot 6: it seems to have been developed as there is only cargo facilities there. there is no parking lot or access to the public so i dont recommend this spot
Hi Mark, where have you been exactly at spot 3? Outside of the grill on the end of the road?
I think it is still possible to catch the departures if you stand somewhere at Kystvejen road?
-Julian
Hey mark, that isn’t correct, you can park without any troubles at spot 6, if you drive further down there is a path and some space of dirt, you can park there but sometimes security might ask you some question but they are very friendly towards planespotters!
I am a local and do it often so here’s the coordinates: 55.626649, 12.677076
Kind regards
Tobias Green
Hi, I will have 9 hours before my next flight at Copenhagen next week, my question is….is spot three now useless for Photos, and if so, is there anywhere you can spot from in the terminal. ???
Hi, I have spotted once from the end of the B gates. Spot 3 seems to be useless now. Spot 1 and 2 are the best option in the case 22 is active. You can easily walk to this points from the terminal.
-Julian
Hi.
I’ll be spending a day and a half or so spotting in CPH in a little over a week and I’m planning my time there. Is Spot 3 is completely useless even for planes taking off from runway 22R? Flightradar24 data suggests they are a few meters off the ground when they pass in front of Spot 3.
Hello, no it is not useless though it has become a bit tougher to get a right shot due to the new AN-2, and its blocking the views at some point, they’re aren’t off the ground at the spot unless it is domestic flying ATR-42/72.
Hope that helps from a local spotter
Kind regards
Tobias Green
Of course it helps, thanks 🙂
I think I’ll give Spot 3 a chance then.
Take care.
Ha Javier, jij ben onlangs geweest in copenhagen. Hoe staat spot 3 ervoor? Heb je veel hinder ervaren?
Groet, William
Hi Everybody!
My son is a big fan of airplanes and we are trying to find out where to spot a Boeing 747, does anyone know where to find if and when any 747 is at Kastrup?
Thanks
Mikael
Hi Mikael, I have to disappoint you but there are no schedule 747 movements at CPH. I recommend you a trip to Frankfurt, this is heaven for 747 fans 🙂
-Julian
No good news from spot 3:
https://www.planespotters.net/photo/1449592/ly-acs-walther-air-antonov-an2r
What a mess! Such a great photo location is gone 🙁
-Julian
I went to CPH, 27/3/2024, around to spots 1 & 2, sadly, when I got there, there was a blizzard, like I have never seen before,( thanks for the tip on taking ,the car park shuttle bus) but what was the saving grace, was that I sheltered in the bus shelter at car park 17/ 19, so all was not lost, the blizzard lasted for 25 minutes, then all was well with the world, as at mid day, after this time a, hail storm, runways changed from departing 4 right, to arriving on 22 left. What took me by surprise, was 2 planes, done a visual landing on 22 right, due to what I could see, some vehicles checking a problem on 22 left
New info regarding spot 9!
Hello! Yesterday I was informed kindly by the farmer who owns the field just by the fence that we unfortunately can’t use the field for spotting. The reasons is, it is private property and the farmer also hunting on the field so that may disturb when all of the spotter is on his field. So unfortunately it’s forbidden ): He told me that we can use the dirt road just outside of the field and spot 10.
Regards Victor
It sucks. That was a top notch spot for the Air Greenland and sunset departures. Certainly will be spotters continuing going there but hope the farmer doesnt hunt them ahhah
Yeah it was an awesome spot, but the dirt path works fine tho, just requires a longer focal length
Thanks for the feedback Victor. I have updated the Spot 9 on the guide. Is it possible that you send us some photos from the dirt path please.
-Julian
Awesome! Yeah i’ll send you some pictures from the dirt path next time i’m around 🙂
Regards Victor
Hi Julian!
Do you have any info regarding the usage of the runway in front of spot 3 (The Flyvergrillen)? I had a look over Flightradar these days and I saw it was very rarely used or not used at all.
Thanks much!
That sounds strange? This runway is statistically the most used runway for takeoffs (as 22R), and in addition it is the default runway for landings (as 04L) when there are northerly winds.
For example, 69.2% of all takeoffs in January were from that runway and 22.4% of all landings (there were quite some days with northern winds). The airport provides a lot of such statistics at https://cph.flight-analyzer.casper.aero.
Thank you so much for the info. Will have a look.
Hello!
i am a spotter here in Copenhagen and i have a bit of info about Winter spotting 🙂
Spot #9 works good until about 2:35PM after that you can still choose to stand there but the sun will be a little bit more in the favour for other side and the same with spot #1 and #6
Best Regards Tobias Green
Hi Tobias,
thanks, I just updated the guide.
-Severin