The Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST/EHBK) is situated 10 km northeast of Maastricht which means a 15 minutes ride by car. It was opened back in 1944 during the 2nd world war as a military Air Base and today the Airport is mainly used by LCC and Holiday Airlines with roughly 430.000 passenger a year. It also handels a few cargo flights within Europe and to other continents summing up to 108.000 tons of cargo in 2019.

From time to time there are also some private jets, which will be handled at the Alpha apron on the south side: so private jets will be harder to photograph as they don’t backtrack the whole runway anymore (exiting at W4 and W3 now).

SAMCO and MAAS have facilities at Maastricht Aachen Airport. Information about visitors and stored airplanes for either SAMCO or MAAS and exact news about traffic or special visitors can all be found on FlyMST.nl.

The airport does have a serious issue with very high and unmown grass at many places in the summer. It won’t be cut for a very long time which can cause the aircraft gear is hidden by grass.

Written by Severin Hackenberger and Bas Velders, Pascal Lamberiks. Pictures provided by Pascal Lamberiks, Maarten Dols, Chris de Breun, Hendrik Schmitz and Matthias Buchheim. Last Change: September 2024 – Spot 3 updated.

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
03/21	2.750m x 45m (tarmac)
Terminals	Used for all Acitivities, because there is just one terminal at MST.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Necessary and useful at the all locations. Photo holes installed at positions 4 and 8.
Car/Public Transport	Car is recommended as locations are far apart and switching runway will take very long otherwise. The public transport around the Airport is poor.
Restrooms	Some gas stations and supermarkets around the airport. Restrooms are also available inside the terminal buildings.
Drinks/Food	Around the airport are a few supermarkets and you can visit the little cities around the airport or otherwise you’ll find a lot of restaurants and supermarkets in Maastricht.
Hotels	Next to the terminal is the Gr8 Hotel Maastricht. Rooms offers view on the runway and taxiway.
Season	We recommend visiting the airport during the summer as the air cargo jets are rather to be encountered at late evening. As sun sets significantly later in the months around June, spotting is more efficient then.
Security	Do not touch the fences arround the airport and don´t hook the barbed wire
Runway Usage
03/21	Nothing special. Used for arrivals and departures in both directions.

Horsterweg - Cargo Apron + 21 movements + Samco storage apron

WHERE	From the terminal, drive on the Vliegveldweg and turn right at the first road you see. Walk alongside the fence to get a decent spot. You can also drive to the Australiëlaan and park near the roundabout on the end. Then you have two options: a) stand by the gate next to the concrete wall and spot with a ladder or… b) go to the building on the right (shown below on the first overview) and take pictures out of the red staircase. +++ MAR 2024: The building is being torn down setting an end to option b/the staircase. The wall/fence is still accessable, but the future of the area is unknown. Please let us know if the situation changes again! +++
WHAT	Taxiing traffic to/from the cargo apron.
TIME	Most of the time, you will have problems with the sun here. Probebly early mornings/late evenings in summer are the best moments.
MISC.	There is nothing here. Ladder needed for option a! Option b is NOT recommended on weekdays and especially not for long stays as the local company does not like to have spotters hanging there at all. Weekends are fine therefore.
FOCAL LENGTH	18 – 200mm Example pictures below: Arriving 777 = 120mm / A330 on apron = 110mm

General overview:

Option a – fence/wall:

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Option b – staircase:

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Airport Parking Lot P1 - All 03/21 movements, taxiway W

WHERE	The spot is along the fence, inside the official parking lot P1 of the airport or the hotel parking. Just follow the signs to get there by foot from the terminal. By car it’s much better to use the parking lot at the new Gr8 hotel, just next to the terminal. Parking is free for the first 2 hours (license plate recognition). Officially the parking is only for visitors of the hotel, casino and La Place but during all stays nobody cares about the spotters. Just don’t attrack to much attention to keep this possibility alive. At the airport parking P1 to the left, there are black containers where you can stand on to avoid the fence if you don’t have a ladder. Just don’t stay there all the time but only climb up if a plane is arriving or departing.
WHAT	Runway 21 and 03 arrivals and departures. Taxiway W in front of you for arrivals to the terminal and departures to runway 21.
TIME	Late afternoon/evening during the summer months. Heat haze is a big issue on hot days for the apron on the other site of the runway.
MISC.	A 4 or 5 step ladder should be enough to clear the fence. Restrooms, food and drinks are available at the La Place restaurant (self service) which is open when there are passenger flights or inside the terminal. No issues with the police or hotel staff. Pretty good and safe place for longer stays or to meet up with other spottters.
FOCAL LENGTH	20 – 200mm B742 = 70mm / ATR72 = 120mm on runway A320 = 20mm on taxiway

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Airport Parking Lot P2 - All 03/21 movements + southern storage row

WHERE	The construction works are finished and the new official aiport parking P2 is ready to use for spotting from the fence. Just follow the directions from the terminal. ATTENTION! The lot is only open during the summer holidays. Otherwise it is locked by a gate and access is impossible (see picture below). Check the airport website if parking is available for P2 during your visit.
WHAT	All activities for runway 21 and 03. For 03 arrivals : how more to the left how lower the aircraft. In the right corner aircraft still in the air. Aircraft storage is visible in the distance.
TIME	Late afternoon/evening during the summer months.
MISC.	Parking will cost you €3 for the first hour. Sometimes you are lucky if the gates are open since you can park for free (on your own risk) Closest facilities at terminal. 4 or 5 step ladder is enough.
FOCAL LENGTH	For aircraft on the runway : less than 70mm for 747/777 profil picture and up to 300mm for buisness and prop aircraft.

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Vliegveldweg - (Almost) All activities on runway 03/21

WHERE	This spot is located at the fence and again not an exact position rather the area along the fence depending on the angle you wanna take pictures of. Just park your car a few meters to the south on the dirtroad called Meerssenerbergweg and walk here. Shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes depending on your prefered position. UPDATE MARCH 2021: Photo holes has been installed at the southern end (see map) so a ladder is no longer mandatory.
WHAT	Departures and arrivals on runway 03/21, but small aircraft might be very high as 21 departure or might already left the runway as 21 arrival. All heavy activities should be seen from here.
TIME	Late afternoon/evening during the summer months.
MISC.	Cafe/restaurant nearby. Ladder needed, keep in mind that the fence changes in between at the spot here (see overviews below). Don’t block the mentioned road please, it isn’t that big.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-300mm (depending on exact position).

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Northern part – fence with barbed wire on the top:

Southern part – “metal fencewalls” -> view from a 5 stepladder:

Bridge - Arrivals 03

WHERE	This spot is located on a bridge near the “restaurant bergrust”. Simply just leave your car there or at the marked position on the map and walk here. Stand on the western side of the bridge otherwise the trees might disturb your view, for heavies it might be a problem already. If so, you might walk through the few trees into northern direction to get an undisturbed view, but we didn’t take pictures from there yet!
WHAT	Arrivals on runway 03.
TIME	Late afternoon/evening during the summer months.
MISC.	No ladder needed! Take care of traffic as you’re standing by the roadside!
FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm Dash 8-300: 150mm

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Runway end - Back tracks: Heavy 03 Departure/ Heavy 21 Arrival + Arrivals on runway 03

WHERE	If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Just after you turned left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” park your car nearby, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles/biker/people. Then choose your angle at the runway’s southern end, this depends on the angle you like the most and the fence (at some points the permiter fence isn’t as high as normally).
WHAT	Aircrafts which are backtracking runway 03 before their departure on the runway and aircraft landing on runway 21. Apart from this arrivals on RWY 03 face to face.
TIME	Depends on the position and angle of the plane, but “90-Degree-Pictures” should be okay from around 10.30am till sunset.
MISC.	Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder neccessary! Don’t block streets or paths with your car. In the summer months you may have heathaze.
FOCAL LENGTH	70-400mm

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Depending on where exactly you are standing for the pictures, the spot could look like this:

Nieuwe Vliekerweg - 03 Arrivals

WHERE	If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Just after you turned left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” park your car nearby, but take care of not disturbing other cars/vehicles/biker/people. Make sure to be on the right side of the arrival lights and then choose your favourite position along the walkway depending on your favourite angle.
WHAT	03 Arrivals from here.
TIME	Sunrise till later noon. In summer it may be bad light the first minutes after sunrise.
MISC.	Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Don’t block streets or paths with your car.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-200mm

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Bamfordweg - RWY activities and taxiway storage

WHERE	This spot is no exact position rather an area along the fence depends on the aircraft you wanna take a picture of or the angle on the runway. This area is located infront/along a old taxiway which is used for storage parking sometimes. Parking your car is a bit tricky. You can park your car at the end of “Vilek” as long as you don’t block the small gate for pedestrians to the Bamfordweg. Parking in front of the entranceways from the houses is also forbidden. The Military Police drives quite often along the Bamfordweg, and they will either send you away or give you a fine if you park directly in front of the crash gate if you stay for a long time.UPDATE MARCH 2021: Photo holes has been installed at the northern and southern end (see map) so a ladder is no longer mandatory.
WHAT	Arrivals and departures on runway 03. Apart from this heavy arrivals on runway 21 and late rotates on runway 21, so almost all runway activities!
TIME	From sunrise till around 3pm.
MISC.	Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Don’t block streets or paths with your car, parking is limited for about 1/2 cars!
FOCAL LENGTH	Pictures of parked planes without cutting off something is almost not possible, just with 10mm on fullframe it might be okay. Runway: 70 – 300mm

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The temporary parking/storage area:

And along the fence for runway/apron shots:

Europalaan - RWY 03/21 + Apron Delta

WHERE	This spot is just the area along the fence in the curve of “Europalaan”. Park this by the roadside of Europalaan (as done on the overview shot) and then choose your favourite position along the fence. The western end might be better for the runway and the eastern one (depending on your prefered angle) for the Apron Delta (no longer in use as a carpark as of Dec 2023).
WHAT	From here you can see all activities on the runway, for which you should use the western end of the “spotroute” marked on the map as well as all activities on Apron Delta.
TIME	Apron Delta: Early midday till late afternoon. Runway 03/21: From sunrise till late midday.
MISC.	Ladder needed. Nothing nearby. It looks the airport wants to have a viewingwall our of plants between fence and apron/runway, so there might be some bushes in the lower part of your picture -> that’s why a ladder is very useful and recommended!
FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm B747 – Apron Delta = 60mm

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Luxemburglaan - Apron Delta

WHERE	If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Then turn left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” and follow the street for about 1km, then turn left into Bamfordweg. Follow the road for another 1000m, but pay attention, the street becomes Europalaan (streetname changes). After around 1km turn left into Luxemburglaan and follow this street for about 300m. Park your car somewhere on the parking area, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles. Then choose your favourite position along the fence for apron Delta (no longer in use as a carpark as of Dec 2023). You can get to this spot by bus, too. There is a bus station nearby (marked on the map), where Bus 30 stops.
WHAT	Planes parked on Delta Apron.
TIME	Depends on the angle the planes are parked, but for example the light for the B737 was good from about 3pm till sunset.
MISC.	Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder needed! Don’t block streets or paths with your car and don’t park on reserved parking spaces.
FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm

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Samco Aircraft Maintenance - Apron Charlie

WHERE	If you start at the terminal follow the “Vliegveldweg” into southwestern direction for about 2km. Then turn left into “Nieuwe Vliekerweg” and follow the street for about 1km, then turn left into Bamfordweg. Follow the road for another 1000m, but pay attention, the street becomes Europalaan (streetname changes). After around 1km turn left into Luxemburglaan and follow this street for about 300m. Park your car somewhere on the parking area, but take care of not Disturbing other cars/vehicles. Then walk behind the big building, which is just behind or above you (depends on the parking area you use) and then choose your favourite position, this depends on the angle you like the most and the plane you want to spot. You can get to this spot by bus, too. There is a bus station nearby (marked on the map), where Bus 30 stops.
WHAT	Planes parked on Samco Aircraft Maintenance area, Charlie Apron.
TIME	Depends on the angle the planes are parked, but for most of the planes light is okay from sunrise till 6pm.
MISC.	Around the airport there are a few gas station, cafés and supermarkets where you can find restrooms and something to eat. Ladder needed! Don’t block streets or paths with your car and don’t park on reserved parking spaces
FOCAL LENGTH	18-200mm

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Jet Center - C apron + 21 movements

WHERE	Located at the parking of Jet Center Maastricht Aachen Airport and Brasserie de Hangaar (lunchroom). Parking is directly available at the spot all over the parking lot there at the fence. Then walk to the big black fence at the end and shoot from there…
WHAT	Departures from C apron. Line-up runway 21. Arrivals 21 and backtracking to cargo (B) Apron.
TIME	Sunrise till noon.
MISC.	Don’t block the gate and don’t stay too long at the gate but stay at your car if you are planning to stay longer here. Military police can pass here and ask what you are doing here. Explain you’re spotting and it’s fine. In the summer the terrace should be opened sometimes. Then you can have a drink and some food there. Keep in mind that this spot is not recommendable when aircraft are parked directly at the fence. They will block the view.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-200mm

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Australielaan fence - 21 Line-Ups + 03 late vacators

WHERE	Try to get rid of your car in the area where “Australielaan” ends up in “Europalaan” as there is no official/exact parking spot for this location as you will mostly only find company owned properties/parking bays here. So see where you can park your car at (for a short while you will find a space somwhere) and then come back to the junction with “Europalaan” – just south of this junction choose your favourite position along the fence on the “grassbank” to shoot from a bit farer away by the roadside on public space.
WHAT	Line-Ups for 21 departures or late vacaters after landing on 03.
TIME	On early summer mornings only.
MISC.	High ladder needed as you normally stand lower than the taxiway here. Nothing nearby except the tricky parking possibilities. The grass needs to be cut/short in order to be able to see the gear on your pictures. High grass may cause haze faster as well…
FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm 100mm B744 line-up

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Company fencekink - 21 Line-Ups + 03 late vacators + cargo apron/taxiway

WHERE	Try to get rid of your car in the area where “Australielaan” ends up in “Europalaan” as there is no official/exact parking spot for this location as you will mostly only find company owned properties/parking bays here. So see where you can park your car at (for a short while you will find a space somwhere) and then go to the fencekink next to the cargo apron (see the spot marking on the map) where you are closer to the movements and can also see the cargo apron in front. However, this is company owned territory, so they may sent you away. This spot is only located during early mornings and on weekends when no business is running here…
WHAT	Line-Ups for 21 departures or late vacaters after landing on 03. But even the cargo apron and nearby taxiways.
TIME	On early summer mornings only.
MISC.	Ladder needed. Nothing nearby except the tricky parking possibilities. The grass sometimes may disturb your view. Keep in mind that the second option is company owned territory, so they may sent you away. Keep a low profile, only be here for a short while and take yll your stuff with you again!
FOCAL LENGTH	30-200mm

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