Hamilton John C. Munro Int'l Airport - Spotting Guide

Hamilton John C. Munro Int’l Airport – Spotting Guide

March 2, 2022 - last modified on November 30, 2023

Hamilton John C. Munro International Airport is located 10 kilometers south of downtown Hamilton and is a 1-hour drive from downtown Toronto. In many cases, search engines treat here as one of the four airports for Toronto (the other three are Pearson, Billy Bishop, and Waterloo). There aren’t a lot of passenger services. Scheduled flights from Abbotsford, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Halifax with Swoop and Westjet’s 737s are some of the only passenger flights here. Air Transat and Sunwing will join the operation by offering flights to sun destinations in winter. Charter flights using passenger planes are possible, depending on events held in the city (the recent world cup qualification, for example).

YHM is the base for Cargojet, Canada’s largest cargo airline. No other plane appears here more frequently than their 757 and 767 freighters. UPS serves YHM daily using 767, and so do some DH8-100, Beeh 190, Cessna 208, and Saab34 freighters. (They are often active at night). Other cargo flights include Aeronaves TSM, DHL, and Kalitta Charters II. Rare aircraft types are MD82/83,DC9,CRJ200,SW4,733/4. Russian planes (An124, Ir76, An12) land here occasionally. Some of the planes will go to KF Aerospace for maintenance, like Omni Air 767 and Icelanders 757. Their freighter conversion business is growing here, so in the future, there will be 737SF occasionally.

Last but not least, pay a visit to Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. They preserve a large quantity of Canadian military planes, and the oldest one even attended World War II. A sufficient number of them can still fly, and the flying season is between April and November. A lot of planes will be sitting on the ramp most of the time. I recommend going to different locations to check out. Stay on the runway all day is not wise, because you won’t see a lot of movements throughout the day. YHM is not a mega airport. I usually start my journey at the bus station in front of the terminal. From there, many spots are reachable on foot. But, if you want to make yourself easier, just like every airport in North America, come with your car.

Written by Yanqing Shi (local spotter). Last Update: February 2022

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
06/24	1,832m (6,010 ft) Asphalt
12/30	3,050m (10,006 ft) Asphalt
Terminal	One for International and Domestic flights – Westjet and Swoop
Airport Charts
Spotting Information
Ladder	For spot 2,4, yes but not necessary. We will mention some alternative methods. (spot 4 is not recommended, cause you don’t want to be so attractive in that area). But, feel free to try climbing snow mountains in winter. They act as the ladder.
Car/Public Transport	HSR (bus) No.20 stops both in front of the terminal and the museum. Cars are recommended if you want to visit spot 6 and 7. Parking is available in most spots. (The official parking lot is not free, but a temporary stop in other parking lots should be fine)
Drinks/Food	Tim Hortons and some automated retail in the terminal. Return to the terminal is easy for spot 2-4. For Spot 1, there is food service inside the museum.
Hotels	The nearest hotel is 2.5 kilometers away. Few options in the range of 10km. More hotels in downtown or nearby districts.
Season	Like every airport in the north, it is freezing in winter. To get to spot 5 and 7, you will walk through snow averaging 30cm deep. Warplanes show up from spring to autumn. Rare planes come in random.
Runway Usage
06/24	A shorter runway intersects 12/30. Some business jets and small cargo planes prefer to depart from this runway. Still possible for aircraft up to 767 to and here.
12/30	The main runway for YHM. Jets and freighters mainly land and depart from this runway. Taxi to the end of the runway and make a 180degree turn is time-consuming, so intersection take-off is possible if remaining runway is long enough.

	Canadian War Plane Heritage Mesuem (CWHM) observation decks
WHERE	When going inside the museum, walk through all the old warplanes to the front. In the middle there is a stair going to the second floor deck. Right next to it at the right side, there is a small door, which can lead you to the open area on the ramp. There are chairs and tables usually. You can always ask for the direction. The crew is friendly.

WHAT	The whole ramp with five gates. UPS is always at the farthest one, while the rest could be occupied by Cargojet or DHL. Note that special charter flights (including all the Russian jets) would be most likely on the nearest one. Closer than the parking gates is a big area of ramp, which is for the museum to prepare for their flights. Charter flight (not scheduled) will be pushed here if they estimate to stay long. This is where Aeronaves TSM and all their t-tail freighters park (they are usually overnight). Others (Amerijet, Ameristar, Kallita, US Jets) have shorter staying time, and therefore seldom appear here.

TIME	The museum opens 9am to 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Both observation decks opens during their flight seasons, that is, from April or May to sometime around Remembers Day (second week of November) Light is acceptable during their open hours.

MISC.	For the rest of the year, the stair going to the second floor deck will be closed, and the fence on the ramp will be retrieved. If there is no fence, don’t go outside through the door. (I once found myself in the middle of the apron. This may cost thousand of dollars fine, according to the museum crew). The price of the ticket can be found on the official website. If you are a frequent visitor, you can also buy a membership.

FOCAL LENGTH

	Spot #2 – Around CWHM
WHERE	Walk around CWHM. You can go to a parking lot in the west or walk along E Cargo Rd. You will find several places close to the aircraft inside.

WHAT	The same as Spot #1. During the close of the museum and their deck (night shot possible). Trick: besides use a ladder and spot through the mesh, there are two doors along E Cargo Rd. There is enough space for the lens between the ground and the door, so put the camera on the ground and take pictures. Useful at Spot #4 as well.

TIME	Simple. Be on the east side in the morning, and west side in the afternoon.

MISC.	Just don’t break the mesh. Nobody had come up to me ever.

FOCAL LENGTH	MD80 = 30mm & Helicopters = 150mm

	Spot #3 – Terminal Parking
WHERE	Located next to the terminal, there is a light pole with concrete surrounding its base. Stand on the concrete and the sight is higher than the mesh.

WHAT	Everything taxi to the front ramp (some Cargojet and most charter flights); most charter flights and some Cargojets from the same ramp (other Cargojets enter and exit from the other direction where Spot #5 can cover).

TIME	Summer: 10am to 5pm; Winter: all day

MISC.	Be careful not to fall down; keep a low profile as you are standing high.

FOCAL LENGTH	B737 = 100mm

	Spot #4 – Purolator/Jetport
WHERE	There are several spots besides Purolator and Jetport buildings. Some of them are parking lots that extend to the edge of the ramp. Most spots are facing south while one of them is facing north.

WHAT	Everything in front of KF Aerospace. There are two gates for Cargojet, and some small freighters usually parking behind them.

TIME	Planes in front of the hanger lie perpendicular to the hanger most of the time. There should usually be one among all three sub spots that has good light. For other planes, usually you need to walk to the north-facing spot in order to get light on the fuselage.

MISC.	Nothing special, be normal and you will be fine.

FOCAL LENGTH	B737 = 120mm

	Spot #5 – KF Hill
WHERE	Go along Airport Rd. After passing Mohawk College, there should be a stone laying next to the road. Turn right and walk into the jungle from there. After 3 minutes walk you will be climbing up a hill, and you can take your place at the top. Nearby KF parking lot seems not accepting tourists, so probably park the car at other spots and walk here.

WHAT	Aircraft in and out the inner ramp (Some Cargojets, small freighters, and KF Aerospace visitors) Private jets outside of Jetport hanger.

TIME	Noon till sunset.

MISC.	Nobody cares where you are. Watch out the jungle. Plants can cut you into blood. I suggest to wear long sleeves, trousers, and good shoes even in summer.

FOCAL LENGTH	B767 = 85mm(taxiway D), 200mm(taxiway B) 6 Private jets = >200mm

	Spot #6 – Salem Rd. Hill
WHERE	To reach this location a car is mandatory. Drive westwards on airport road take the next right into Glancaster Rd. After entering Salem Rd at the perimeter fence, there is a divergent on the right. You may see a stone and a chain at the entrance where you can park and go up a small hill to clear the fence.

WHAT	Rwy12 landing is guaranteed. Though a handful of aircraft will taxi to the end of rwy12 and take off, some might not. When rwy30 is used for landing, aircraft are visible only if they have passed taxiway G.

TIME	Summer: 10am-5pm Winter: all day

MISC.	Nothing around. You won’t stay there for a long time anyway, cause in most cases you are there for one or two specific aircraft.

FOCAL LENGTH	B752 = 120mm

	Spot #7 – CJT Maintenance Ramp
WHERE	This is a flat hill next to the Cargojet Maintenance facility located at R Cargo Rd, right next to the museum. From their parking lot, walk towards the end on the right side of the building. Continue walking onto the hill on the right-hand side. Find the highest point and the best angle to avoid tall stems and the mesh in the foreground.

WHAT	Movement in front of the hanger. You will meet some Cargojets or Cargojet related aircraft. For example, airframes being stored for future freighters. Air Drake’s 767-200 will be parked here.

TIME	Before noon and night.

MISC.	Like spot #5, wear long trousers, and watch your step while walking in. Google Map does not upgrade the satellite map regarding the way to this spot. The E Cargo Rd is replaced by R Cargo Dr. (The correct road segment appears but doesn’t match the satellite. the road on satellite is replaced by DHL).

FOCAL LENGTH	Depends on where planes park. 30mm for the closet and 200mm for the farthest.