Porto Seguro Airport - Spotting Guide

Porto Seguro Airport – Spotting Guide

November 19, 2022 - last modified on December 6, 2023

Porto Seguro is a city located in the northeast of Brazil, known for its beautiful beaches and guaranteed sun all year round, popular with Brazilian tourists from South America.
The city’s airport (IATA: SBPS – ICAO: BPS) mainly serves charter flights from several Brazilian and South American cities, and many General and Executive aviation flights, especially in the holiday months (July-December-January) executive aviation is a great attraction for spotters at this airport, which has a runway measuring 2000 meters by 45 meters wide.
The main operators are the large Brazilian companies (GOL, AZUL, LATAM, Voepass) but the main attraction here are charter flights, only CVC, a tour operator, has already booked 290 flights for the next few months to Porto Seguro.

Taking pictures here is very easy, you don’t need stairs, as the fences are low (with the exception of location 3). The sun is always present and the airport is located very close to the city.

Written by João Carlos Ribeiro and Ediney Ribeiro. Last Update: July 2022.

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
10/28	2000 mts (6.562ft)
Terminals	One terminal for all commercial passenger traffic
Spotting Information
Ladder	There is no need for it as the fence is low.
Car/Public Transport	The spot 3 is in walking distance from the terminal. It is possible to travel by public transport, there are several lines that connect the city/beach to the airport, the price is 0.80 cents. See the Moovid app.
Drinks/Food/Restrooms	There is nothing close to the spots.
Hotels	There aren`t spotting hotels close to the airport. But Porto Seguro is a tourist city, offering hotels in all categories in the city itself and at the beaches.
Season	It is possible to shoot in BPS all year round, but November is the wettest. The months of December, January and February are the warmest, easily passing 40 degrees.
Security	The city is safe and there are no reports of problems with robberies. But it is always good to be aware, with photographic equipment exposed next to busy streets.
Runway Usage
10/28	The wind is mainy blowing form the sea so the most used track is 10, with 28 rarely in use.

	Spot #1 – Highway BA 001 – All runway movments
WHERE	The spot is along the highway that runs parallel to tunway on the north side of the airport. At some places the highway is higher then the fence that surrounds the airport, so you can easily shot above it. The best position is right in front of the passenger terminal and control tower. To get here, leave the passenger terminal nortwards and follow the road to a roundabout. Take the third exit and continue the road until you see the passenger terminal/control tower to your left hand side. Park the car on the other side of the road and walk to the perimeter fence of the airport.

WHAT	From here you can see all movements of the airport but best for arrivals on runway 10 and departures on runway 28

TIME	From february to november the sun is favorable for the most time of the day. During the other months of the year, the light is bad for almost the whole day.

MISC.	There is almost no shade, with the exception of some palm trees nearby. There are some gas stations where you can also find something to eat and drink.

FOCAL LENGTH	The runway is about 120 meters from the runway then, 300 mm when the plane is approaching / 50 mm when it is in front of you.

	Spot #2 – Highway BA 001 – 28 movements
WHERE	A kilometer northwards of the previous spot, next to the 28 threshold is the next location. Use the same direction as described above but stop when you have reached the 28 threshold. At some places the highway is higher then the fence that surrounds the airport, so you can easily shot above it. Parking is available next to the highway.

WHAT	Best for arrivals and departures from runway 28 as well as departures from runway 10

TIME	From february to november the sun is favorable for the most time of the day. During the other months of the year, the light is bad for almost the whole day.

MISC.	There is almost no shade, with the exception of some palm trees nearby. There are some gas stations where you can also find something to eat and drink.

FOCAL LENGTH	The runway is about 120 meters from the runway then, 300 mm when the plane is approaching / 50 mm when it is in front of you.

	Spot #3 – Fire Department
WHERE	The last spot is next to the airport fire department, on the road leading to the airport’s passenger terminal, about 700 meters north of it. As soon as you pass the fire department you will see the fence where you can stay. Parking is available nearby on an empty lot.

WHAT	Best for arrivals and departures from runway 28 as well as departures from runway 10.

TIME	From november to february the sun is favorable for the most time of the day. During the other months of the year, the light is bad for almost the whole day.

MISC.	There is nothing here, like cafeterias and there are no shades either, bring what you need. A ladder would be helpful but shooting through the mesh is an option.

FOCAL LENGTH	Airplane approaching runway, 300mm On runway between 50 and 70mm.