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February 17, 2016Memphis Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on November 30, 2023
Memphis International (IATA: MEM, ICAO: KMEM) is the busiest airport by cargo traffic of the United States. The airport is home to FedEx global hub and is home to many of the company’s triholers, like the MD-10 and MD-11. The FedEx operations are divided in four arrival and departure peaks. During the peaks, you will see 100 to 120 aircraft depart or arrive.
Formerly Memphis was used as a hub for Northwest Airlines, later Delta Airlines. Following the merger, most Delta operations were transferred to Atlanta (ATL). As a result, Memphis only transported 4.6 million passengers in 2019. Otherwise you can see the common US carriers here. Air Canada is the only international passenger airline.
Written by Bas Velders, William Noble and Philipp Wennrich. Last update: October 2023.
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 18R/36L | 2.841 m (9,320 ft) |
| 18C/36C | 3.389 m (11,120 ft) |
| 18L/36R | 2.743 m (9,000 ft) |
| 09/27 | 2.727 m (8,946 ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Concourse A | Southwest |
| Concourse B | Allegiant, Delta |
| Concourse C | All Other Carriers |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not needed. |
| Car/Public Transport | Advisable, but not needed for spot #1 and #2 |
| Restrooms | Nothing close to the locations except #1 and #2. |
| Drinks/Food | Inside the Terminal and a McDonald’s is next to #8 and #9. |
| Hotels | On the northwest side of the airport are a some hotels and restaurants. |
| Season | No special season. Due to north/south direction of the runway the summer months are recommended. |
| Security | While the airport has some unique spotting locations, the police in the area is not used to a lot of spotting activities. Therefore always contact the Airport Police on: 001 (901) 922-8056. The officers are very friendly and tell you where and where not to go. Because some of the spots are in the Shelby County, you can be questioned by the Shelby County police officers. They also are friendly and helpful, but follow their orders. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | Aircraft will use the north-south runways most of the time. During the FedEx arrival peak hour runway 09/27 is used for inbounds from west/east.
FedEx arrival peaks: approx. 08:00 – 13:00 and 22:00 – 01:00 |
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Spot #1 – Short/Long Term Parking Garage |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is on top of the main parking garage directly at the terminal. Drive up or walk either to the northwest corner (beyond the terminal concourse A) nor to the northeast corner (Concourse C) to gather a glimpse of the action. |
| WHAT | All FedEx departures & arrivals runway 18R/36L, 18C/36C and 18L/36R. Passenger aircraft partially vacate the runway earlier and will be hidden by terminal concourses. |
| TIME | From sunrise until early noon go to the east side and from afternoon until sunset stay on the west side. |
| MISC. | The garage itself has only two levels and the sight is limited due to the height and sight can be blocked by ground equipment. Alternative is spot#2. All facilities are inside the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100mm for a MD-10/MD-11, 150-180mm for a 717/737/A320. |
East Side:
West Side:
 |
Spot #2 – Parking Garage East |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This garage is much higher than the main garage (previous spot) and the better choice. It is accessible by car if you follow the signs to the economy parking (don`t use the rental car line). Drive to the uppermost floor and drive to the eastern or western side. There are some gaps between the grids to gather an undisturbed view of the runway and taxiways. |
| WHAT | All FedEx departures & arrivals runway 18R/36L, 18C/36C and 18L/36R. Passenger aircraft partially vacate the runway earlier. |
| TIME | From sunrise until early noon go to the east side and from afternoon until sunset stay on the west side. |
| MISC. | Parking is free for the first 30 minutes. All facilities are inside the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | DC-10= 135 mm, A300= 200mm |
East Side:
 |
Spot #3 – Cell Phone Lot |
|---|---|
| WHERE | To get to this spot, you can follow the signs ‘cell phone lot’. This is the former Hotel Radisson spotting location but it has been destroyed (google maps is not up to date, check street view instead). Drive all the way in towards the taxiway. Be careful, there are regular patrols by airport police on this lot. They do not like you taking photographs here. They will probably advise you to go to spot #1. It is advised to only take a few shots here and go to #1. You can shot over the fence as the runway is elevated. |
| WHAT | Arrivals runway 18R, FedEx traffic on the taxiway. |
| TIME | From early mornings untill noon. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 20-40mm for all traffic on the taxiway. |
 |
Spot #4 – Nellie Road |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Probably Memphis’ airport best and most famous spot! Exit the airport and go left onto Winchester Road. You will drive underneath the approach lights of runway 18R. Go left on Airways Boulevard until you are at Nellie Road or Sussex Road (depends on the rotation point). Park your car on the ramp just before Nellie Road. Inform the police when you arrive here to avoid to be send away! You can shot over the fence as the runway is elevated. |
| WHAT | Departures runway 18R, Arrivals runway 36L. During hot summer months you need to go further south for 18R departures because they roll very long. |
| TIME | From noon till evening. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. The trees will provide you some shade. Note there are “no parking signs” but place doesn’t really care. Neighborhood might make you feel uncomfortable. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 130-180mm for a MD-10/MD-11, 170-200mm for a 717/737/A320. |
 |
Spot #5 – Runway Rd |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is accessible from Swinnea Road. When driving on Runway Road, drive to the ABX/DHL Cargo Center. Near the fence there are some light poles, where you can photograph over the fence (the meshes of the fence are quite small). It is usually very quiet here, so you won’t be bothered, but you are on private property! |
| WHAT | All movement on 18L/36R and 18C/36C. Taxiing traffic (militairy aircraft and DHL Cargo). |
| TIME | From early mornings untill noon. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-250mm for runway 18L departures. 290-330mm for runway 18C departures. |
 |
Spot #6 – Wilson Air Center |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The Wilson Air Center is not good for runway operations, but will always be worth a visit cause of the variety of military aircraft and general aviation that will be parked here. You can photograph through and over the fence at various points. Don’t stay too long, you are on private property! |
| WHAT | Ramp overview (General Aviation) |
| TIME | All day long. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-200mm |
 |
Spot #7 – Parking |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located inside a parking, which can be entered by everyone as it has no entrybarrier. Just enter the parking, park your car somewhere and head to the western front, to have the best view of the mentioned actions. |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 27 as well as Line-Ups. Also parts of the apron infront of you. |
| TIME | Runway has light almost all day – Apron is only good on early summer mornings and Line-Ups are mostly better in the morning hours. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. A ladder can be useful, but isn’t 100% needed as you can even spot without ladder, because the fence isn’t really high. This is private property. If security guy is present he will ask you to leave. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30-250mm B727 = ~55mm / DC10 = ~200mm |
 |
Spot #8 – Airport Center Ln |
|---|---|
| WHERE | It is not often that runway 27 is in use. Most traffic will arrive on/depart from the north-south runways. To get there from the terminal, go towards Winchester Road in the East direction. Go left on Tchulahoma Road. Go left on Airport Center Lane and you will find yourself underneath the approach lights. If you drive a bit further, you can park your car along Air Center Cove. |
| WHAT | Arrivals runway 27 |
| TIME | All day long. |
| MISC. | There are no facilities here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-120mm for a MD-10/MD-11, 120-180mm for a 717/737/A320. |
Howdy, I tried to Livestream for the Airplanes, Trains, and Cows Channel on YouTube but was unsuccessful. I had dealt with a manager of operations, but wasn’t able to give specific time of arrival, so my name wasn’t on the list. The Cellphone Lot seemed the best option for me. Really close shots of heavies taxiing. The parking garage was a no go cause of the dividers. Went to Nellie Road, but didn’t feel comfortable there. Honestly, a difficult place to stream. Stayed at Holiday Inn Express near Graceland. Nice room and Gated Parking, but definitely bad area. Memphis is a challenge.
I spent three days at MEM in September. Here are my thoughts… Spot 1 – tried that, room for only one shot of the plane, offers nothing better than spot 2. Spot 2 – good, had no problem with airport staff, nobody cares, but I also behave like a human being. Spot 3 – alternate for spot 2, had no problem there, kept low profile just to be sure. Spot 8 – there is a security on the parking lot, talked to the guy, he told me everyone not supposed to be there will be asked to leave. Security was present at many parking lots around airport. Spot 9 – was ok, better and safer than 8. Runway 27 was used a lot during peak arrival, especially by planes from eastern coast. Spot 6 – used for one picture, horrendous heat haze and time for only few shots. Spot 5 – there is a sign when entering this road from Shelby Drive saying “Authorized vehicles only”. Didn’t dare to go there. Spot 4 is indeed not so good for planes departing 18R. Most are too low. Only A300s are mostly in the air and some very light 767s. I used Sussex Road instead, where angle is much better for heavy planes, but A300s are too high. Note that on all roads in this area there are “no parking” signs. Parked on the grass right next to the road, nobody cared, even some police cars went by. I stayed very close to car, walked closer to the main road for a picture, to clear the power lines, and then back to the car. Neighborhood is let’s say making you nervous. Stayed in hotel in Olive Branch in Mississippi (15 minutes drive) due to the very high crime rate in Memphis.
Good feedback Michael, I made some changes to the descriptions and removed the spot 5. During our last stay the signs were not installed, but already some years ago. Seems to be new ones.
Cheers, Julian
Was at spot #4 this afternoon. During the summer months you need to go further south because they roll very long. Missed 6-7 departures worth of pictures at Nellie drive because most of them didn’t clear the fence till they were further south. No issues with law enforcement.
Good to know. I left a note in the guide.
-Julian
Went to Nellie Road/Spot 4, perfect view of FedEx planes departing, can also see planes departing from runway 18L on the other side of the runway.
I want to add to this list of spotting locations. There is a stairwell on the south side of the 7th level of the economy parking garage next to the elevators that offers amazing overlooks of the entire airport. This has so far been my favorite place to get pictures from.
Hi, is this a better option than the top level? Or is better to watch the traffic on the terminal apron? Can you send us some photos please via the contact form: https://www.spotterguide.net/missing-photos-location/
Thanks, Julian
I find this spot best for landings and takeoffs heading north to south, mainly runways 18R and 18L. The problem with the top level of the parking garage is that there is limited view from the grids sticking above the 7th floor. I’ll send some pictures on the contact form, but the quality might not be great, since I only had my phone on me that day.
Good morning! Love to read the reports and insights from the locals and visitors…a request if thats ok?
At some point next year (hopefully) I hope to make a trip to MEM to experience the FedeEx rushes including the overnight ones (I am a frame collector rather than photographer). Is there a recommended hotel to stay at which has views of the inbound or outbound movements? I will have both SBS and FR24 app capability so reading the tail numbers off is not needed. I am not sure looking at the websites of local hotels which ones have enough height to view the fields? Thanks for any insights! Ian
Hello Ian,
There are no hotels in the area that give a great view of the airport. Being a local, I probably wouldn’t want to stay around the airport anyway. The #2 spot on top of the parking garage gives really good views of N/S departing and arriving aircraft. If it’s night photography you’re looking for that would be the safer spot to be.
M.J. Scanlon
Ian,
Southaven, Mississippi would be the closest for a decent hotel to the airport. Just a few minutes away and a much better choice of dining and other amenities.
M.J.
Hello,
I parked at the cell phone lot for 2 hours from 2 to 4 PM today. No police came and I was able to get over 200 photographs. I don’t know if the situation has changed or if it was a coincidence. Thanks.
Hi Vincent,
Nice to hear you had a great time at the cell phone lot. I don’t know if the situation has changes of that you just got lucky. Have you also visited other spots maybe?
Bas
Hi Bas, I am a very active spotter at MEM and I would like to work with you to update this page with more planespotting areas and information. Please email me.
Hi William,
Nice to meet you! I would love to update this page. I will e-mail you.
Bas
Hi William.
I’ll be visiting Memphis in two months,
Can I contact you by email/facebook for more information of spotting there ?
All the Best.
Rami.
Hi I will be visiting memphis in August (from the UK) and need some advice I can only get to spots by walking or by public transport is it still possible to get into the garage without a car? Also I am mainly after ground shots of the planes FedEx and military mainly so any advice on that would be great thanks
Hi Laken,
Spot 1 and 2 are probably your best shot by foot. It is possible to get into the parking garages and probably also the newly built rental car parking garage. If you can see all FedEx operations: I doubt it, but you will see plenty taxiing by…
Have a very good trip, and share some photos when you are back…
Bas
I emphasize calling security in advance. I parked at Applied College of Technology. Awesome views of heavies approach to 27. I did. Not call. Fed ex security asked for ID. Then MEM airport security came up. Nice but firm. I decided better to leave. 9/11 has taken away s lot of freedom for law abiding citizens.