PALMA MAJORCA
The airport at Palma Majorca is situated about 11 kilometers to the south east of the city. To get there take the Via Centura which is the motorway from Palma. The airport is well sign posted
The airport has two parallel runways 06L/24R as well as 06R/24L. When the aircraft are landing from the south they will land on 06L and take off from 06R and when coming in from the north they land on 24L and take off from 24R, all of the time I spent there this pattern was adhered to. The terminals are situated in the middle of the two runways. The terminal is only about three years old and compared with the old one it's lacking in viewing area's so this means off airport spotting is the only way. So a car or some sort of transport is advisable.
One of the best area's to spot from is half way along the 06R/24L runway. To get there drive past the airport entrance and take the exit for Manacor you will drive parallel with the runway, go past the Avis car rentals, you will come to a bend in the road and a junction to the left take this road less than 50 meters on your left is a dirt track take this one and you will arrive at the airport fence some decent person has put a mound of earth there so that you can look over the fence, there is nearly always someone on the mound taking photo's so it should not be that hard to find.
The best time to spot from here is about 7am to about 11am I found if you take photo's after this time they become very contrasting because the sun is to high overhead as well as the heat haze.
Another place is to go back to the main road and take a left, at the next roundabout take the last exit you will be under the flight path for 06R/24L a parking area off the road is available here. Carry on along this road the signs will say Palma, Casablanca, at the next junction take the Palma road and this will lead you to Son Ferriol, at the Repsol Garage which is on your left, take the road which runs up the side of this garage it's long and straight at the end is a very sharp bend on this bend take a left and this road takes you to the fence of runway 06L/24R this is a good spotting area in the afternoon when the sun is behind you. This spot is very good for aircraft taking off on 24R They tend to land the commuter aircraft on this runway instead of 24L so you can photograph them with a 300 mm lens vacating the runway.
To see aircraft landing on 06L you will have to make your way to Can Pastilla this is off the main Via Centura motorway just before the airport turning, make your way to the eastern end of the town and you will find a waste piece of ground on the shore edge this is in the flight path for 06L and good viewing is had here.
I found that Mondays and Tuesdays was a bit slow Wednesdays was dominated by Germans, Thursdays was a steady day with Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the busiest days.
Radio Frequencies
Approach 119.4 / 119.15 / 118.95
Tower 118.3
Ground 121.7 / 121.9
Photo's of Aircraft seen at Palma
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