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Tenerife

Tenerife has two airports, the one in the South is being used for most scheduled services and for all the charter traffic. The airport in the North has domestic flights operated by Binter only.
Tenerife South Reina Sofia (TFS) has a single runway 08-26. Photography is nice here as there are spots south of the runway and you have sun in the back all day long.

English charters can be seen most here, but there are also a few Russian airlines to be seen. On a Friday in summer 2003 there was an IL96 of Domodedovo and Tu204’s of Kras Air and KMV.

The airport is located about 10 minutes drive by car from the popular tourist area Playa de las Americas.

Report by Ton Jochems submitted July 2003

Traffic in our summer time is not as busy as in the Canary Islands peakseason which run froms NOV-MAR. Geared with several internet descriptions Remi Onclin and I made our way up to the airport.

As most descriptions were made in the winter season , I quickly found out that the famous spot just before touchdown is not suitable in the summer period…(RMY is east-west 08-26)… The sun is simply too high which is not benefitting proper quality photography..

In the early morning up to 10.00 hrs shots can be made when aircraft turn off the active runway. Zoom lens 70-200mm is sufficient. Directions as described on Marcel van den Bergs website… the morning location was not mentioned… simply continue on the main after passing the school in Los Abigos. Than take any of the dirt roads on your right which will take you towards the fence… You can follow the fence either by car….it will get rather dusty…., or walk…

The best kept secret (never seen it mentioned at any site) is however a superb afternoon position, which takes you to the opposite of runway 08. In summertime you can start shooting from 1500 until sunset, and that is perfect as the majority of traffic comes in from 1500. A 70-200 mm zoom is sufficient. How to get there… Take the exit from the TF1 motorway Los Abrigos/Las Galettas. You will end up at a roundabout. Follow signs Los Abigos. After 2 km a roadsign will appear on the left hand side.. showing ATOGO. Make a left there, the road is curly and steep. Follow it for say 2 km´s until you see rows of white grave statue like stones stating AENA. (To me it looked like a war cemetary..) These stones mark the boarder of the airport premises. When you see these stones.. you can not miss it.. make immediately a right…you will enter a paved road , however full of holes…, which takes you up to the fence/crashgate… Make a left at the end and follow the fence…Road becomes a dirt road.. You will end at the line up for RWY 08…. sun in the back. In winter time this spot will be great too from say 1300..

When the sun moves in the summer, simply continue following the fence after 1700, pass a cement factory…, and you will be standing parrallel to the taxiway. The fence is low, a few rocks might by needed for the smaller persons. However a even more convenient spot is available.. simply climb the rock mountain behind , and the fence does not bother you at all. Best day of the week in both winter and summer season in undoubtly the friday…. the airport is buisy all the time! To give you an idea of a summer friday please find below the full list of

last friday July 18th…0900-2000

PH-MCR/S M11 MPH
D-AICD/G A320 Thomas Cook
EC-IAG/ICK/IMU/INZ/ A320 IWD
D-ALAG/P/Q A321 AEF
PH-DBB B757 DBR for TCW
EC-IPS B733W MPD 2x (with winglets!)
EC-IPN B747-200 MPD 2x
PH-HZA/I B738 TRA
EC-HBL/HGP/ICD B738 AEA
OO-SBJ/SLW B734 SLR
EC-IAH/IJO BE1900 AESA
D-AHFC/N/T/U B738W HFG
EC-IOR B733 HOA
G-STRC B73G HOA
G-BOPD/BNYS B767 XLA
TF-ARD B757 XLA
G-XLAB/D/F B738 XLA
ZS-SJP B738W XLA
G-MONS A300 MON
G-OZBF/G A321 MON
TF-ARF B747-200 FOR MON
G-MONB/J/DAJB B757 MON
OH-LBR B757 FIN FOR SCY
OY-CRN A320 ALL WHITE OPS FOR MYT
G-CCAF/DHJH A321 MYT
G-DIMB/SJML B763 MYT
G-DHJZ/KKAZ/RDVE A320 MYT
G-TDTW DC10-10 MYT
G-BYDA DC10-30 MYT
G-WJAN B757 MYT
G-FCLB/C/D/F/J JMCF B757 TCX
G-JMAA/B B753 TCX
G-BXKA/B A320 TCX
G-OOAE/F A321 AMM
G-OOOS/OOOY/OOBD/CPEU/CPEV/ B757 AMM
C-GTDG/H A320 AMM
G-BYAE/R/U B757 BAL
G-BRIF B767 BAL
EC-HHG/HMJ/HMK(WINGLETS)/IEN/IHI/ B738 FUE
EC-GRX B734 FUA
G-TTMC A300 SCY
EC-HDS/HIS B757 IBE
RA64022 TU204 MVD
OE-LAU B763 LDA
RA96007 IL86 DMO
EC-HXA A320 JKK
EC-HPM A321 JKK
HA-LOC B738 MAH
EC-ILX B738 TVS
EC-HQX B757 VOLAR
EC-IMA A321 VOLAR
EC-ICN A320 LTE
RA64018 TU204 KJC
D-AMUS B757 LTU
D-ABON B753 CFG
OK-FUN B733 FFR
XV101 VC10 RAF
F-GRSD A320 SEU

After 2000 the party goes on untill 0300….mainly UK flights….about 60!
Recap of the week… SATURDAY: Corsair 733, Aigle Azur 733, Star Europe A320, Air Mediterannee A321, too many Air Berlin/Hapag Lloyd B738, Sobelair 734/8, Thomas Cook Belgim A320, LTU 320/321/330´s, too many Aerolloyd A320-321, Hamburg Intl 73g, Luxair 734, Condor A320/753´s

SUNDAY: Corsair 733, Edelweis A320´s, Sobelair 738, Thomas Cook Belgium A320, Condor A320´s, 757,753,763´s, Britania 767´s/757.s, BMA A321/ MYT A320/321, Thomas Cook 757´s

MONDAYS:Martinair MD11 2x, Transavia 753,738´s, Dutchbird 757, Sobelair 738, Neos B738, Air one 737/733, Blue Panorama 734, Eurofly 320´s , Volare 320/321´s, Air Luxor 320/321, Travel Service Spain 738, lots of Spanish domestic charters…the day to get your Spanish airliners!

TUESDAYS: Maersk 737-700´s , My Travel Scandinavia A320, Britannia 757/767´s, MY Travel A320-321-757, Thomas Cook 757-753, Excel 738´s , 767, BMA A321, Air Scandic A300, Finnair 757, Palmair B737, Air Berlin 738´s , Monarch A320/321/330 757´s, GB Airway A321,

WEDNESDAYS: Sobelair 734/8, Thomas Cook Belgium A320, Air Berlin too many …., Luxair B734, Eurofly A320, Condor 757-753´s /763 /A320´s, Austrian M80, Travel Service 738, Britannia 757´s .

THURSDAYS: Too many Hapag Lloyds…., Sobelair B738, Too many Condor, LOT B734 , Belair B757 Plus daily a lot of Futura, Iberworld, LTE/ Volar, Air Europa, Spanair….only 3 Iberia´s per day mainly 757, but also on Monday/tuesday A340 and the occasional B747.

FRIDAYS: see the list below. The busiest day at Tenerife with three Russian airlines.

According to the handling agent traffic in Tenerife during winter season is about 25% higher compared to summer… On saturday i.e an invasion of Scandinavians…up to 30 flights!

Spotting around the perimeter is without any problems.. I used my scanner all the time and without problems..

I did not bother to visit Tenerife North, it is about 50 minutes drive from the SOuth Airport. Traffic is slow, but can be interesting too, You will get all the Binter Canarias ATR´s, ISLAS ATR72´s, daily Iberia A340-600´s, daily Cygnus DC8, and on Friday afternoon the Santa Barbera Dc10 going to Carcacas… According to a local spoter, yes, they are there!!!!, photograpy is great at the holding point..I saw some pictures and according to my standards the positions at Los Rodeas are great too….

Hope the info is usefull for someone gonig there. For me it was the ideal holiday..relaxation , with a nice friday with aircraft. For those of you wanting to go there with your family I can really recommend the appartmens of Westhaven Bay at Costa del Silencio… Very nice situated , inexpenisve, luxury.. good view on the flightpath… you can read the regs of the aircraft on the approach.. In case some interesting aircraft lands , you can be at the airport within 20 minutes…and shoot it on departure…I did it a couple of times.. For info see http://www.westhavenbay.com , bookings can be made in the Netherlands via Ron Onclin . His contacts are available on the Westahven bay site..

Report by Derek Fry, [email]Derekkx@btinternet.com[/email]. Submitted February 2001

The majority of the time at Tenerife South, the traffic lands on Runway 08 as the prevailing winds are from the North East. During my 4-5 day visits the traffic DID land from the opposite direction on RWY 26 but only once day and even then for just a few hours, and even then, I have found a vantage point for good landing shots too !

TENERIFE SOUTH AIRPORT THRESHOLD VANTAGE POINT RUNWAY 08:-

If you are staying in the resorts of either Playa De Las Americas, or Los Cristianos, which are the two most popular and nearest holiday resorts to the airport, then the trip by car to the above vantage point will take you no more than 10 minutes, and likewise to the airport terminal.

1. Head along the main “Autopista” Dual Carriageway towards the airport and turn off at Junction 24 which will be signposted to “Los Abrigos” and “El Medano”. Go up the slip round and round the small roundabout following signs for “Los Abrigos”. (Incidentally next to this roundabout is a huge hypermarket ideal for stocking up on much needed cool drinks and snacks etc etc).

2. Continue down a long gently sloping hill towards the coastal village of “Los Abrigos” a few kilometres further on.

3. On entering Los Abrigos the road “ends” at a small roundabout where you turn left and continue as if leaving the village for a few hundred yards ONLY. You will see on your left the last building in the village is a small shop with a small green awning or canopy called (rather ambitiously !) “Supermarket El Abrigo” !! At this point turn left off the road onto a short tarmac stretch of track BUT IMMEDIATELY fork right onto a rough dirt track and head towards a huge pile of dumped black electrical cables, a few yards ahead. Passing them on your right side, the track seems to peter out as it nzarrows and runs along the side of a small school with a red tiled roof and green metal fence, but dont give up ! Just drive very slowly uphill past the side of this school for a few more yards and “hey presto” the rough track suddenly becomes a rather excellently made tarmac road leading uphill to its ending at one of the airport crash gates. If you stop your car short anywhere along this road and look to your left you will get some superb landing shots of traffic on short finals for Runway 08. On a clear day with no sand blowing around, you can get a nice shot of them with the volcano “Mount Teide” in the background. The type of lense to use is up to you but I recommend a 70-210 or a 100-300mm. Also here you will not miss any departing traffic as they will taxi out to the holding point of RWY 08 which is on a ridge slightly above the perimiter fence level making logging and also photographing with your 200mm lens a piece of cake !

I spent several days at this vantage point and had no hassle from security as I kept well back from the perimiter fence. They came along and had a peek at me “through binocs “occasionally but never opened the crash gate to actually visit me, but be aware that this road is strictly “airport property” as there are white bollards all along it bearing the intials “AENA” which is the Spanish Airports Authority. I used my scanner all the time which is useful especially for departing traffic as they tend to “sneak up on you” whilst you are watching the opposite direction for landing stuff !..and I still had no hassle.

The only disadvantage of this spotting location is that it is on a very exposed piece of typical “desert like” wasteland, and if the wind gets up as it often does in the Canaries, then the whole area gets very dusty, as will you yourself and all your gear, so be warned ! As for photos, the sun is behind you nearly all day long here so no probs

TENERIFE SOUTH AIRPORT THRESHOLD VANTAGE POINT RWY 26…….

If you are unlucky and traffic is landing on RWY 26, then dont despair !

From the above vantage point then return downhill down the tarmac road and onto the rough dirt track past the school and to the main road out of “Los Abrigos”, but this time turn LEFT and head out of the village towards “El Medano”. Follow this tarmac road for a good few kilometres, and you will come to a small sign pointing to your left which is giving directions to a tourist point of interest which is a small hermits cave. I forget the name on the sign but it says something like “Hermitage de Manuel something or other”…I cant recall. Turn off the main road and follow this side road/track past his cave for a kilometre or so and you will come to the threshold of RWY 26. There is plenty of room alongisde the road to park and you should manage good landing shots here without difficulty, but shots of traffic at the holding point waiting to depart are difficult if not impossible from here.

TENERIFE AIRPORT TERMINAL AREA VANTAGE POINTS

For the airport, if travelling from Playa De Las Americas direction, turn off the Autopista at Junction 23 this time. Follow the road downhill following signs for the “terminal” . If you keep on the right lane of this approach road it curves sharply left and you come to a short term parking area where parking is limited to 15 minutos ! I have seen attendants checking cars here from time to time so dont abuse your stay, but up to 30 mins should be OK..its free here anyway. There are only two places outside the terminal building where you can see any aircraft and neither are much use to be honest. Basically they are at opposite ends of the building….one area being a small rockery/garden area at the same end of the building that you have parked your car at, which gives distant views of landing traffic ok for logging only, and also a view of a couple of remote parking stands only. The other area is the far end of the terminal building where you can see a few more remote stands and possibly log a couple of parked Iberworld A320s or Air Europa B738s is the coach park. The terminal building is VERY LONG so allow time to walk to both ends !

All in all I extensively tried to find other vantage points around the airport but without a 4-wheel drive off road jeep I doubt there were any accesible ones. The airport info desk does have a supply of timetables giving charter and scheduled trafffic but I found the timetable to be somewhat inaccurate. I suggest you go straight to the airport first of all, write down arrival times of flights from the TV monitors then go to your chosen vantage point to “set up camp” ! There is little point in wasting time at the terminal building.

Tenerife North
Report by Derek Fry, [email]Derekkx@btinternet.com[/email]. Submitted February 2001

I didnt spend much time here really, but had some advice from other cs list members which seemed to be quite true. If you are on holiday in Tenerife and want to see the local “Binter Canarias” ATR72 Island hopping fleets, then you will need to visit this airport. You will NOT see ANY of them at the new Tenerife SOUTH (Reina Sofia). And I found the best time to visit is around early evening on a weekday, say between 4.00pm and 7.00pm as during this time you will see around 5 or 6 of them arrive.

The journey from the South Airport up to the NORTH Aiport is all “Autopista” and should only take you around 50 mins. The North Airport is NOT particularly well signposted on the Autopista, but basically you follow the “TF 1” Motorway all the way up the coast until you are almost in the city of Las Palmas. You need to look out for signs to the “TF 5” Motorway or “Autopista Del Norte”, and the airport is first signposted around 2 miles before the slip road to it. Previous to this there is little signing for it.

As for VIEWING PLACES……..there is no viewing from the public side of the airport terminal, and if you are flying from here, the views from “airside” are ok for logging, but no good for photos as there is a glass sided corridor between your waiting area and the outside ramp. If you are not flying then I found that “P2 Parking Area” just a few hundred yards along the road from the terminal is excellent, and offers superb ramp views. I spotted here for a few hours and even though I was parked very near to the secuirty access barrier I had no hassle.

Hope the above helps someone. It IS worth the visit for an hour or so only if you are on holiday on the Island. There are some days when maybe one or two more charters arrive, but I wouldnt expect many !

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A report by Robert Aldridge, January 2000
Tenerife South (TFS / Tenerife Reina Sofia)

There are two airports in Tenerife. Tenerife South and Tenerife North. Tenerife South is the busier airport and handles all of the charter flights plus some of the scheduled flights. The airport is typical of many Spanish airports in that in handles a variety of flights from all over Europe with certain days being busier than others. Friday and the weekends are the busiest days. Unlike the Balearic islands there is a higher proportion of Scandinavian flights including Finnair MD11’s.

There are two information booths located near each other, one is for Tourist info and has ****A bus maps and route details on the windows.

If you go to the other it is for Airport information (Both are located at the arrivals end of the terminal) at this info booth they have computer screens which provide flight details and aircraft registrations. They cannot print you off a sheet but will if not too busy let you log what is operating the various flights due.

On the right hand side of the airport there is an outside viewing area. About half of the parked aircraft can be seen. All aircraft landing or taking off are visible from this point. Other views can be had of the airport by following the coastal road to Los Abrigos.

At the righthand side of the terminal are a lot of buildingconstructions going on (December 2000) The area from here till the line up is not accessable anymore. A new higher fence will be put down as well.

Seems the parking for busses offers possibilities for photos

Photos of aircraft at short approach can be made all day with the sun in the back. A B737 takes about 120mm and a B757 max 90mm.

Golf Del Sur is the nearest hotel complex area. I stayed at the Green Park apartments. The apartments are of a good quality and the aircraft pass directly over the hotel. This is great for most flights but not for German aircraft, as they do not carry their registrations under their wings. As the name of the resort suggests it comprises several golf courses. From the resort centre there are various resturants that offer views of aircraft landing or departing. A car is ideal but not essential. Car hire is cheap in Tenerife.

All Spanish airports have internet sites. The one for Tenerife South is: http://www3.aena.es/ae/tfs/infovuel.htm

Amongst other things this site shows all international and domestic, arrivals and departures. I created a timetable for myself before I went to Tenerife and it proved to be pretty accurate.

Seems Friday is the busiest day with a lot of English airlines (JMC, Airtours, Air 2000, Monarch) and Austrian, Fischer, Lauda Air, Citybird and a couple of German charters.

Saturday has a lot of German charters Tenerife North

This airport handles the majority of scheduled flights. Mainly flights to the other Canary Islands. All of the aircraft can be observed from the arrivals and departure terminals. It is not a busy airport but is worth a visit for a few hours.