Melbourne Tullamarine Airport

Continent: Oceania

Country: Australia

Region: Victoria

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport
Location	Melbourne, Victoria
IATA code	MEL
ICAO code	YMML
Airport type	Commercial
Website	http://www.melair.com.au
Overview map	[ ]
Communications
Tower	120.5
Ground	121.7
Clearance	127.2
Approach	132
Departure	118.9, 129.4
ATIS	114.1, 132.7

There are many spotting locations around Melbourne airport, and access is very simple provided you have a vehicle. There is no public transport around the airport perimeter. Good photography can be achieved in most locations.

Please note: While not essential, a ladder to get above the fenceline to photograph aircraft is an advantage, but please remember to keep at least 3 meters away from the fence due to safety and security reasons. Happy snapping!

Other spotting locations

Runway 34 Threshold

Runway 34 threshold located on Operations Road (just past Qantas maintenence) is an ideal location for photography,particularly early morning when the sun is at your back. There is a large grassed area where you can park your car off the road.Aircraft can be photographed from all angles and a 70-300mm lens is sufficient.

Runway 34 Spotter's Carpark

Rwy 34 spotter's carpark located further down operations road is an ideal spot to view/photograph aircraft movements. Excellent taxiing/departure shots (rwy 34-taxiway juliet) can be taken from here, although the early morning sun can make it difficult. Also provides stunning shots of rwy 16 departures. 70-300mm lens sufficient.

Runway 27 via McNabbs Rd

Located on Mansfield Road via McNabbs Road, good shots of rwy27 departures and rollouts/taxiing can be taken from here, although once again the early morning sun can be tricky. Aircraft taxiing off rwy 27 pass within 50 meters of your location making for some stunning photography. 300mm lens for departures (although 500mm better), 70mm lens for rwy 27 taxiing shots.

Runway 16 Threshold

Some great side on shots of aircraft landing on rwy 16 can be taken from Uniting Lane, just off Sunbury Road (next to the Uniting Church) there are also some shady trees to sit under on those hot days. Alternatively, the spotters carpark on the corner of Oaklands and Sunbury Road sees aircraft passing overhead at 150 feet. 70-300mm lens.

Runway 27 Threshold

Runway 27 threshold just off Sunbury Road (look for the flight markers) is another good spot to photograph aircraft landing on rwy 27, although it can be quite noisy due to traffic on Sunbury Road. The airport itself cannot be seen from this location due to a small hill blocking the view. 70-200mm lens.

Places to avoid

While there's no real places to avoid, it's probably best if you don't do your spotting/photography from the terminal itself, as this will attract the attention of security. Also, don't park your vehicle in front of any emergency/access gates.

Regular traffic

AUSTRALAIAN AIRLINES: Jetstar: A320 and A330 Qantas: Most aircraft types in the Qantas/Qantaslink fleet are operating on a daily basis with the exception of the B717 Virgin Australia: B737, A330 may be regular by 2012 V Australia: B77W (3 weekly) Pacific Blue: B737 Tiger: A320 REX Regional Express: Saab 340 Australian Air Express: B737F Toll Express: B737F (night time only) Skywest: F-100 (once weekly arr Fri, dep Sun) Strategic: A330 (2 weekly)

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES: Air Asia X: A330 Air China: A330 Air Mauritius: A340 Air New Zealand: A320, B777 and occasional B744 Air Pacific: B763 (and B737/B744 during peak periods) Air Vanuatu: B737 (1 weekly) Cathay Pacific: A330 China Eastern: B763 (operated by Shanghai Airlines) China Southern: A330 Emirates: B77W Etihad: A345/A346 Garuda Indonesia: A330 Korean Air: A330 Malaysia Airlines B777 Norfolk Air: B733 (1 weekly) also uses Our Airline B733 Philipine Airlines: A330/A340 Qatar Airways: B77L Royal Brunei: B772 Singapore Airlines: A380, B777, B744 Thai: B773, B772 United: B744 Vietnam Airlines: A330

INTERNATIONAL CARGO: Atlas Air B74F Cathay Cargo B74F Malaysia Cargo B74F (and B742 OPB Southern Air) Sinagpore Cargo B74F