GLOBAL SPOTTING REPORTS
COLOMBIA
Bogota – Feb 2019
LANDSIDE
The new terminal here has made things a lot harder. The excellent views from Mcdonalds have gone. There are windows in the centre of the terminal overlooking some gates and the cross taxiway. There is a runway out to each side of the terminal. You can see the military ramp from here and some stuff can be identified. If you are using SBS then most movements would be seen, especially if arriving from the 13 direction.
The domestic terminal is still open even though some domestic flights go from the main terminal. At the far end, up the steps is a bakery which has some views of aircraft parked here which include Satena and Easyfly. You can also see the LAS hangers from here with 3 or 4 B727s parked up. The view was better but the eatery next to it has closed making it difficult.
Hangers – there are a lot of hangers here but its not as easy to access them now. Turn left out of the domestic terminal. Keep going and follow the buildings and roads around turning left where possible. Don’t worry about the security guards, they won’t bother you. Most hangers now have an external fence and security so you can’t get close. Otherwise its possible to knock on the hanger doors. They may not let you in but just by opening the door they gave you a view of what was inside. Speaking Spanish would be helpful here.
There used to be a museum next to the military ramp but its no longer there. Which means theres no way to access to this part of the airport any more that I know about. The Police park there aircraft here and Searca and Sarpa have hangers.
AIRSIDE
The int’l terminal has views over 31R/13L. From the end of the pier at gate 21 its possible to see the military ramp and cross taxiway as well as movements on the other runway. However this gate can also be used for domestic flights and therefore becomes inaccessible if you are flying international. You then have to sit in the previous gate down which limits the view.
HOTELS
Movich Buro 26 – About 15-20 mins walk from the main terminal and 5 mins from the domestic terminal. The top floor is level 6 and rooms cost extra on this level. Rooms 609 - 616. Otherwise rooms on level 5 work well. Rooms 511-520.
It looks over runway 31R threshold and has views of the Aercaribe and Easyfly hangers. When they are arriving in the 31 direction, 95% of arrivals will land on 31R with all departures on 31L. However when landing in the 13 direction its not so easy. Both runways are used for arrivals and departures with most of the domestic flights, such as Avianca and Satena ATRs departing on 13R, which is out of sight on the other side of the hotel. Most arrivals turn off early, some can just be seen to the far left but its hard to read them off and smaller aircraft are completely out of sight. So all you can see are the departures from this runway. If there is a group of you staying then a room on each side of the hotel may be advantageous so departures from 13R can be seen. Otherwise it requires a bit of walking around the terminals to try and see what you can. From outside the hotel its possible to see departures from 13R so with the aid of FR24 you can see whats taxiing for departure and go outside to see them. To the right of the hotel is a footbridge crossing the road. From here you can see departures from both 13L and 13R. I had no issues using binoculars from here or while walking to the terminals and back to read the departures.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not as good as it used to be with many of the stored and older aircraft gone. Avianca dominate with there fleet of new airbuses, Viva Colombia and Lan Chile have several aircraft based and Satenas ATRs and E170 live here. Easyfly have a few flights and most of LAS B727s should be seen.
Searca and Sarpa have hangers here but only operate a handful of flights each day. If you depart on 13R then a seat on the left side will give you a good view of Searcas hanger and a few B1900s and Let410s can be read.
The military ramp is home to the Government B737, E135 and F28 as well as 2 B737s, 2 B727s, a B767 and various other Air Force planes.
There was also 2 aircraft preserved in the city if they are still there:
HK-3480 B727 is in a theme park in Avianca cls – Parque Salitre Magico, and can be seen from the main road.
On the other side of this park in a museum is B720 HK-749 in old Avianca cls, also visible from the road.
Taxi’s are pretty cheap and a Spanish translation of what you wanted to do would probably work. Watch out for rush hour traffic though.
