Southampton Airport (SOU) is located to the north of the city of Southampton in the town of Eastleigh. With the site’s aviation history starting in 1910, there has been over a century of flying from what is now the largest airport serving the central south coast. The airport handled just under 2 million customers in 2017/18 and in 2019 was ranked third out of 30 UK airports for customer satisfaction by Which?

On the day this post goes live, British Airways will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of its birth and the first flight by its predecessor Aircraft Transport & Travel. This post will combine a brief history of British Airways (BA) and its ancestors as well as including facts and photos gained from my visit to the BA Heritage Centre in June.

East Midlands Airport (EMA) is centrally located between the East Midlands cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and has flights to over 70 destinations operated by eight airlines that carry almost five million passengers per year. Although in terms of passenger aircraft movements, EMA is nothing special, the airport is a hub for both DHL and the Royal Mail meaning it is an excellent airport for spotting freight movements.

Of course, during the summer, you could always combine your visit with a visit to Heathrow and after seeing the Saturday morning activity at London City head west to see the afternoon and early evening arrivals at Heathrow.

London Heathrow’s Myrtle Avenue is possibly one of the world’s most famous aircraft spotting sites. A typical suburban street in the London Borough of Hounslow, the open grass area at one end and its proximity to the threshold of runway 27L, make it an excellent spot to take photos or just simply watch the aircraft.