Gothenburg Landvetter Airport

Continent: Europe Country: Sweden
Gothenburg Landvetter Airport
Location Gothenburg, Sweden
IATA code GOT
ICAO code ESGG
Airport type Commercial
Website http://www.swedavia.com/landvetter/
Overview map Google Maps
Communications
Tower 118.600
Ground 121.900
Clearance
Approach 124.200/124.675
Departure124.200/124.675
ATIS 118.375
Plane Spotting Hotels guide

General Information

A few things to think about when spotting at GOT is that you should have a telezoom lens (minimum 200mm), be prepared to walk and be prepared to explain yourself to Airport security. They have patrols all over the airport and they will most likely ask you what you are doing if they see you. It's usually not a problem, but depending on where you are, they might ask you to show your photos.

Official Spotting Locations

Right now, there are no official spotting locations at Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport.

Other Spotting Locations

Spotting shelter

On the field near the approach lights for rwy 21, there's a shelter built for plane-spotting. It's quite tricky to get here though, and you only get good photos from sunrise to noon. To get here you have to go to Schenker at the cargo area. You have to walk along the outside of Schenker's fence (on the forest side) all the way to rwy 21. Then you just follow the airport fence up on the field and you will see a small shelter at the top of it.

SAS Cargo crash gate

Besides the domestic terminal on the inner access road. Most taxiing movements can be shot from here and even some runway action too, (mostly runway 21 ops). Normally Malmö Aviation Avros will be parked right in front of you. Best light in the morning up to lunchtime.

Carpark building

Opposite of the terminal buildning is a carpark with 3-4 floors. Make your way up to the top floor (outdoors) and go the southern end. From here you can see and photograph departures of runway 03 as they rotate and climb out. You need a long lens, around 400mm from here. If runway 03 is used you can get most taxiing movements as they taxi to the runway. Some traffic going in and out of the southern stands can also be seen and photographed. Best light in the morning up to lunchtime.

DHL area

North of the terminal and cargo are is the DHL freight terminal. It is easily reachable from the terminal by foot. From this place you can get approach shots when runway 21 is in use. Unfortunately the aircraft dissapear behind a building as they are alongside of you. But you can still get good approach shots. Best light in the morning up to lunchtime.

Runway 21 Approach Lights

Just walk north from the terminals to the DHL freight terminal, then continue out on the small parking lot and follow the fence. From this place you can get photos under the planes and from the sides. Just be aware of the wet ground out here!

Runway 21 - Afternoon/evening

(Updated May 2016) The north perimeter around the runway is not accessible without a permit. Swedavia employees patrol the area and will inform you, kindly but firmly, that nobody is allowed on the roads leading to decent plainspotting locations. There are signs in every dirt road leading to the fence. Only residents and people with permits can cross the railway crossing northwest of runway 21. Access is not even allowed if you walk or cycle.

Both at this point (57°41'13.9"N 12°15'51.7"E) and further to the east (57°41'9.7"N 12°16'56.4"E) the signs are very clear, no authorised person may enter the area leading to the airfield. Hjörtemysten, a small hill across the Motorway 40, would be a prime spot but at the moment of writing this is not legally accessible.

(Old information about Runway 21 follows)

This is a bit tricky to get to and you need a car. From Landvetter drive the old road towards the airport. Take right onto a small dirt road and follow the map below. The red line is by car, and the green line is by foot.

Park your car by the P on the map. There is an area on your left hand side. Then put your best waterproof boots on (it is always wet!) and charge with energy. You will need it. Follow the fence to your left and after 20-30 minutes of rough walking you will find a crash gate.

The trees were cut during autumn 2010 so the view is very good from here. The sample photos below were taken before that, with high trees covering a lot of good views.

This spot is best after lunch up to sunset.

Another good spotting place is the football field near the school in Härryda. Even though it's only about 1-2 km away from the airport its quite tricky to get there from the airport without a car. You will need a telezoom lens with a minimum of -300mm (-400 or -500 is reccomended)

Runway 03

If you even want to think about spotting at Rwy 03 you need a car. It is possible to get there by bus, but it's quite tricky if you're not familiar with the area.

To get there from the airport you drive towards Gothenburg on motorway 40. Take exit 76 towards "Landvetter Ö". Drive left onto "Härrydavägen" and turn left again after a few hundred meters onto "Eskilsbyvägen". Drive for about 10 minutes (5.5 km) until you see a blue sign which says "Vrestaby 2" on the right side. Just park the car next to the sign and you're there. You will have the approach lights on your left side and the airplanes will fly in front of you on final approach.

To take photos here you only need a 200mm lens though 300mm is recommended.

Locations to Avoid

Emergency roads and anywhere close to the fence. It's very likely that security will take a chat with you.

Regular Traffic

Airlines with daily/weekly flights

The airport serves as a hub for Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Scandinavian Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, and TUIfly Nordic.

  • Air Berlin: Berlin - Tegel
  • Air France operated by HOP!: Lyon, Paris - Charles de Gaulle
  • AIS Airlines: Borlange
  • British Airways: London - Heathrow
  • British Airways operated by SUN-AIR: Aarhus, Cambridge, Manchester
  • Brussels Airlines: Brussels
  • Czech Airlines: Hamburg, Prague
  • Eurowings: Dusseldorf
  • Finnair: Helsinki
  • Gotlandsflyg operated by Braathens Regional: Visby
  • Iran Air: Tehran - Imam Khomeini
  • KLM: Amsterdam
  • Lufthansa: Frankfurt
  • Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine: Munich
  • Malmo Aviation: Stockholm - Bromma, Umea
  • NextJet: Sundsvall
  • Norwegian Air Shuttle: Alicante, Barcelona, London - Gatwick, Malaga, Rome - Fiumicino, Stockholm - Arlanda
  • Ryanair: Alicante, London - Stansted, Malaga, Warsaw - Modlin
  • Scandinavian Airlines: Copenhagen, Lulea, Malaga, Stockholm - Arlanda, Umea
  • Swiss International Air Lines operated by Helvetic Airways: Zurich
  • Swiss International Air Lines operated by Swiss Global Air Lines: Zurich
  • Turkish Airlines: Istanbul - Ataturk
  • Wideroe: Oslo - Gandermoen
  • Wizz Air: Belgrade, Budapest, Gdansk, Skopje, Tuzla, Warsaw - Chopin

Cargo

  • Amapola Flyg: Stockholm - Arlanda, Jonkoping, Sundsvall
  • DHL Aviation: Copenhagen, Leipzig/Halle
  • TNT Airways: Oslo - Gandermoen, Liege, Turku, Tallinn

Charter/seasonal airlines

  • airBaltic: Riga
  • Iberia Express: Madrid (begins 20 June 2016)
  • Icelandair: Reykjavik - Keflavik
  • Malmo Aviation: Ostersund
  • Norwegian Air Shuttle: Gran Canaria, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Pristina, Salzburg, Tenerife - South
  • Ryanair: Bergamo, Edinburgh, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Rome - Ciampino, Zadar
  • Scandinavian Airlines: Athens, Alanya - Gazipasa, Geneva, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Pristina, Pula, Split, Ostersund
  • Swiss International Air Lines: Geneva
  • Vueling: Barcelona

Common Planes

Airbus

A300, (A310), A319, A320, A321, A330 (Seasonal charter)

Boeing

737-600, 737-700, 737-800, 737-900, 747-400F, 757-200F

Embraer

ERJ-145, E170, E175, E190, E195

Bombardier

CRJ-200, CRJ-700, CRJ-900

Fokker

F50

Facilities and Transportation