The thrills of being a plane spotter in Hong Kong, why Japanese airports offer good vantage points, and why the Covid-19 pandemic was a bonanza for enthusiasts
- Aircraft spotting is mostly about getting the best photographs of take-offs and landings, and plane enthusiasts reveal where they go around Hong Kong airport
- They also describe their biggest thrills, from spotting rare planes – the Covid-19 pandemic was great for that – to recording ones painted in special liveries
“I love the smell of jet fuel and the sound of those powerful jet engines,” says Hong Kong plane spotter Deepu Gurung.
Like train spotters before them, plane spotters observe and track their chosen vehicles. The term can be traced back to the Second World War, when civilians were encouraged to scan the skies to look for enemy bombers.
Gurung is one of a number of plane spotters who can be found with their eyes and cameras trained on Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok, Lantau Island.
Especially exciting for a plane spotter is the arrival of a rare aircraft. Gurung is most proud of having spotted Floyd Mayweather’s private jet – the American boxer visited the city in 2019 – and a Boeing 767-400ER VVIP belonging to the Bahrain royal family.
“A lot of airlines that had never flown into Hong Kong or didn’t operate a regularly scheduled service here were visiting – rare cargo aircraft like the Boeing Dreamlifter and the Antonov cargoes,” says Gurung.
