Aircraft spotting, or planespotting, is a hobby consisting of observing and tracking aircraft, which is usually accomplished by photography or videography. Besides monitoring aircraft, planespotting enthusiasts also record information regarding airports, air traffic control communications, airline routes, and more.
Heathrow Airport, called London Airport until 1966, is the main international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system. The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, owned mostly by Qatar Investment Authority, Public Investment Fund and CDPQ. In 2023, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe, the fourth-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and the second-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic. As of 2023, Heathrow is the airport with the most international connections in the world.
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company to Richard Branson in return for unlimited free travel. The maiden flight from London–Gatwick to Newark took place on 22 June 1984.
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2022, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers and the 19th busiest airport in Europe in 2023, with 28.1 million passengers served.
Orlando Sanford International Airport is in Sanford, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It was built as Naval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, and was used by the U.S. Navy until 1969. The airport is owned and operated by the Sanford Airport Authority. It serves as an operating base for Allegiant Air.
On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet on an international charter flight from Paris to New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. It was the only fatal Concorde accident during its 27-year operational history.
Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to sell them in order to break up a monopoly. It was formed by the privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher's moves to privatise government-owned assets, and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Royal Air Force Northolt or more simply RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately 6 mi (10 km) north of Heathrow Airport. As London VIP Airport, the station handles many private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights.
Hatton Cross is a combined London Underground station and bus station. It is located on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line. It is in Travelcard Zones 5 and 6 and stands between the Great South West Road (A30) and the Heathrow Airport Southern Perimeter Road. The station serves a large area including Feltham to the south and Bedfont to the west. The station was named after the crossroads of the Great South West Road and Hatton Road.
Inbound aircraft to London Heathrow Airport typically follow one of a number of Standard Arrival Routes (STARs). The STARs each terminate at one of four different RNAV waypoints, and these also define four "stacks" where aircraft can be held, if necessary, until they are cleared to begin their approach to land. Stacks are sections of airspace where inbound aircraft will normally use the pattern closest to their arrival route. They can be visualised as an invisible helix in the sky. Each stack descends in 1,000 feet (305 m) intervals from 16,000 feet (4,877 m) down to 8,000 feet (2,438 m). If these holds become full, aircraft are held at more distant points before being cleared onward to one of the four main holds.
Hatton including Hatton Cross is a small settlement and locality in the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, on the south-eastern edge of London Heathrow Airport and straddling the A30 road. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Middlesex.
Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 159 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from New York City to Los Angeles, California, with a stopover in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Kentucky, that crashed after an aborted takeoff from Cincinnati on November 6, 1967. The Boeing 707 attempted to abort takeoff when the copilot became concerned that the aircraft had collided with a disabled DC-9 on the runway. The aircraft overran the runway, struck an embankment and caught fire. One passenger died as a result of the accident.
British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, to London Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, an 8,100-kilometre trip. On 17 January 2008, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft operating the flight crashed just short of the runway while landing at Heathrow. No fatalities occurred; of the 152 people on board, 47 sustained injuries, one serious. It was the first time in the aircraft type's history that a Boeing 777 was declared a hull loss, and subsequently written off.
BOAC Flight 712 was a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) service operated by a Boeing 707-465 from London Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Zurich and Singapore. On Monday 8 April 1968, it suffered an engine failure on takeoff that quickly led to a major fire; the engine detached from the aircraft in flight. After the aircraft had made a successful emergency landing, confusion over checklists and distractions from the presence of a check pilot contributed to the deaths of five of the 127 on board. The direct cause of the fire was the failure of a compressor wheel, due to metal fatigue.
The expansion of Heathrow Airport is a series of proposals to add to the runways at London's busiest airport beyond its two long runways which are intensively used to serve four terminals and a large cargo operation. The plans are those presented by Heathrow Airport Holdings and an independent proposal by Heathrow Hub with the main object of increasing capacity.
In its early years what is now Heathrow Airport was the Great West Aerodrome, sometimes known as Heathrow Aerodrome.
The metropolitan area of London, England, United Kingdom, is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Together, these airports constitute the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers and the second-busiest by aircraft movements. In 2018, the six airports handled a total of 177,054,819 passengers. The London airports handle over 60% of all the UK's air traffic. The airports serve a total of 14 domestic destinations and 396 international destinations.
Turkish Airlines Flight 1878 was an international passenger flight from Milan–Malpensa Airport, Italy to Atatürk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey. On 25 April 2015, the aircraft rolled sharply just before landing, causing a very hard touchdown resulting in substantial damage to the starboard wing and a fire. A go-around was initiated, and the aircraft positioned for a second approach attempt but veered off the runway on the second landing. All 102 passengers and crew survived unharmed.
The Queens Building was an office building at London Heathrow Airport next to Heathrow Terminal 2. It was opened in 1955 by Queen Elizabeth II and was demolished in 2009 to make room for a rebuilt Terminal 2. It was the location of the operational offices of BAA until demolition.
Virgin Atlantic Flight 024 was a regularly scheduled Virgin Atlantic passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to London, United Kingdom. On 5 November 1997, the Airbus A340 was forced to make an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport after the left main landing gear failed to deploy. During the crash landing, the aircraft was damaged and later repaired. Of the 114 passengers and crew aboard, 7 were lightly injured.
