Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport BKK May 2024

[VH3D]

Hi

Before ending vacations in Thailand it's customary to spend at least day or two spotting at BKK airport
My 'to go' hotel for spotting for the past few years is Miracle Suvarnabhumi Hotel. Decent hotel, about $50 a night and the most important thing is that it doesn't matter which runway they use, you will always get either departures or arrivals.
On day one, we've checked in around 2pm and I went straight to the rooftop pool area. Nobody was there for most of the time as the temperatures were around +46C / 115F It was definitely the hottest ever for me in Thailand. One reg spotter from England popped in and kept me company for about 30 minutes, then he went back to his room and did his 'reading' from the window and with help of SBS box.
The heat haze was a problem only for ground shots, and also only till about 4pm. After that the ground shots were also clear.
I was using my 70-300mm lens. I would recommend something bigger if you are after ATRs or C208s.
Between 2pm and 6pm I've shot around 70+ departures, skipping most Thai Airways, Bangkok Air, Thai VietJet or AirAsia birds.

Bangkok BKK May 3 2024

Entire set with all photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBs4Vt


Spotting location at the Miracle hotel





















































More to come.

[LifelinerOne]

Very nice again and thanks for the explanation of the location you've spotted from.

Looking forward to the rest.

Cheers!

[TommyW]

Jealousy crawls towards me, such a nice set.
Thank You for posting
Regards
Tommy

[VH3D]

Thanks Guys.

On the second day I took taxi from the hotel to the nearby aviation school. Since my last visit to BKK year earlier the school have either open or acquired the instructional airframes. Quick 15 minutes taxi ride and I was at the gate. There is a security guard, you have to tell him that you are there to take pictures of the aircraft in the parking lot and not planning on going inside of the school building. There was absolutely no problem with getting permission to go inside of the campus to take pictures. You should translate the explanation to Thai and have it handy on your phone as the guards don't speak a word of English. And when you go there in taxi, ask the driver to wait for you as this place is kind of in the middle of nowhere. About 2km walk to the nearest main road where you can catch Grab or taxi.
Address: Bangkok KMITL International Academy of Aviation Industry
1 Thanon Chalong Krung, Lam Prathew, Lat Krabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailand

Royal Thai Police Short 330 was the gem I was after.







That was first in my collection. Malaysian registered Cessna 172



Also, when you are in the area, you can go to the Cafe 747 on Lat Krabang and get some shots of ex Orient Thai / United Airlines B744


(Shot from my year ago visit)

[VH3D]

My second and last afternoon at BKK started around 2pm. Sky was hazy comparing to the previous day but it got better with the day.

BKK May 4 2024

Entire set: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBsHgs