Rio de Janeiro-Galeão/Antônio Carlos Jobim Intl

1Terminal 1 - air café

In the blue (azul) sector of the third floor (andar no.3) of Terminal 1, the Air Café is situated. This offers good views of the ramp and taxi traffic and has the advantage of catering being present as well. Light is favourable from late morning, however you have to take your pictures through a thick and often stained glass surface.

2Terminal 1 - red sector

The red (vermelha) sector is on the same floor as the Air Café but more to the north, so it offers better light conditions in the morning hours. Moreover, apart from the taxiing aircraft, shots are possible of aircraft touching down on runway 15. You will need a long lens though, 300mm (analogue) at least

3Terminal 1 - 2 walkway

Walking from terminal 1 to 2 will offer good views of the domestic air traffic going to and from terminal 2. Aircraft that are pushed back from there or taxi along the ramp, can be 'graphed. You can do this from the green (verde) sector of terminal 1 and from the walk way itself.

4PAMA-GL

Exit terminal 2 on foot and head south east. You will be able to take a road along the south east side of terminal 2 and to PAMA-GL, running parallel the main access road. From here aircraft parked outside on the north side of the maintenance centre can be seen. Also, their northernmost ramp, used for storage mostly, can be seen. There is also a run up near the parking lot, sometimes an A-1 can be found in that area. Lastly, you will find the preserved C-91 (BAe748) here.

5Threshold of runway 33

Continue south east until you reach the main road again, go south west. You can walk all along the perimeter wall. At the FAB gate you can see part of the FAB ramp. Walking further you can watch the aircraft approaching runway 33. This is a difficult spot, there are many obstacles, there is that wall, and the road is very busy as well. For the daredevils among us, walk along the main road upward towards the bridge and climb the ridge along that road. You can now look over the wall and make some aircraft parked outside in the FAB area. However, spot 6 is more advisable...

6South west ramp view

After passing the threshold, follow the road down and go right. You pass the small military terminal. Sometimes a FAB transport is parked here for a short while to let passengers board. You can enter the terminal building and look through its ramp side windows for that. Further down the road, the build-up area stops. There is an open space and from the green patches south west of the main road, you can rest your bins against a tree and pole off the aircraft on the other side of the runway in front of the FAB hangars. You will need strong magnification and favourable light conditions, late afternoon would be best.

7Threshold runway 10 and 15

On the north side of the terminal the road goes underneath the taxiways and there is a small area between the thresholds of runway 10 and 15. You are now south of the rwy10 approach and east of the rwy15 approach. We do not know whether this spot is accessible to the general public, but especially the northern bay side offers great viewing of aircraft coming in at runway 10.

8North western taxi way view

In the south east of the aforementioned area, you can watch the aircraft taxiing to and from runway 10/28 from very close by. Also, the aircraft leaving the ramp for this taxi way come straight at you.

9South side ramp and taxiway view 10/28

By taking Tv. da Estrada Grande towards the big Varig complex, you can get to about the halfway point of runway 10/28 and its two parallel taxi ways that run south of that. At some spots you can watch the activities on and along runway 10/28. The undergrowth prevents clear shots though. At the entrance of the VARIG maintenance area a preserved C-47 can be found.

10East side approach runway 28

Unfortunately, the Varig complex blocks the opportunity to go around the base from spot 9, so you have to track back all the way to the Etrada do Galeão. Go left and left again at Avenida das Canarias. At the fork in the road go right onto Av.Bras. Crispin. This road does run conveniently to the north east. Nearing the residential area the road will bend right and become Avenida Chargas Freitas, make a left onto Avenida Um. Go into the barren land right of the road and watch the aircraft coming in over the bay.

11South east side approach 28

There is an alternative location from spot 10, a bit further from the airfield. Instead of taking Um, take Chargas Freitas and go left on the first occasion. Drive all the way to the waterfront and go left until you can not go any further. Again, you will be on the seaside and can watch the aircraft approaching runway 28. The aircraft are still rather high here, but you can go south east a bit and use a long lens to bridge the additional distance.

12North side view 10/28

Follow Av. Um north, pass the threshold and go all the way around until you come up to a residential area again. Take the sand path to your left before entering the built-up area. This road is named 93 and leads back south to the airport perimeter towards some buildings, probably the fire brigade, and a heli spot. From here you have a view of runway 10/28. Alternatively, take the first very small sand path left after entering Road 93. This will bend back to the threshold of runway 28 again. Also, there is a piece of scrub land. But you will suffer from back light on the south side, obviously.