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This airport is not very aviation enthusiast-friendly. Several people have reported being hassled by police and airport authorities for taking pictures. The best place to watch planes was the old residential area near Airways Blvd. and Shelby Dr. Several years ago the City purchased all of the homes on the streets in the shaded box on the map because of noise complaints about FedEx’s heavy jets operating at night. The homes were removed and the vacant land was a great place to watch planes takeoff and land. The airport then installed “no parking” signs everywhere, along with aggressive enforcement, because apparently airport management does not like airplane enthusiasts.
Another area which gives a very close view of the aircraft is along Louis Caruthers Dr. (see map). This road leads from Shelby Dr. to the Airport Postal Facility and some warehouses. If aircraft are taxiing to runway 36L they will pass very close to this road. I was able to shoot some great pictures from here and a representative from the Airport says photos are allowed from public access roads, and this appears to be a public access road. Photographing traffic on the west runway from this road would be best in the morning.
Another area that photographers have had success with recently is the parking garage (see map). There is a limited view of the center runway but the airport authority seems to be ok with people watching from there. Both this and the off-airport Airways Blvd. areas would be best photographed in the afternoon.
Delta is the largest operator for passenger traffic here. The traffic is mostly regional jets but also includes A320 and MD80 types, as well as FedEx’s DC10 and MD11 jets. However, since this is a hub airport most of the operations occur within short time periods except on weekends. Most FedEx departures are at night but many arrivals are in the late afternoon. Only one regularly scheduled European flight operates at MEM: a Delta 767 to Amsterdam which arrives in the late afternoon. Delta is planning to make further cuts to MEM’s capacity so in the coming years the number of regular mainline jets will decrease.
Click for photos from Airways Blvd.
Click for photos from Louis Caruthers Dr.