This page is going to cover both of the major airports in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Love Field is the original Dallas airport, located about 16 miles east of DFW in the heart of Dallas. The best locations for planespotting are the roofs of the three parking garages. From the “A” garage roof 4 floors up you’ll be facing west, looking at runway 13R/31L which is the longest and most often used runway. If you follow the signs on Herb Kelleher Way for the “C” garage, from the roof level you will be facing the opposite direction with a view of runway 31R/13L. This runway is used frequently for departures and gets most of the business jet traffic since the FBOs are on the east side of this runway. Great photos are east to capture in the afternoon from the “C” garage and in the morning from the “A” or “B” garages without a long zoom lens. There are other locations in the Bachman Lake Park (see map) that offer a view of aircraft approaching runways 13L & 13R.
There isn’t a lot of traffic or variety to spot though. Love Field is home to Southwest Airlines and so most traffic here is of the 737 variety. There’s a continuous flow of traffic and the parking garage offers a good, closeup location for watching; photography is good in the morning due to the sun angle. You can also visit the Frontiers of Flight Museum, located on Lemmon Ave. on the southeast side of the airport (see map), which has 30 aircraft and other exhibits.
Interesting trivia: Love Field was named for Lt. Moss Lee Love, an Army aviator who was killed in a crash in 1913. The airport was originally an Army training base in World War I, officially designated Love Field in 1917.
Examples of Photos
Dallas – Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Click the map to go to Google Maps satellite view of this airport
The Dallas – Fort Worth Airport is such a massive place that it is a city in itself. There are 7 runways and sometimes 4 or 5 are active at a time! There is only one official viewing area called Founders’ Plaza, located at Airfield Drive and Texan Trail at the northwest corner of the airport. It is a new, clean, safe, and very popular place to watch air traffic. On a recent trip there, the parking lot was packed with airplane enthusiasts and families. There are picnic tables, telescopes, and even radio broadcasts of DFW tower frequencies. Founders’ Plaza is open from 7am to 7pm.
From the new Founders’ Plaza, you’ll have a nice close view of traffic landing on runway 18R or departing to the north on runway 36L as well as aircraft taxiing on the northernmost taxiway and the UPS ramp at the cargo facility. Most of the large aircraft use this runway. For photography this spot is great in the afternoon year round.
There are several other areas that yield excellent results for photos. For traffic landing on runway 36L drive around the west side of the airport on W. Airfield Drive (see map) and you will find a dirt turnoff near the south end. You won’t be able to see the runway from here but you’ll have a great view of planes approaching and you won’t need a long zoom lens. For morning photos you can go a little further south and turn left at Construction Rd. and this will take you across the centerline so you can face west.
When traffic is in a south flow and landing on the 36s and 35s most of the heavy international jets coming from the east will land on 35R except the British Airways A380 – they must land on 18R or 36L because the taxiway bridges from the east side cannot accommodate the A380. There is a good photo spot for 35R traffic but it is the parking lot of a warehouse so its not advisable to stay there for a long time. Take Airfield Drive around to the east side of the airport and turn right at Walnut Hill Rd. The warehouse is on the left. You only have to go one block to Valley View Ln and turn left; the entrance to their parking lot is right there. Photography will be best in the afternoon.
Conversely, when traffic is in a north flow aircraft coming from east of Dallas will tend to land on 17L (except the A380) but not every time. I have seen Turkish Airlines and some others go over to the west side and 18R, especially UPS and the Chinese cargo planes because their ramps are on the west side. But for 17L traffic your best photo spot is in the parking lot of the Townplace Suites Hotel on Plaza Drive. This is the street that has most of the airport area hotels. Take Airfield Drive around the north side or exit the Carpenter Freeway at Freeport and head south to Airfield Drive. Plaza Drive is about 1,000 feet east of Freeport under the light rail tracks bridge. From the hotel parking lot you may need a longer lens (up to 400mm) and there will be a couple of obstructions such as trees but you can achieve good photos from here in the afternoon. It is not advisable to park anywhere on Airfield Drive because its signed as No Parking and Airport Police patrol frequently.
Another decent spot is actually off the airport property, across the John Carpenter Freeway, in the parking lot of North Lake College. To get here you would exit the freeway at Freeport Lane and go north one block to Royal Lane. From here, turn left one block to E. 14th Street and left again to the parking lot. This will be on the east side of the approach path to runway 17C and you would be close enough to watch and photograph landing traffic. Photography here is best in the morning hours.
This is the home of American Airlines and with its regional affiliates make up most of the traffic, but the strong Texas economy has brought increased service from international airlines. Qatar operates from Doha with the Airbus A350 as does Air France and Finnair; you will also find Boeing 787s from Korean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Qantas as well as China Eastern, Eva, Japan Airlines, and others with the Boeing 777-300.
Examples of Photos
