[SPOTTINGREPORT][ TRS / LIPQ ] Trieste April 2017

Trieste TRS / LIPQ airport

Trieste TRS / LIPQ airport

On April 29th 2017 I spotted at Trieste airport [ TRS / LIPQ ] before the Grado Airshow Training 2017.

Airport Trieste [ TRS / LIPQ ]

The Aeroporto di Trieste-Ronchi dei Legionari or, like it is also called, Aeroporto Friuli Venezia Giulia is the main airport in the Italian region Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia.
The official name is Aeroporto Friuli – Venezia Giulia Trieste – Ronchi dei Legionari “Pietro Savorgnan di Brazzà”.

The airport is located 33km northwest from Trieste. It can be reached by car or by some regional bus lines. The establishment of a railway connection at the airport is planned in the next few years.
Passengers of the airport come from the local region, Slovenia, Croatia and even from Carinthia in Austria. This is the reason why the airport uses the slogan “No-borders Airport”.
There is one concrete runway (09/27) with a length of 3000m.

Traffic

There was very little traffic in April during my visit. Probably there is more traffic in summer because of the charter flights.
In 2015 the annual traffic rate was approximately 740.000 passengers.

Spotting

In this category I only describe the used spotting locations. You will find no secondhand information here.

Point 1

This point can be easily reached from the terminal. It is located at the end of the rental car and cargo parking area.

You can take pictures of the aircrafts standing at the left side of the apron and also pictures of taxiing traffic. But there is a lot of heat-haze if you take pictures of aircrafts which are far away.
The only way to take pictures here is between the wall and the fence or through the fence, but it is very thick in this area.

For pictures of taxiing aircrafts you need a lens with approximately 250mm focal length (A320). For apron pictures you need between 100mm and 600mm focal length depending on the parking position and the aircraft type. At this part of the apron you can see a lot of business jets. The closeup of the A320 was taken with a focal length of 600mm.

Point 2

There is a pedestrian way along the main street until you reach the edge of the fence. There you can go further, between some trees and the fence. The way is not very good but you can get a new perspective and a better view of the apron there.

However, the only way to take pictures there is through the fence. Therefore, you will need a lens with at least 250mm. You can take pictures of parked aircrafts and of taxiing aircrafts.

Point 3

It is a long way to this point, because it is not possible to walk along the fence as usual. You have to go along the streets. So I would highly recommend to go there by car.
The street to this point ends at a crash gate, but it is very high so you need at least a ladder with five oder six steps. My ladder with three steps was not enough, so I was not able to take a picture at this point.

Point 4

The way to this point is also very long, so better use a car. The fence at this point is also very high and thick. So it is not possible to take pictures there without a high ladder with five or six steps.
I was not able to take a good picture there except one of the parked MD-82 at the other side of the airport.

In the background you can see the alps. So if the weather is nice, you have a great chance to take a really good picture here.

Point 5

Point 5 is located at the end of the runway. Here it should be possible to take frontal pictures or pictures during final approach. The fence is also not as thick as at Point 3 and 4, so you can take pictures through it.

You can park your car directly on the street or at the near graveyard.

Due to little traffic I just visited this position but did not take a picture.

 

Summary

I cannot really recommend a visit at Trieste airport for spotting. The airport is not ‘spotter-friendly’, but If you are lucky and the weather is nice the background is really great.
When I am in the region again, I will try it again. If I find new points then, I will update this report.

PROs
  • beautiful background if you have perfect weather (mountains)
  • spotting points are easy to reach by car
CONs
  • few traffic
  • high fences
  • thick fences
  • a lot of heat-haze in the summer
  • if you have no car, the spotting points are hard to reach

This spotting report states my opinion about the mentioned airport. If you have comments or feedback, please use the comment function below.

Text & Pictures: Kurt Trattner

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