ATR 72-600

Updated: October 2026 – An aircraft rolls up that at first glance looks almost too small for the apron: wings on top, a tail like a T, two propellers with six blades each, and the fuselage hangs so low that the ground crew can comfortably reach into the cargo hold. That is very likely an ATR 72, and if it was built after 2011, an ATR 72-600. Here you will learn how to tell it from the ATR 42 and Dash 8-400, why the variant remains a puzzle from the outside and where you can reliably get it in front of your lens in Europe.

What is the ATR 72-600?

The ATR 72-600 is a twin-engine regional turboprop with up to 78 seats. It is built by ATR, a joint venture of Airbus and the Italian group Leonardo based in Toulouse. The ATR 72 itself has existed since the late 1980s; the -600 series is its latest major modernization to date.

ATR announced the -600 program in October 2007. Flight testing began in summer 2009 with a prototype converted from an ATR 72-500. In May 2011 the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, granted certification, and on August 19, 2011, ATR handed over the first two production aircraft to Royal Air Maroc in Toulouse. Formally the aircraft is still called the ATR 72-212A – “-600” is the marketing name of the modernized version.

What is new compared with the -500? Above all the glass cockpit with five wide LCD screens, developed with Thales, along with a new flight management system, autopilot and warning system. Added to that are Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M engines with 2,750 hp of takeoff power each and a boost function that releases around five percent extra power on takeoff. In the cabin, ATR installed lighter seats and larger overhead bins together with the design studio Giugiaro. Since the early 2020s, ATR has also offered the more fuel-efficient PW127XT engine.

The short takeoff and landing distance is one of the reasons for its success: according to ATR, the aircraft needs a good 1,300 meters for takeoff and around 900 meters for landing at full load. That lets it serve island airports and small regional fields that are too short or too expensive for jets. On short routes it is also more fuel-efficient than a regional jet – ATR quotes around 69 grams of CO₂ per seat and kilometer.

The three features that are enough to identify it

To beginners, turboprops often all look the same. For the ATR 72, three observations help you that already work from a greater distance.

With that, you have narrowed down the ATR 72 of the newer generation with confidence. Whether it is a -500 or a -600, however, the outer skin doesn’t tell you: cockpit and cabin are invisible from the outside, and the engine nacelles look the same, too. Only the registration or the type code in the tracking service helps here. How registrations are built is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

The ATR family at a glance

ATR builds two fuselage lengths, the ATR 42 and the ATR 72. Over the decades, both have gone through several series that you keep apart by the ICAO codes.

Model	ICAO code	Propeller blades	Remark
ATR 72-201/-202	AT72	4	First series of the ATR 72
ATR 72-211/-212	AT73	4	More powerful engines
ATR 72-500	AT75	6	First version with six-blade propellers
ATR 72-600	AT76	6	Glass cockpit, PW127M/XT
ATR 42-600	AT46	6	Short sister, around 4.5 m less in length

In practice that means: four propeller blades rule out the -600 right away. With six blades and a long fuselage, the choice remains between the -500 and -600, and you decide that via the code. You recognize the ATR 42-600 by the clearly shorter fuselage: it has visibly fewer windows between the cockpit and the wing, and the proportions look compact.

ATR 72, Dash 8-400 or ATR 42?

The most common mix-up in European regional traffic is with the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400. Both are high-wing aircraft with a T-tail and six-blade propellers. The finder helps you narrow it down.

A second look at the nose is worthwhile, too: the Dash 8-400 has a long, tapering front, the ATR a shorter, rounder one. And while the Dash 8 is faster, the ATR scores with lower fuel consumption – which is why airlines often deploy the two types on different route profiles.

The ATR 72-600F: freighter for FedEx

A special feature of the -600 generation is the factory-built freighter ATR 72-600F. The launch customer was FedEx Express, which placed a firm order for 30 aircraft in November 2017. The first flight followed in September 2020, and the first aircraft entered service in December 2020 – flown by ASL Airlines Ireland for FedEx in Europe.

Externally the 600F stands out through its windowless fuselage and the large cargo door at the front. Inside, ATR reinforced the floor so that seven LD3 cargo containers fit in. For spotters it is mainly interesting on night mail and express routes – the flights are often at off-peak times, which is a challenge for photography. You will find tips for such situations in the article Photographing aircraft at night.

Where you can find the ATR 72-600

In German-speaking countries, the ATR 72-600 is a rare visitor. Neither Lufthansa nor Swiss nor Austrian Airlines currently operates ATR turboprops in its own fleet. Denmark’s Danish Air Transport, which flies some ATR 72-600s alongside Airbus jets and older ATRs, does, however, list German airports such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg among its destinations – which type comes there each time, only a look at tracking will show you. Add to that charter, cargo and ferry flights. Anyone who catches an ATR 72-600 in Germany can count it as a small stroke of luck – a reason to use sighting alerts. You will find more on the search for rarities in the guide Spotting rare aircraft.

The picture is quite different in the west, south and north of Europe. As of October 2026, these operators are especially relevant:

Region	Operator	Where to go
Ireland	Emerald Airlines as Aer Lingus Regional	Dublin Airport, Belfast City
Great Britain	Loganair, Emerald Airlines	Scottish airports, Belfast City, other regional airports
Canary Islands	Binter Canarias	All Canary Islands, such as Lanzarote and Gran Canaria
Spain	Air Nostrum as Iberia Regional	Madrid-Barajas and regional airports
Greece	Olympic Air for Aegean	Athens and Greek island airports
Denmark	Danish Air Transport	Copenhagen and regional destinations

Binter Canarias is a prime example: according to a 2025 fleet overview, a large part of its fleet there is the ATR 72-600, and the aircraft shuttle between the islands all day. At the spot Playa Honda on Lanzarote, that gives you good chances of several ATRs in one afternoon. In Great Britain, the Runway Visitor Park in Manchester can also be worth a try – but check in tracking beforehand whether ATR turboprops of British or Irish regional airlines are operating there at the moment. In Copenhagen, the Flyvergrillen is a good fit.

Worldwide, the ATR 72-600 is widespread: large fleets fly in Indonesia, India, Brazil and New Zealand, among other places. If you go on vacation, you therefore have good chances of seeing a whole row of them at a regional airport.

Spotting in practice: what is different with turboprops

An ATR behaves differently at an airport than a jet – and that affects your planning.

Short runways, early liftoff. Because the ATR needs little takeoff roll, it often lifts off well before the runway end. If you stand at the runway end hoping for a low flyover, you sometimes see it there already at considerable altitude. On landings it is the other way around: the ATR touches down early and slows quickly, often turning off at the first exit. A vantage point to the side of the runway in the front third usually brings you the better pictures.

Handling at a remote stand. At large airports, regional turboprops often park on remote stands, and passengers walk or take a bus to the aircraft. From observation decks you therefore don’t always see the ATR well. Plan the spot by runway direction in use rather than by terminal – how that works is explained in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport.

Hotel mode. On the ground, the ATR’s right engine often runs while a brake holds the propeller. That way the aircraft supplies itself with power and air conditioning. A stationary propeller therefore doesn’t mean everything is off – keep to the barriers.

Whether your vantage point is legally unproblematic is answered by the article Is plane spotting allowed?.

Photo tips especially for the ATR 72-600

With turboprops, one detail decides between hit and miss: the propellers. With too short an exposure time you freeze them, and the aircraft looks as if it were gliding.

When the light is right at your spot, you can calculate in advance; how that works is explained in Planning the sun position for your photo spot. If you are just starting to identify types, the guide Identifying aircraft types for beginners will get you on course quickly.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The ATR 72-600 is the turboprop you are most likely to meet on islands and at regional airports in Europe – and one you will hardly mix up any more after the first conscious look. High wing, T-tail, six propeller blades and the low-slung fuselage give you the type, the length sets it apart from the ATR 42, the landing gear from the Dash 8. Only for the exact series do you need type code or registration. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it remains a small rarity; in Ireland, Great Britain, Spain, Greece and on the Canary Islands it is part of everyday life.