Plane spotting at Copenhagen Kastrup: spots beyond the Flyvergrillen

A red Air Greenland aircraft taxis along the taxiway after landing, on the runway behind it an SAS A320neo accelerates toward the southwest, and next to you a burger sizzles on the grill. Plane spotting in Copenhagen is closely tied to a single place: the Flyvergrillen at the end of Amager Landevej. But Kastrup has two parallel runways, a crosswind runway and light that swings from one side to the other over the course of the day. If you combine the grill with the spots around it, you turn a nice afternoon into a full spotting day. This guide shows you how.

Kastrup in brief: the gateway to Scandinavia

Copenhagen Airport (IATA CPH, ICAO EKCH) is on the island of Amager, about eight kilometers south of the city center, mostly in the municipality of Tårnby. It opened in 1925 and is now the largest airport in the Nordic countries. According to the operator, Kastrup reached around 32.4 million passengers in 2025 – more than in the previous record year 2018.

The most important user is SAS, for which Copenhagen is the largest of its three hubs. Since September 2024, the airline has belonged to SkyTeam. Low-cost bases, Nordic regional traffic and a decent portion of long haul join in. To our knowledge, the airport does not operate a public observation deck – spotting happens at the fence.

Runways and runway direction in use

Kastrup has two parallel runways running northeast–southwest: 04L/22R at 3,600 meters on the west side and 04R/22L at 3,300 meters farther east, closer to the terminals and the Øresund. Crossing them is 12/30 at 2,800 meters, which is used only rarely.

According to spotter guides, the parallel runways usually have fixed roles. With operations on 22, most aircraft land on 22L and take off from 22R. With operations on 04, it is the other way around: landings are mainly on 04L, takeoffs on 04R. That is a rule of thumb – depending on traffic, air traffic control deviates from it.

Situation	What happens	Best spot
Operations on 22	landings on 22L, takeoffs on 22R	P17/P15 for landings, Flyvergrillen for takeoffs
Operations on 04	landings on 04L, takeoffs on 04R	Tømmerupvej for approaches, Flyvergrillen for taxiing traffic, Store Magleby for takeoffs
Crosswind runway 12/30 active	little traffic on the parallel runways	take a break or check the schedule

How do you tell the direction? If approaches come from the northeast over the water, operations are on 22. If they come from the southwest over the fields near Tømmerup, 04 is active. How to assess this in advance is explained in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport and Flight tracking via ADS-B for spotters. For planning the evening before, Reading METAR and TAF and Windy and other weather maps help.

The Flyvergrillen: spotting with a burger

At the end of Amager Landevej, a grill bar has stood right at the airport fence since 1972. According to a Danish reference work, it began as a small ice cream kiosk that the airport initially took action against for safety reasons. The kiosk stayed, and so did the spotters – and because they often waited for hours, it grew into a grill bar. Today other operators run the business, but its character as a meeting point for the scene has remained.

From the wooden platform and the terrace, you look over the fence without a ladder at 04L/22R and the taxiway in front of it. What you see depends on the direction:

• Operations on 22: Takeoffs on 22R right in front of you – that is the grill’s star discipline. Landings on 22L come in behind, but far away and, on warm days, with strong heat haze.
• Operations on 04: Landings on 04L, which then taxi very close past the fence. Late in the evening, takeoffs from 04R are also worthwhile.

The light works from late morning into the evening, because you look east. With a telephoto zoom up to about 300 millimeters, you cover almost everything, and for taxiing traffic during operations on 04 shorter focal lengths are enough. Food, drinks, benches and a toilet are on site, with parking right at the grill. We deliberately don’t give opening hours – check them before your visit. Everything else is in the spot guide Flyvergrillen at Copenhagen Airport.

The spots beyond the Flyvergrillen

The grill mainly covers the western parallel runway and the afternoon. For everything else, you need a second or third location.

P17 and P15: landings on 22L

On the north side of the airport, the long-term parking lots P17 and P15 lie under the final approach to 22L. With operations on 22, you get exactly the landings from short distance here that you only see far away from the grill. According to the spotter guide, P17 works from morning into early afternoon, P15 more in the evening. The focal lengths needed are moderate; for an A320, about 120 millimeters is enough there. You get there with the free yellow parking lot shuttle from Terminals 2 and 3, by rental bike, or in about half an hour on foot. There are no toilets.

Tømmerupvej near Ullerup: under the approach to 04L

Southwest of the airport, Tømmerupvej runs through the village of Ullerup under the final approach to 04L. With operations on 04, landings come in low here, morning and evening. There is hardly any parking space, and residents are sensitive: spotters report trouble with property owners and police. Stay close to the road, don’t park on private property and greet people politely. The bus runs here only every one to two hours, so a car or bike is more practical.

Store Magleby: takeoffs from 04R

On the south side, near Store Magleby, a path leads to the fence of 04R/22L. From sunrise until midday you see takeoffs from 04R here, and in late morning also the line-up. The fence is about 2.2 meters high, and a step with one or two rungs helps. Driving right up to the spot by car is not allowed – take the bus to Store Magleby and walk the last stretch. In summer, the air shimmers strongly around midday.

Dortheasmindevej: heavy takeoffs in the morning

Not far from Tømmerupvej lies Dortheasmindevej. According to the spotter guide, from sunrise to midday you see takeoffs from 22R there – with some luck also Air Greenland’s morning departure. There is no infrastructure.

Light and planning your day

Because the runways run diagonally from southwest to northeast, the good light changes sides over the course of the day. A clear sequence follows from this:

Time of day	Operations on 22	Operations on 04
Morning to midday	P17 for landings, Dortheasmindevej for takeoffs	Tømmerupvej for landings, Store Magleby for takeoffs
Midday to afternoon	Flyvergrillen, takeoffs on 22R	Flyvergrillen, landings and taxiing traffic on 04L
Evening	P15 for landings or grill	grill with takeoffs from 04R, Tømmerupvej

The biggest photographic problem at Kastrup is heat haze. Between the grill and the eastern parallel runway lie two wide expanses of asphalt over which the air shimmers on warm days. During the day, concentrate on the nearby traffic and save the distance for the evening. Tips are in Avoiding heat haze, and planning the sun position is covered in Planning the sun position at a photo spot.

According to the spotter guide, the months from May to September are the most rewarding: more sunny days and long evenings when the light at the grill lasts late. In winter the day is short – then midday is especially worthwhile.

What flies in Copenhagen

SAS in three country codes

SAS shapes the picture with A320-family jets like the Airbus A320neo, plus regional jets like the Bombardier CRJ900 and turboprops, some of which are flown by partners. On long haul, the Airbus A350-900 and the A330-300 are used. Exciting for collectors: SAS aircraft carry registrations from Denmark (OY-), Sweden (SE-) and Norway (LN-). What is behind that is explained in Country codes of aircraft, and how to tell the A320 and A320neo apart reliably is shown in A320neo or ceo?.

Low-cost and network airlines

Norwegian and Ryanair have aircraft based in Copenhagen, so you often see the Boeing 737-800 and its MAX successors. The big European network airlines like Lufthansa, KLM and Finnair fly in from their hubs.

The far north: Greenland and the Faroe Islands

The scene’s favorite subject is Air Greenland: its red widebody jet, an Airbus A330-800, stands out immediately among the many white fuselages. Spotters mention a daily departure in the morning – check the current time in the schedule. Atlantic Airways comes from the Faroe Islands, and Widerøe with turboprops from Norway. Types like the ATR 72-600 are an everyday sight at Kastrup; how to tell them from the Dash 8 is in Telling turboprops apart.

Long haul and cargo

From the Gulf come Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, from Asia Singapore Airlines, and from North America Air Canada and seasonally Delta Air Lines. Emirates brought the first scheduled Airbus A380 to Copenhagen in December 2015. Which type flies today changes with every schedule. Cargo you see, among others, from FedEx Express.

Getting there and equipment

Getting to the airport is easy: Metro line M2 stops at Lufthavnen station at Terminal 3, and in the station below, Øresund trains from Copenhagen and across the Øresund Bridge from Malmö also stop. From the terminal on, it gets harder, because the spots are far apart:

• Bus 35 runs toward Tømmerup and to near the grill, but not frequently.
• The parking lot shuttle takes you to P17 and P15 for free.
• Rental bikes are an inexpensive option, and the bike path network on Amager is flat and well developed.
• With a car, you are most flexible, especially if you want to cover Ullerup, Store Magleby and the grill in one day.

Check lines and frequencies in advance in the Danish journey planner Rejseplanen. Apart from the grill, none of the spots has toilets or refreshments – stock up beforehand at gas stations or in the supermarket. Pack:

• a telephoto zoom up to about 300 millimeters, more for Store Magleby and the cargo positions
• a small step for Store Magleby
• wind and rain protection, because on Amager there is almost always a breeze
• an ID for possible checks

More on focal length is in Lens and focal length for plane spotting, and the complete packing list in the equipment checklist. How to prepare a trip abroad is shown in Planning a spotting trip.

Copenhagen as part of a tour

For spotters from northern Germany, Kastrup is an obvious destination. If you drive via Hamburg, make a stop at the Affenfelsen; more in the spotting guide for Hamburg. In Denmark itself, Billund Airport in Jutland is worthwhile, and vintage fans head to the Danmarks Flymuseum in Stauning. Farther north await Stockholm-Arlanda with its official spotter spots and Oslo. Similar in structure to Kastrup – hub of a SkyTeam airline in flat country – is Schiphol; see Plane spotting in Amsterdam. The best spotting locations in Europe collects more destinations.

Conclusion

Copenhagen rewards spotters who divide the day by wind and sun. In the morning you stand on the north, south or southwest side – at P17 under the approach to 22L, at Tømmerupvej under 04L, or near Store Magleby at 04R. Around midday you move to the Flyvergrillen and photograph SAS in three country codes, low-cost jets, Nordic turboprops and long haul from the Gulf there with the sun behind you. If you show consideration for residents, carry an ID and keep an eye on the crosswind runway, you go home with a full logbook.