The Mound at Dublin Airport

Updated: October 2026 – Ask a Dublin spotter about their favorite place, and the answer is usually short: The Mound. That means an earth mound next to a parking lot on the Old Airport Road, right at the airport’s southern fence. From here you look at the main runway 10R/28L, see landings on 28L and widebodies lining up for takeoff. Airport operator daa itself describes the site as an informal spotting place where families have been bringing their kids to watch aircraft for about 40 years.

For this site, the daa has since obtained approval for an official viewing facility. This page explains how the mound works today, what is known about the new Aircraft Observation Facility and where to go when wind or light don’t fit.

A mound on the south side of the main runway

Dublin Airport lies in the Fingal district north of the city, in the Collinstown area. It has three runways: the main runway 10R/28L at 2,637 meters, since August 2022 the parallel north runway 10L/28R at 3,110 meters, and the rarely used crosswind runway 16/34 at 2,072 meters. The north runway lies about 1.7 kilometers north of the main runway.

The Mound is on the Old Airport Road, which runs along the fence south of the main runway. In daa documents the road is also called Collinstown Avenue. So you stand on the south side of 10R/28L and look north across the runway. That is a stroke of luck for two reasons: the main runway is the backbone of operations in Dublin, and the sun is behind you over large parts of the day.

There is no official observation deck in Dublin like at many German airports. That is exactly why the mound has become so important: it is the one place where the scene meets, where families drop by on weekends and where, as a visitor from abroad, you find a good start without long research.

The daa’s new Aircraft Observation Facility

Since 2025 it has been clear that the mound will become more. The daa has received approval to build an official viewing facility on the Old Airport Road. In its documents it calls the project Aircraft Observation Facility; elsewhere it speaks of a viewing platform or viewing area. The daa refers to the existing place as the South Runway Viewing Area. The same place is meant: The Mound.

According to the daa, the facility includes:

• a raised, covered platform with seating
• its own parking lot for cars and bikes
• lighting powered by solar panels on the site
• free access – use is free of charge

The daa justifies the project by saying the site has been used informally for decades and a proper facility will make it safer and more pleasant. For spotters, the roof is especially interesting: so far there is nothing at the mound to stand under during an Irish shower.

How the approval went

Runway direction: when the Mound works

Aircraft take off and land into the wind. In Ireland it often comes from westerly directions, and then Dublin flies in direction 28. Landings come from the east, so from the Irish Sea, cross the approach lights on the Old Airport Road and touch down on 28L – right in front of you. In addition, departures taxi to the runway and line up for takeoff. Especially with long widebodies, these line-ups are a popular subject.

When both parallel runways are in use, air traffic control distributes takeoffs and landings across the two runways according to wind, traffic situation and noise abatement rules. According to spotter reports, with direction 28 traffic mostly lands on 28L, while many takeoffs go over the north runway 28R. For you at the Mound that means: many landings, plus line-ups and, depending on the distribution, takeoffs on the main runway.

If the wind shifts to the east, direction 10 applies. Then the landings come from the west, and the focus shifts. Less happens at the Mound then, and the spots at the north runway or at the access roads at the Blue Car Park become more interesting.

Situation	What you see at the Mound	Recommendation
West wind, direction 28	Landings on 28L, line-ups	Mound is the first choice
East wind, direction 10	fewer movements right in front of you	Check the access roads at the Blue Car Park or the north runway
Night (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.)	North runway closed, traffic only on the main runway	for night shots the main runway is the only option
Strong crosswind	occasional operations on 16/34	stay flexible, watch the flight tracker

Whether 28 or 10 is active is revealed by a quick look at a flight tracker. How to read it is explained in the article Flight tracking with ADS-B for spotters. The basics on runway numbers are under Runway designations at the airport, and the logic behind runway choice in the guide Understanding runway direction at the airport.

Light and photography

The Mound lies south of the main runway. You look north, and over the course of the day the sun moves behind you from east to west. According to spotter reports, the light fits from about 9:30 a.m. until late afternoon. In winter, when the sun is low in the south, you have good light almost all day.

In the early morning and on summer evenings it looks different. Then the sun is in the northeast or northwest and comes from the side or at an angle from the front. If you’re early, you therefore start at the 28L approach lights and move to the mound around 9:30 a.m.

With focal length you get far with a standard telephoto zoom. Spotters cite focal lengths of about 18 to 300 mm for the mound: short for overall views with mound and runway, long for landings on 28L. If you want registrations filling the frame, bring a bit more telephoto. Which lenses are worthwhile for which situation is in the article Lens and focal length for plane spotting.

You usually don’t need a ladder for narrowbody jets. With long widebodies lining up for takeoff, though, part of the fuselage easily disappears behind the fence. Spotters recommend a step with two to three treads for that. Important: set it up free-standing, never lean it against the fence. The rules are summarized in Ladder, step and tripod at the airport fence.

What you get to see at the Mound

Dublin is both a hub and a low-cost stronghold. That makes for dense traffic with a good mix of narrowbodies and widebodies.

• Aer Lingus: The Irish airline belongs to the International Airlines Group and uses Dublin as a hub between Europe and North America. Aer Lingus flies A320-family jets such as the Airbus A320, long-range versions of the Airbus A321neo and the widebody Airbus A330. The green shamrock on the tail is everywhere at the Mound.
• Ryanair: Ryanair is headquartered in Swords near the airport, and Dublin is a home base and one of the biggest bases in the network. You see many Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8 jets in the version with more seats. Because the aircraft look almost identical, the registration is the only way to tell them apart – more under Understanding aircraft registrations.
• North America: Thanks to US preclearance in Terminal 2, besides Aer Lingus also United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines fly to Dublin, partly only seasonally. Widebodies are used, such as the Boeing 787-9 or the Boeing 767-300ER. Which aircraft flies which route changes with every schedule.
• Gulf region: Emirates and Qatar Airways serve Dublin with widebodies, Emirates for example with the Boeing 777-300ER. They are the candidates for line-up shots with a step.

On top come many European airlines, including British Airways on the route to London Heathrow, Lufthansa and other carriers. If you collect registrations, Dublin has a specialty to enjoy: many leased aircraft carry Irish registrations with the prefix EI. Why that is the case is explained in the article Why many aircraft are registered in Ireland.

Getting there: on foot, by bus or by car

By car the Mound is easiest to reach. There is a parking lot at the mound, and according to the daa the new facility gets its own. Never park in access roads, in front of gates or at airport emergency exits. During construction the parking lot may be restricted.

On foot you get there from Terminal 2. You first pass the 28L approach lights, which according to spotter reports are about a 15-minute walk from the terminal, and then follow the road along the fence to the mound. The route runs along a road with fast traffic. Stay on the sidewalk and wear something bright in poor light.

By bus, spotters name a stop at the grounds of the Ballymun Kickhams GAA club as a starting point. Dublin’s bus network has been undergoing a redesign for some years, and line numbers change. So check your connection in the Transport for Ireland Journey Planner. There is no rail connection to the airport so far; the MetroLink subway line received approval in 2025, but it will still be years until it opens.

How a good day at the Mound goes

What else belongs in your camera bag is covered in the Plane spotting gear checklist. How to deal with rain, clouds and changing light is explained in Plane spotting in bad weather – in Dublin you need that more often than elsewhere.

Fallback spots around Dublin Airport

Because the Mound lives off runway direction 28, a second spot belongs in every plan. On the way from the terminal lie the 28L approach lights, ideal in the early morning. At the access roads to the Blue Car Park you see movements on 10R/28L from a different angle. Around the north runway, spotters name spots at emergency access roads along the R108 where you see landings on 10L and takeoffs on 28R – reachable practically only by car.

All of these spots are simple locations at roads and parking lots without infrastructure. Construction, vegetation and new barriers keep changing the situation. An overview of all spots is given by the guide Plane spotting in Dublin.

If you combine Ireland and Great Britain, the Runway Visitor Park in Manchester is an example of what an official spotting facility can look like, and at Myrtle Avenue at London Heathrow you see Aer Lingus on final approach again. In Ireland itself, a detour to Shannon Airport on the west coast is worthwhile. More destinations are collected in the article Best spotting spots in Europe.

Rules at the fence

The Mound lies outside the security area on publicly accessible land. Photography is allowed there. To keep it relaxed, a few simple rules apply – all the more since the daa is officially upgrading the site and the scene is under observation while it does. The daa stresses that the mound is a tradition for many Dublin families.

Consideration also applies on the road. The Old Airport Road is a heavily used connection, and drivers don’t expect people at the edge of the roadway. Stay on the sidewalk or on the area at the mound, take your trash with you and behave in a way that families with children are also happy to drop by.

Verdict

The Mound is not a spectacular place, but Ireland’s most important spotting place. An earth mound, a parking lot, a fence and behind it the main runway 10R/28L – in a west wind you need no more for a good day. The sun is behind you from the morning, Aer Lingus and Ryanair provide dense traffic, and widebodies from North America and the Gulf deliver the highlights.

With the approved Aircraft Observation Facility, the place gets what it has been missing: roof, seating, parking and light. Until then: check the weather, pack a rain jacket, look up the construction status – and have a second spot in reserve for an east wind.