The first flights of the day start around 07:30 with the last flight around 22:00. There appear to be no night ops. There are two runways 01R/19L & 01L/19R. The runway used at present is 01R/19L with 01 being the preferred arrival direction.
Currently the one terminal has 6 Airbridges with 12 departure gates along with remote parking stands. However a new terminal is being built to the north of the present one and this would look to be around the same size/layout as the present one when finished.
Landside spotting opportunities weren’t explored due to checking in and then going straight through security because I was travelling with someone who required special assistance. There are floor to ceiling windows behind the check in desks where anything taxiing can be read with mark1 eyeball. You would not be allowed to pass behind the check in desks to spot as the security checkpoints are situated here. Once airside you have an uninterrupted view of the pan and runways.
The pan has been extended to the south of the terminal where a corrugated hanger has sprung up and it would appear that the local medi-vac helicopter is housed here along with two or three based light aircraft. There is also a small cargo facility which has a couple of stand marked out in front of it. Both these facilities aren’t visible from the terminal but can be seen when driving along the main road towards the airport.
Outside of the airport there do not appear many opportunities.
Barceló Fuerteventura Thalasso Spa
We travelled here on an all inclusive package deal with First Choice.
It is a modern hotel with plenty of things to keep the family busy but a word of warning it is not in my opinion an ideal hotel for someone who has mobility issues. For example there are 26 stairs from the reception/theatre area down to the restaurant, the nearest lifts being about 80m away, thus necessitating a 150m plus walk to get to/from these facilities. However the pool area and access to the promenade is relatively flat. Not ideal when a member of your party is recovering from recent hip & knee replacement surgery.
The following link will take you to the hotel website and description
http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en-GB/Hotels/Spain/CanaryIslands...
and will give you some idea of the services offered.
The hotel is 7km from the airport by road but as the crow flies it is probably 3-4km from the touchdown point of 01 and about 1km south of the centre line. The hotel is huge in terms of footprint and is made up of three accommodation areas on four floors numbered 0 - 3.
The rooms that would appear to have views of the approach are as follows:-
Area 1 = Rooms 31-46
Area 2 = Rooms 7-21
Area 3 = Rooms 12-19
As an example Room 3319 is in Area 3, Floor 3 Room Number 19. Obviously the higher floor the better to see over the top of the palm trees in the hotel grounds!
The aircraft on arrival appear to make either visual approaches which can vary from tight turns before getting to the hotel, (HHI NG’s were the winners), over the top of the hotel (nose wheel door or tail repeater job for the Germans) or pick up the centre line as they crossed the bay. All the arrivals with the exception of two ATR’s were read off using a pair of zoom mini-bins. No one questioned me whilst doing so either in or outside the hotel grounds.
The resort houses the Barceló Club Castillo (a self catering Apartment/ Villa complex just around the bay) and you would get similar views of arrivals but these would have to be from the beach/promenade area and would be a cheaper alternative. There is also a Sheraton about 1km further south around the bay from the Barceló’s which could be an alternative but this wasn’t explored and no doubt won’t be cheap! The resort itself is quiet and has a few bars and a couple of supermarkets to stock up on supplies.
Below is an update to my posting on the Barcelo Fuerteventura & GCFV from October 2008!
"Took a last minute "package deal" (10 nights for the price of seven + £1) was secured with First Choice to the wonderful island of Fuerteventura. Great if you are into walking, cycling & sun bathing not for the spotter looking for a great deal of numbers.
Stayed again at the Barcelo Fuerteventura. As it was winter the whole of block 1 was closed and half the lifts out of service in the other two blocks! We were allocated room 3110. Reasonable for the spotter as it offered views of arrivals/departures :-), not great for the people in your party who have limited mobility as it was again a long way from the restaurant/theatre. Tried to get a room in block 2 but was told no can do the hotel is full!
Fuerteventura is a quiet island in terms of movements. Monday & Saturday are the only days of note. The other days of the week you might as well slit your wrists as it is as dead as a dodo except for the inter island ATR's.
Tuesday seems to be for the exclusive use of Condor. Either there was an A320 and a B753 doing circuit training all day or there were about a dozen actual flights I don't know! Real reason is, as I don't need any I couldn't be bothered to look at them!
Anyway since my last visit, the airport terminal extension is progressing well unlike the building projects on the rest of the island, which have ceased completely apparently. The terminal extension now has its glass frontage apron side completed, and the roof is almost complete. I couldn't see how far the landside work has progressed because it was behind hoardings.
How this expansion will help the island remains to be seen as Ryanair who were ramping up the flights in here over the winter schedules pulled the plug on 31/01/2009 no doubt due to the economic downturn or incentives!
Vince Ellner (Feb 2009)
Co-Moderator Gatwick@googlegroups.com. The original and best list for
movements at Gatwick. Beware of imitations.
View from room 3110 looking South towards the approach path.
View from poor bar area
