Two years ago, this site introduced the idea of building airport observation platforms, mentioning that

Currently, the Civil Aviation Administration is working on learning from the successful experiences of airport observation platforms in developed countries abroad, striving to take the lead in planning, designing, and building a batch of observation facilities at major hub airports nationwide. On one hand, this can reasonably satisfy the demands of the vast number of tourists, allowing them to visit easily and pleasantly at major hub airports; on the other hand, it must also ensure the safe and efficient travel of passengers, balancing both aspects so that each gets what they need.

Recently, I saw the news item below; it looks like the airport observation facility project is about to kick off! Civil Aviation Administration Airport Division solicits opinions on the “Guidelines for Planning and Construction of Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities”

Recently, the Airport Division of the Civil Aviation Administration issued a notice soliciting opinions on the "Guidelines for Planning and Construction of Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities." The notice stated that in order to guide and regulate the planning and construction of airport aviation observation facilities, comprehensively improve the comprehensive service experience of airports, promote the spread of aviation culture and knowledge, and meet the diverse aviation needs of the people, the Airport Division of the Civil Aviation Administration organized the compilation of the "Guidelines for Planning and Construction of Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities," and is now widely soliciting opinions.

　　The draft opinion points out that with the rapid development of China's economy, the air transport market continues to grow rapidly, and civil aviation is turning towards high-quality development. Aviation has shifted from meeting simple travel needs to providing a diversified comprehensive experience. The public has put forward higher requirements for the safety, convenience, and quality of air travel, and has also paid more attention to aviation technology, aviation culture, and the development of the civil aviation industry. As a unique experience form at airports, aviation observation has always been deeply concerned and welcomed by the public, becoming an important window for displaying the airport's image and spreading aviation culture. In order to implement the new development concept of civil aviation, promote the diversified and innovative development of airports, and guide and regulate the planning and construction of airport aviation observation facilities, the compilation of the "Guidelines for Planning and Construction of Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities" was specially carried out.

　　Relying on a good degree of popularization of aviation culture, many foreign airports have set up aviation observation facilities for the public, which have become tourist attractions with airport characteristics and even carriers for spreading aviation culture. The writing group studied more than 40 airports with aviation observation facilities globally, and summarized, classified, analyzed, and summarized the current usage status of aviation observation facilities at 25 of them with distinct characteristics. By learning from the construction and operation experience of relevant cases, combining with the actual situation of domestic civil aviation development, and after extensive collection of industry opinions and expert review, this guideline was finally formed.

　　The guideline is divided into six chapters, including general principles, terms and definitions, classification of airport aviation observation facilities, construction goals and targets, construction points, and project implementation. Click the attachment for details.

　　Attachments:

　Attachment 1: Guidelines for Planning and Construction of Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities (Draft for Comments).pdf

Attachment 2: Compilation of Materials on Civil Airport Aviation Observation Facilities.pdf

Attachment 3: Opinion Feedback Form.docx

Personally, I find Attachment 2 very interesting. It provides detailed explanations of 25 airport aviation observation facilities with distinct characteristics globally, which can truly be said to be a tour guide. Of the 25 airports introduced, I have visited 10 myself, including Orlando, Dallas, Haneda, Kansai, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hongqiao, Capital, Hong Kong, and Santa Monica, and most have been introduced on this site as well. In addition, personally, I think it would be better if there were introductions for London Heathrow and Osaka Itami airports.

I don’t have much opinion on the material itself, but from the perspective of aviation photography,

For aviation observation facilities located in the terminal building facing the airside and those around airports with single-layer boundaries, photography holes can be opened in the physical isolation facilities and boundaries to facilitate photography enthusiasts in taking pictures. It is recommended that the diameter of the photography hole be less than or equal to 150 mm, and the height from the ground be controlled at 1.5-1.6m. The opening of photography holes must be approved by the airport public security department and the security department before implementation.

I don't think photography holes are a good method. One is that the area of the photography hole is too small, which is not suitable for moving the camera to shoot airplanes in flight, In addition, the number of photography holes generally won't be too many, which will cause photography enthusiasts to fight for spots and also obstruct the view of general passengers.

The demand for aviation photography was introduced in the idea of building airport observation platforms, so I won’t write much here.