Popular Melbourne Airport viewing area to be shut for 18 months

Planespotters at Tullamarine will be shut out of their most beloved viewing spot as the site shuts down for several months. Find out what's going on here.

Planespotters at Tullamarine will be shut out of their most popular viewing spot as the site shuts down for construction works.

The area is the most popular location for enthusiasts to watch take offs and landing throughout the day and is also a regular stop for a Mr Whippy ice cream van.

But the site will be closed to the public over the next 18 months as it becomes a staging area for workers building a new solar farm nearby.

Melbourne Airport spokesman Grant Smith said the Sunbury Rd site would soon be closed but spotters would still have access to viewing areas to the west and south of the airfield.

“Understandably this will be pretty disappointing for the local aircraft spotters community,” he said.

“We will be talking to people affected by the closure over the coming weeks as we start planning for what a future viewing area might look like

“As a starting point, we will be sending out a survey in the next fortnight to start the groundwork on that engagement.”

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Authorities will also use the opportunity to plan upgrades or add new features, such as toilets, to the area.”

It comes after the airport revealed it had changed plans for its new third runway, with the new alignment to run from north to south.

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