Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER / LGIR) Plane Spotting Map & Live Active Runway Predictor

As of Wed 28 Oct, 01:00 local, the METAR/TAF wind vector predicts landing and departure 12. The METAR wind is 150° at 5 kt. 12 shows +4.6 kt headwind and 2.0 kt crosswind from the right. Closed runways: none listed.

At 08:00 local the sun is at 118° azimuth and 15° elevation. Short final 12 - sunny side scores 69/100, 1234 m from runway 12, view bearing 155.2°, best as a afternoon spot with a 150-600mm lens. At 16:00 the sun is at 240° and 16°. Short final 12 - sunny side scores 89/100 on a 96.7° view. Morning and afternoon picks follow that bearing: a view that wants the sun in the east is a morning spot, and a view that wants it in the west is an afternoon spot.

The best time to plane spot at Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER/LGIR) is the window marked CLEAN FRONT LIGHT for the fence you are using. Morning (07:00-11:00) front light: no listed spot stays fully front-lit. Afternoon / golden hour (14:00-18:00) front light: no listed spot stays fully front-lit. Midday (11:00-14:00) is HIGH SUN / TOP LIGHT at 0 of 1 spotting locations. Read the Best Time of Day & Lighting Schedule by Spot table for the lens and the hours to avoid harsh backlit contrast.

LGIR spotting locations sun direction: Short final 12 - sunny side (runway 12) is BACKLIT / GLARE in the morning, BACKLIT / GLARE at midday, and SIDE LIGHT in the afternoon. Recommended focal length 150-600mm. Best local hours for crisp fuselage illumination: 16:00-17:00. Avoid 08:00-13:00 harsh backlit contrast.

Short final 12 - sunny side is 1234 m from the 12 centerline, so the lens is 150-600mm. The bands are fixed from that distance: 70-200mm inside 250 m, 100-400mm from 250 m to 450 m, and 150-600mm beyond 450 m. The aircraft itself is about 573 m from this pin on a 700 m final.

Monitor Tower 120.85 MHz, Ground 121.7 MHz, Approach 123.975 MHz, ATIS 127.55 MHz. Online streams lag by 30 seconds or more. A handheld VHF airband scanner at the fence is the zero-delay way to hear a runway change on Tower 120.85 MHz.

No TAF wind shift in the next 6 hours flips the flow. Wind stays near 150° at 5 kt, so 12 remains the favored arrival. The $3/mo Telegram Runway-Shift Alert pings you when D-ATIS or the METAR wind vector changes the active runway: https://planespottingmap.com/airport/LGIR#runway-alerts