Almaty International Airport (ALA / UAAA) Plane Spotting Map & Live Active Runway Predictor

As of Wed 28 Oct, 04:00 local, the METAR/TAF wind vector predicts landing and departure 23R+23L. The METAR wind is 170° at 2 kt. 23R shows +0.8 kt headwind and 1.8 kt crosswind from the left. Closed runways: none listed.

At 08:00 local the sun is at 125° azimuth and 15° elevation. Short final 23L - sunny side scores 88/100, 1234 m from runway 23L, view bearing 265.3°, best as a morning spot with a 150-600mm lens. At 16:00 the sun is at 244° and 8°. Short final 23R - sunny side scores 69/100 on a 206.4° 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 Almaty International Airport (ALA/UAAA) 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 2 spotting locations. Read the Best Time of Day & Lighting Schedule by Spot table for the lens and the hours to avoid harsh backlit contrast.

UAAA spotting locations sun direction: Short final 23R - sunny side (runway 23R) is SIDE LIGHT in the morning, BACKLIT / GLARE at midday, and BACKLIT / GLARE in the afternoon. Recommended focal length 150-600mm. Best local hours for crisp fuselage illumination: 07:00. Avoid 11:00-17:00 harsh backlit contrast. Short final 23L - sunny side (runway 23L) is SIDE LIGHT in the morning, SIDE LIGHT at midday, and BACKLIT / GLARE in the afternoon. Recommended focal length 150-600mm. Crisp fuselage illumination 07:00-09:00 local. Avoid 15:00-17:00 harsh backlit contrast.

Short final 23R - sunny side is 1234 m from the 23R 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 119.4 MHz, Ground 121.7 MHz, Approach 131.6 MHz, ATIS 129.8 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 119.4 MHz.

No TAF wind shift in the next 6 hours flips the flow. Wind stays near 170° at 2 kt, so 23R 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/UAAA#runway-alerts