Gold Coast Airport is calling on aviation enthusiasts across the country to get snapping for the airport’s biggest plane spotting competition yet!

The event, now in its seventh year, invites Australian photographers and plane enthusiasts to submit their best images of aircraft taken in and around Gold Coast Airport. The annual competition was interrupted during the pandemic, but this month is set to return bigger and better than ever.

The top 10 entrants, as nominated by our panel of aviation experts, will be taken airside to photograph a range of aircraft landing and departing Gold Coast Airport on Saturday 10 June.

The top two photographs taken on the day (one from each age category) will win exclusive airside access during the Pacific Airshow, the largest airshow event to ever take place in Australia, to capture arange of fascinating aircraft not usually on display in the country.

Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton said the airport team were thrilled to be relaunching this competition particularly with the Pacific Airshow on the horizon.

“We have a passionate community of plane spotters on the Gold Coast and in Northern New South Wales, to be able to offer airside access during the airshow to the lucky winners is a once in a lifetime experience,” she said.

“This is a really great opportunity for avid aviation enthusiasts to get creative; the competition will be highly competitive – we love to see images that showcase the airfield, aircraft, terminal and the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales regions generally.”

Spotters will need to submit up to five photos, which meet the eligibility criteria via the Gold Coast Airport website. Up to 10 of the best entrants will then be selected to attend a special morning airside dedicated to photographing aircraft up close and personal.

Photographs taken on the day will again be submitted for judging by a panel of Gold Coast Airport and Pacific Airshow executives. Photographers with the best images from both the junior (15 years and under) and 16 years+ age categories will be given airside access during the Pacific Airshow on 18 August 2023.

Plane spotters aged 10-13 years will need to be accompanied by an adult guardian, and all applicants will be subject to police and security checks to be allowed airside.

Entries close on 19 May 2023. With winners announced on 2 June 2023.

To enter, visit: https://www.goldcoastairport.com.au/corporate/plane-spotting