Townsville Airport is providing local aviation enthusiasts the rare chance to get up close to a variety of aircraft with the launch of the 2024 Plane Spotters Photography Competition.

The event’s return comes after the success of the inaugural competition last year which attracted a total of 85 submissions from a broad range of entrants aged between 13 years to 79 years old.

From tomorrow (14 May 2024), local photographers and plane enthusiasts are invited to submit their best images of aircraft taken in and around Townsville Airport.

The top 10 entrants, as selected by our panel of aviation experts, will be taken airside to photograph a range of aircraft landing and departing at Townsville Airport on Wednesday 26 June 2024.

The top two photographs taken on the day (one from each age category) will win a $1,000 Camera House voucher.

Townsville Airport General Manager Brendan Cook said he hoped to see even more submissions this year.

“It was fantastic to see so much engagement from the Townsville North Queensland plane spotting community last year and this year we’d love to see even more people enter,” Mr Cook said.

“We see more than 100 aircraft movements a day at Townsville Airport, which makes for great plane spotting – and being able to get airside, up close to aircraft as they take off and land really is such a unique experience,” he said.

“We encourage photographers to get creative, we know there is an enthusiastic community of plane spotters and we’d love to see images that not only showcase aircraft but also the airport and surrounding Townsville region.”

Entrants will need to submit up to five photos via the Townsville website.

Photographers of the top 10 images will be selected to attend a special morning airside dedicated to photographing aircraft up close and personal.

Photographs taken on the day (26 June) will again be submitted for judging by a panel of Townsville Airport aviation experts. Photographers with the best images from both the junior (15 years and under) and 16 years+ age categories will win a $1,000 Camera House voucher each.

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 Friday 7 June 2024. With winners announced on Friday 14 June 2024.

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