ISTLTFM

İstanbul Airport

Istanbul · Turkey · Europe/Istanbul

✈ Fly over IST in Google Earth
5Runways
13,451Longest (ft)
325Elevation (ft)
220Route Records
67Airline Records
UTC+3Timezone
Community

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Traveler Guides

WiFi & ConnectivityeSIM, local SIM and airport WiFiLayover GuideHotels, tours and things to doGetting AroundTransfers, metro, taxi and busAirport LoungesPriority Pass, day passes, accessDining & DrinksRestaurants, cafés and quick bitesFlight Time EstimatorDistance, duration & timezone from IST

Current Conditions

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Route Intelligence

81Highly Connected
Shortest route
KZRZafer Airport268.3 km
Turkish Airlines
Longest route
LAXLos Angeles International Airport11,001.6 km
US Airways
Nearest international
CNDMihail Kogălniceanu International Airport343.9 km
Turkish Airlines
Longest international
LAXLos Angeles International Airport11,001.6 km
Turkish Airlines
Longest domestic
IGDIğdır Airport1,284.6 km
Turkish Airlines

Airport Connectivity Score

81/100

Highly Connected

Destinations served220 destinations
Airline diversity67 airlines
Haul mix coverage4 of 4 distance categories

Calculated from destination count, airline diversity, and haul-mix coverage. More signals (customs/border access, ground handling capacity) will be added as the dataset grows.

Runways

16L/34R12,303 ftAsphaltLIT
16R/34L12,303 ftAsphaltLIT
17L/35R13,451 ftAsphaltLIT
17R/35L13,451 ftAsphaltLIT
18/3610,039 ftConcreteLIT

Haul Mix

short-haul
79
medium-haul
105
long-haul
23
ultra-long-haul
13

Geographic Context

Nearest airport
ISLİstanbul Atatürk Airport34.6 km
Nearest same country
ISLİstanbul Atatürk Airport34.6 km
Nearest international
BOJBurgas Airport175.7 km
Farthest airport
TUBTubuai Airport18,017 km
Within 500 km: 39 airportsWithin 1,000 km: 147 airportsWithin 2,000 km: 498 airports

10 Nearest Airports

1ISLİstanbul Atatürk Airport34.6 kmL
2SAWIstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport63.9 kmL
3TEQTekirdağ Çorlu Airport69.7 kmM
4BDMBandırma Airport123.9 kmM
5KCOCengiz Topel Airport128.3 kmM
6YEIBursa Yenişehir Airport133.2 kmM
7BOJBurgas Airport175.7 kmL
8BZIBalıkesir Airport196.3 kmM
9AOEHasan Polatkan Airport222 kmL
10ESKEskişehir Air Base227.9 kmM

ATC Frequencies3

ClearanceIstanbul Clearance Delivery127.1 MHz
GROUNDIstanbul Ground121.75 MHz
TOWERIstanbul Tower131.1 MHz

Top Aircraft Types

320
139
738
130
321
97
319
74
330
40
739
39
77W
24
332
22
73W
20
343
16

Sample Routes

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KZRZafer Airport268.3 km
short-haulTurkish Airlines
CNDMihail Kogălniceanu International Airport343.9 km
short-haulTurkish Airlines
ADBAdnan Menderes International Airport357.9 km
short-haulMaldivian Air Taxi
MRSMarseille Provence Airport1,940.9 km
medium-haulAir France
GUWAtyrau International Airport1,943.4 km
medium-haulAir Astana
HAMHamburg Helmut Schmidt Airport1,956.8 km
medium-haulTurkish Airlines
IAHGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport10,230.8 km
ultra-long-haulTurkish Airlines
GRUSão Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport10,557.4 km
ultra-long-haulTurkish Airlines

Airline Records in Dataset67

JPAdria Airways
A3Aegean Airlines
SUAeroflot Russian Airlines
8UAfriqiyah Airways
AHAir Algerie
KCAir Astana
ACAir Canada
CAAir China
AFAir France
AIAir India Limited
KMAir Malta
UJAlMasria Universal Airlines
AZAlitalia
NHAll Nippon Airways
AAAmerican Airlines
KKAtlasjet
OSAustrian Airlines
J2Azerbaijan Airlines
B2Belavia Belarusian Airlines
BABritish Airways
CZChina Southern Airlines
OUCroatia Airlines
MSEgyptair
EKEmirates
EYEtihad Airways
GAGaruda Indonesia
GFGulf Air Bahrain
IRIran Air
EPIran Aseman Airlines
KLKLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KEKorean Air
KUKuwait Airways
LOLOT Polish Airlines
LNLibyan Arab Airlines
LHLufthansa Cargo
W5Mahan Air
MHMalaysia Airlines
8QMaldivian Air Taxi
MEMiddle East Airlines
OAOlympic Airlines
+27 more

Data Notes & Community Corrections

Community corrections will appear here once verified travellers start contributing.

Community page — traveler reviews →

Dining & Drinks

Türk Kahvesi Durakları
Türk Mutfağı Temsilcileri
Lounge Büfesi
Hızlı Seçenekler
Full dining guide ↗

External Links

Official Website ↗Wikipedia ↗
Data: OurAirports

Airport HistoryEst. 2018

Istanbul Airport is one of the world's largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects, built from scratch in 6 years on the European shore of Istanbul. It replaced Atatürk Airport as Turkey's primary hub and Turkish Airlines' base of operations.

✦The terminal building is the world's largest single-terminal airport building under one roof
✦Construction used 1.7 billion cubic meters of soil — enough to fill 680,000 Olympic swimming pools
✦The airport site was previously a forest; 2.5 million trees were replanted as part of the project
✦IST sits at 325 meters elevation — one of Europe's highest major airports
✦When all 6 runways are complete, IST will have the capacity to be the world's busiest airport
2013
Construction Begins

Ground broken at Arnavutköy site on the European shore of Istanbul. The project covers 76.5 km² — larger than many small countries.

2018
Phase 1 Opening

Airport opens on October 29, 2018 — Republic Day — with one terminal and two runways. First commercial flight operated by Turkish Airlines to Ankara.

2019
Full Transfer Complete

All airline operations transferred from Atatürk Airport on April 6, 2019. Atatürk Airport closes permanently. IST becomes Turkey's sole major international hub.

2019
76 Million Passengers

In its first full operational year, Istanbul Airport serves 76 million passengers, immediately ranking among Europe's busiest airports.

2020
COVID-19 Impact

Passenger traffic collapses 70% due to the pandemic. The airport maintains hub operations throughout, never fully closing.

2022
Record Recovery

Traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels. Turkish Airlines expands network aggressively, using IST as a global connecting hub between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

2023
Third Runway Opens

A third runway enters service, increasing capacity. Construction continues on runways 4, 5, and 6 — targeting eventual 150 million passenger capacity.

Operator
İGA Havalimanı İşletmesi A.Ş.2018 – present25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession awarded in 2013

Editorial content based on public records. Historical passenger figures are approximate.