Arrival

Arriving Istanbul by Plane

In Istanbul there are two international airports. Istanbul Ataturk airport (IST) and Sabiha gokcen airport (SAW). The first and biggest one is the new modernized Istanbul Ataturk airport (IST). All major international flights are landing to Ataturk airport. And the other one, which works as a sub terminal on the Asian side, is Sabiha gokcen airport (SAW).

There are direct flights to Istanbul from all major cities of Europe and also direct flights to New York & Chicago via Turkish Arilines and Delta for US locations. The other main direct routes are as follows, flights to central Asian cities such as Askabat, Astana, Baku, Yerevan, Dusanbe, Delhi, Bombay, Karachi; Far east cities such as Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore; Middle East cities such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Damascus, Lebanon (suspended), Jeddah, Riyadh, Doha, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Tabriz, Tehran, Kartum (Sudan); North African cities such as Casablanca, Tunus, Cairo, Algiers, Nairobi.

Below you can find many useful information and tips about arriving to Istanbul airport. As informed earlier Istanbul has two Airports. Istanbul Ataturk airport, which is on the European side of Istanbul, is used by all major international air companies. The second airport of Istanbul which is called as Sabiha Gokcen airport is on the Asian side of Istanbul and is far from the city center. This airport is used by mainly domestic flights and budget air companies such as Easy Jet, Condor, Germain wings.

Istanbul International Ataturk Airport (IST):
Istanbul Airport has a brand new international terminal active since year 2000, however new extensions made recently and the capacity of the terminal is now over 20 million passengers in a year. The airport is one of the newest airports in Europe and also representing the modern face of Turkiye. Ataturk Airport is located in Yesilkoy, on the European side of Istanbul and It is 28 kilometers to the city center.

When you arrive in to Ataturk airport, your first stop will be the passport control. If you need a visa stamp, you can obtain the visa next to the passport contours. After the passport control, you will be in the arrival hall . See Map

After the recent new extensions, there are 11 Baggage bands, four on left side and seven on right side and in the walking hall, you can see a digital screen which shows the bands upon flights. Previously you need to pay for the baggage trolleys due to the private operator, however after the new contract renewal, baggage trolleys are free and you can find them easily on each corner.

If you need Luggage storage there are no token boxes for the Luggage, however you can store your baggage in a room on the Arrival floor. Open 24 hrs, and the cost is per daily per piece basis. Around 5 USD for normal size bags and 7 USD for big size. On the arrival floor just behind the baggage claim there are two Duty free shops and new ones are open on the new extended area. There are also public phones, which also operates by Credit cards.

When you have your baggage you can now move to the customs. Unless there is a regular control you can walk and pass the custom. After the customs, you will be in the arrival hall. You will see the locals waiting for their relatives and friends. In Turkish culture fairwells and welcomes are very important, so Turks care about to welcome their friends at the airport. So you will always meet with a crowd at the airport. On the arrival hall there is one meeting point, When you walk to the left side you will see the meeting point sign and it is a good alternative to find somebody at the airport.

On the arrival hall, there are branches of bank offices, exchange offices and ATM Machines. Currently the following banks have ATM machines at the Arrival Hall, HSBC, Citibank, Fortis, TEB, Yapi Kredi Bank, Akbank, Garanti Bank and Is bank. They all aaccept foreign ATM cards with visa or maestro signs. There are also small branches of Akbank, Garanti bank and Isbank located on the arrival floor. They exchange foreign currencies without commission. I strongly suggest to have some Turkish money with you, so better change some of your money at the airport. Exchange offices do not ask for commissions and buying and selling rate is very near.

On the arrival hall you can also find information desk and hotel reservation offices. If you plan to rent a car, rental car offices are on the left side of the arrival hall. Just take the left side on the exit and soon you will see them in front. Avis, Sixt, Hertz and Budget rent a car companies has their airport offices. Daily charge for a car differs but the rates starts from 50,- USD per day for short bookings.

Also in the arrival hall, there are Gloria Jeans Coffee, Starbucks and Green cafe where you can have some food. Some other important facilities at the arrival hall are the Drugstore, Flower Shop, WC's, Phone boxes and a Mobile phone rental shop..

Important note: When you have a returning flight from Istanbul, please mind the two hours check in Time. Although there are 160 check in counters in total and 64 Passport control points.. Especially morning hours is extremely crowded, and security controls are really though and taking quiet some time.

Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW):
Sabiha Gökçen Airport is 40km (25 miles) from the city center, and located on the Asian side of Istanbul. It is Turkey's newest international airport, and opened in 2001. The airport is used mainly for a sub to Ataturk airport. International air traffic is very low. The airport is used mainly for charter flights and some cargo flights are also operating from here.

Currently Turkish airlines and some local air companies are operating domestic flights from SAW. For international flights mainy charter companies are operating such as "Easy Jet", "Germain Wings", "Condor", "Corendon", "MyAir" and "Air Arabia" are using this airport very frequently. You can have budget flights to many German cities, major European cities and UAE. Sabiha Gokcen airport is such a small and cosy airport that I call it sometimes as Family airport. You just drive in, park your car and get on the plane.

The airport is located at the Asian side of Istanbul and it is far from the city center. Havas (private shuttle company) is organizing bus transfers to the major points on Asian side of Istanbul. (travel time 30-45 minutes). Havas have also connections to Taksim and 4. Levent ( Business District) by shuttle buses. Also some travel agencies has their shuttles from the airport. The Shuttle buses leaves in front of the domestic arrival terminal. If you are arriving to the International terminal than you need to walk ~150 meter to the right for the Domestic terminal.