Istanbul Airport, open in April 2019, took over all flight traffic from Atatürk Airport as well as its IATA code IST. Upon its completion in 2020 the airport is expected to be able to accommodate around 200 million passengers a year with more plans to expand this airport even further in following years to become one of the largest in the world.
The newly built, very modern airport is located 40 km north-west from Istanbul and offers a large number of dining possibilities such as cafes, restaurants, bakeries, patisseries, bars or popular fast-food restaurants.
The airport also offers many luxury fashion stores of high street brands.
There is a hotel at the airport from a company called YOTEL which is located in both Airside (174 rooms) and Landside (277 rooms) zones. It is located after passport control within Duty-Free area. It is available only for people with international flights to or from Istanbul Airport.
Sleeping pods are also available here from €6 – €9 per hour + €2 for blanket and pillow
Direct flights to Istanbul Airport from London are operated by British Airways from Heathrow and by Turkish Airlines from Gatwick for prices between £110 – £200 for a return ticket and by Turkish Airlines only from Manchester or Edinburgh for about £200.
Istanbul airport is efficiently designed to accommodate transfers with a typical length of 1 hour, and all connecting flights sold by Turkish Airlines take into consideration the required minimum connection time. Keep in mind that due to the enormous size of the terminal it may take at least 15 minutes to walk from the entrance of the transit zone to the farthest gate.
There is a security screening before entering a transit zone, however, the whole process is or organized efficiently, without this to cause any long delays.
For detailed information on how to transit onto your next flight, visit the official Turkish Airline transit guidelines.
Istanbul Airport Transfer
Airport to Istanbul
There are 5 bus lines operating between the airport and the city of Istanbul, each line going to a different destination with the most popular lines IST19 (Besiktas Taksim square) or IST1 (Yenikapi – near Sultan Ahmed Mosque) going to Istanbul’s city centre.
The bus departs every 15 minutes between 5:00 – 01:00 and every 30 minutes during the night. It takes approximately 90 minutes to get to city centre, depending on the traffic.
Fares
Bus ticket to Taksim square
18 TRYcurrently £2.10
Istanbulkart (ticket card required to travel)
10 TRYcurrently £1.17
You can buy the ticket in the ticket machine or kiosk in the Arrivals hall or bus station. Both Debit card and cash are accepted. Top up the Istanbulkart to use it in other means of transport (metro, bus, trams).
You can also pay online, having the ticket on your phone. To online ticket, register on official Havalst website, top-up your account, get a QR code to your phone which you will validate during boarding the bus (by the driver).
Taxi
Many taxis waiting right outside the airport. The cost to city centre is around
Free unlimited connection available after registraion in one of the WiFi kiosk (located all around the airport). WiFi Availability
Luggage lockers are available at the both corners in entrance side of the departure floor (check-in A and S). Small locker is 40 TL for first 12 hours, then 40 TL for every 24h. Large Locker is 60 TL for first 12 hours then 60 TL for every 24h. Another lockers are located near Exit 14 and 8 from 27TL - 72TL per day. Lockers most likely accept TL cash only. Left Baggage
