Getting there by air
Istanbul Ataturk International Airport (formerly Yesilkoy) (IST)
Tel: (212) 663 6400. Fax: (212) 663 6250.
Website: http://www.dhmiata.gov.tr/
Ataturk Airport is 23km (15 miles) west of central Istanbul, in Yesilkoy. It is the main international gateway to the country and heavily congested as a result. Terminal C is currently reserved for those traveling in and out of the Russian Federation and CIS countries. A brand-new international terminal has recently been completed, however, with the capacity to service 14 million passengers a year. The airport processed 13.5 million passengers in 1999 and it is estimated that the growth in annual passenger traffic will increase to 27 million by 2005. In order to deal with this increase, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (see below) opened in 2001.
Sabiha Goksen International Airport in Pendik, Kurtkoy, opened in early 2001 and has relieved some of the overload at Ataturk Airport, although it caters mainly for charter, cargo and military planes.
Major airlines: Turkish Airlines is the national airline serving international and domestic routes. Other major carriers include Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Japanese Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swissair, Thai Airlines, TWA US Air and Virgin Atlantic.
Airport facilities: These include a clinic, lost and found, banks, post office, baggage service, restaurants and snack bars, tourist information, shopping facilities, duty free, hotel reservation services, travel agencies, bureaux de change and ATMs.
Business facilities: There is a conference center at the international terminal with technical facilities for up to 200 delegates (tel: (212) 663 6400, ext 1225 or 663 4376).
Transport to the city: The Havas service bus (tel: (212) 663 0609) to Aksaray and Taksim Square departs from the domestic terminal every 30 minutes 0600-2300 (journey time – 30 minutes). Taxis (tel: (212) 574 2814 or 2884) are a little quicker but much more expensive.
Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW)
Tel: (216) 585 5000. Fax: (216) 585 5114.
E-mail: marketing@sgairport.com
Website: http://www.sgairport.com/
The airport is located 20km (12.5 miles) east of the Asian center and 45km (28 miles) east of the European center of Istanbul. This new airport, opened in 2001, has two terminals and was meant to relieve congestion at Ataturk Airport but at the present time serves primarily military and cargo planes.
Airport facilities: These include information and help desks, ATMs, a bank, post office, duty-free shops, gift shops, bookshops, restaurants, cafes, a VIP lounge, conference and business facilities and parking.
Transport to the city: There is Havas shuttle bus service to the city (journey time – 45 minutes) and to Ataturk Airport (journey time – 60-70 minutes); taxis are available 24 hours a day.
Approximate flight times to Istanbul: From London is 3 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 9 hours; from Los Angeles is 13 hours; from Toronto is 10 hours and 30 minutes and from Sydney is 22 hours.
Arrival/departure tax: Approximately US$12, usually included in the cost of the ticket.
