Istanbul Airport (IST) is the largest airport in Türkiye. We fly to over 315 destinations in 126 countries around the world!

There are also 86 airlines that fly to LTFM in scheduled passenger traffic.

Istanbul Airport Terminal has currently a single passenger terminal, the largest in the world, which hosts both international and domestic flights. The building has an H shape, with an extra line/pier in the middle. In the future, it is expected that Istanbul Airport will have four terminals to host 200 million passengers per year!

The airport currently has five runways that are currently in operation;

18/36 (Departures)

17L/35R (Arrivals)

17R/35L (Departures)

16L/34R (Backup - Not in use)

16R/34L (Arrivals)

The two 17/35 runways are both 4,100 metres (13,500 feet) long, while the 16/34 runways are both 3,750 metres (12,300 feet) long. Runway 18/36 is 3,060 metres (10,040 feet) long, shorter than the other runways, although it is projected to expand to 3,750 metres (12,300 feet), the same length as the 16/34 pair. Runways 17L/35R and 16R/34L are 60 metres (200 feet) wide, while 17R/35L, 16L/34R and 18/36 are 45 metres (148 feet) wide 

Istanbul airport currently features a total of five concourses: A, B, D, F, and G with a total of 143 passenger boarding bridges.

Concourse G, which is located in the southeast, is reserved solely for domestic flights. 

1-3 passenger boarding bridges of Concourse F which is directly to the north of Concourse G have also been allocated for domestic flights. 

On the other hand, Concourses A, B, D and F just serve international flights.

The C and E concourses connect directly to the main terminal and are therefore not independent concourses. 

As always, ATC vectors take priority over your flight plan and real life procedures. Please follow their instructions

You can receive an ALT/Speed vector from ATC anytime, but until then, you should follow the published restrictions

Departure Procedures

As an example, this is MAKO3E /OSME3E

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The blue lines tell you whether you need to be at, above, or below a given altitude

- If a blue line is below the altitude (like at FM032), it means you need to be at or above that altitude.

- If a blue line is above an altitude (like at FM037), you must be at or below that altitude.

- If there is a blue line above and below the altitude, you must be at that altitude when passing that fix

As always, ATC vectors take priority over your flight plan and real life procedures. Please follow their instructions

Arrival Procedures

Point merge procedures

Almost every single arrival into Istanbul follows a point-merge STAR. Point merge is a procedure where aircraft file a curved arc, and ATC directs them to the Merge Point when there is sufficient spacing.

It is very rare to see aircraft fly the entire arc, so you will see aircraft fly a partial curve or even completely skip the curve.

Istanbul International Airport Charts & Procedures