İstanbul Airport
İstanbul Airport (IST) is a major hub airport near Istanbul in Türkiye. This page covers the essentials — IATA + ICAO codes, location, live flight status, and hotels nearby.
Getting to + from the city
Metro M11 to Kağıthane in 30 min (₺50), then connect to central lines. HAVAIST airport buses cover most neighborhoods (₺95–185, 60–90 min). Taxi to Sultanahmet is ₺800–1,200 (~$25–35) and 50–80 min depending on traffic + bridge. Note: don't confuse IST with SAW (Sabiha Gökçen, the Asian-side airport) — they're 60 km apart.
Terminals
Single massive terminal, 4 piers (A/B/D/F). All Turkish Airlines + Star Alliance partners use the same building. Walking distances are real (up to 1.5 km gate-to-gate). Arrive 3+ hours early for international; the security + passport queues at peak are legendary.
What's actually good
Turkish Airlines Lounge (Business) is one of the world's great lounges — full meze bar, live cooking, a 24-hour doctor on call. Even non-Star travelers can pay for entry ($150, worth it on a long layover). Real Turkish breakfast + borek + simit at multiple food outlets airside. The skybridge from terminal to Le Mêridien hotel is the trick for napless layovers.
Avoid
Booking 90-minute connections at IST (regularly missed). Currency exchange at the airport (lira-to-USD rate is brutal). Taxi touts in arrivals — use the BiTaksi app or the official yellow taxi queue. Forgetting to validate your İstanbulkart before metro entry (it's a tap-on AND tap-off system). The M11 metro stops running ~midnight.