Istanbul Airport 2026: Two Working Airports, Not Three — The Official Numbers and the Route Into Town
DHMİ statistics to July 2026 settle the difference between IST, Sabiha Gökçen and Atatürk, and the airport’s own page gives Havaist’s 11 routes, the boarding floor and the accessible-service notice periods.
Istanbul has two passenger airports, not three: Istanbul Airport (IST) with 48 million passengers and Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) with 28 million, while Atatürk recorded zero passengers against 15,309 aircraft movements. Official transport from IST is Havaist — 11 routes from floor −2.
| Item | Official figure |
|---|---|
| Istanbul Airport (IST) | 48,068,524 passengers — 38,016,797 international · 313,019 aircraft movements |
| Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) | 28,014,566 passengers — 15,082,055 international · 160,890 aircraft movements |
| Atatürk Airport | Zero passengers — with 15,309 aircraft movements (out of passenger service) |
| Istanbul’s share of Turkish traffic | More than half of the national 138,696,213 passengers |
| Official transport from IST | Havaist — 11 routes · boarding on transportation floor −2 · drop-off at gates 1-2-3-4 |
| Wheelchair service | Advance notice: 1 hour from the airport · 6 hours to the airport |
Three names circulate in search results — "Istanbul Airport", "Sabiha Gökçen" and "Atatürk" — and many travellers assume all three are operating, or that two of them are names for the same place. Official statistics from Türkiye's General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) settle it in one line.
How many airports does Istanbul have? The official answer, in numbers
DHMİ's cumulative statistics to July 2026 (preliminary result) give the full picture:
| Airport | Passengers to July 2026 | Domestic | International | Aircraft movements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul Airport (IST) | 48,068,524 | 10,051,727 | 38,016,797 | 313,019 |
| Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) | 28,014,566 | 12,932,511 | 15,082,055 | 160,890 |
| Atatürk | zero | 0 | 0 | 15,309 |
The conclusion: two passenger airports, not three. Atatürk still appears in DHMİ's tables and records 15,309 aircraft movements — with zero passengers. It was not demolished, as is often claimed; it left passenger service while other aviation activity continued. Anyone booking a ticket to Istanbul today lands at IST or SAW.
For scale: all Turkish airports together carried 138,696,213 passengers to July 2026 — meaning Istanbul's two airports alone account for more than half the country's traffic.
IST versus Sabiha Gökçen, in practice
The difference is not only size but traffic type and geography:
- Istanbul Airport (IST) is on the European side and is overwhelmingly international: 38 million international against 10 million domestic — roughly four to one. This is the transfer and long-haul airport.
- Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) is on the Asian side and close to balanced: 15 million international against 13 million domestic. This is the low-cost and domestic airport.
What it means for you: if you are staying on the European side (Sultanahmet, Taksim, Beşiktaş), IST is the logical arrival point. If you are on the Asian side (Kadıköy and around), Sabiha is closer. The gap is not a few minutes — it is a Bosphorus crossing inside city traffic, and that alone rewrites the time calculation.
From Istanbul Airport into the city: what the airport states officially
The transport operator published on the airport's own site is Havaist, and the following is from istairport.com:
- Routes: 11 different routes between the airport and the city centre.
- Boarding point: transportation floor −2.
- Drop-off point on return: Departures entrance gates 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- Call centre: 0850 888 33 34 · email: [email protected]
The official destination list includes the stops most visitors actually need: Taksim, Beşiktaş, Sultanahmet (Çatladıkapı), Kadıköy, Eminönü, 4. Levent, Zincirlikuyu, the main coach station (Otogar) — and Sabiha Gökçen itself.
Accessible travel: the official notice periods
A practical detail no travel guide mentions, taken from the airport's own page. Havaist runs accessible midibuses for wheelchair users, and advance notice is required:
- Airport to city: submit the request at the Havaist counters on the transportation floor at least 1 hour in advance, specifying the route.
- City to airport: submit the request through Havaist's communication channels at least 6 hours in advance, specifying the route and pick-up point.
What the airport offers inside
Istanbul Airport holds a 5-star Skytrax rating, and its officially published services include:
- Live waiting times shown on the website for terminal entrance and passport control — worth reading before leaving the hotel, not after arriving.
- E-passport gates for faster clearance.
- Accommodation inside the terminal via an in-airport hotel — useful for long overnight transits.
- iGA Lounges purchasable regardless of ticket class, for domestic and international departures.
- A JETEX-iGA premium passenger terminal for VIP travel.
- The airport states it meets 100% of its energy needs from solar power.
Before you book: confirm your visa and passport validity
Reaching the airport is not the same as entering the country. A legal passport-validity rule stops travellers at the gate, and visa exemptions are conditional on duration and passport type. The official position for every Arab nationality is in our Turkey visa guide. If the trip is a holiday, the city itinerary is in the Istanbul travel guide and the neighbourhood decision in the Istanbul hotels guide.
Sources
- DHMİ — General Directorate of State Airports Authority: passenger traffic and aircraft movement statistics, year to date July 2026 (preliminary result) against July 2025. Read live 22/08/2026.
- istairport.com — airport transportation page: 11 Havaist routes · boarding on floor −2 · drop-off at gates 1-2-3-4 · call centre and email · wheelchair-service notice periods · destination list. Plus service pages: Skytrax rating · live waiting times · e-passport gates · accommodation · iGA Lounges · JETEX · solar power. Read live 22/08/2026.
Istanbul Airport — frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about this topic
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