Istanbul Airport (IST)

The terminals at Istanbul Airport

Istanbul Airport is a single passenger terminal, and the airport's own pages separate the domestic and the international flights, with the JETEX-iGA premium passenger terminal as a separate service. The airport publishes the passenger guides for the arriving, the departing and the transferring passengers, and the live waiting times at the terminal entrance, at the passport control and at the domestic control.

The airport has also opened a fourth runway and started the investments of its second phase, and it publishes the list of the airlines and of the ticket sales offices with the passenger guides.

Getting to and from Istanbul Airport

The M11 metro has 10 stations, among them Gayrettepe, Kağıthane, Üniversite-Hasdal, Kemerburgaz, Göktürk, İhsaniye, Istanbul Airport, Cargo Terminali, Taşoluk and Arnavutköy. The whole journey from Gayrettepe to the airport is 30 minutes, and the trains run every 20 minutes: from the airport towards Gayrettepe from 06:00 to 00:00, and from Gayrettepe towards the airport from 06:00 to 00:40.

The Havaist airport buses run on 11 lines between the city centre and the airport, among them Taksim, Kadıköy, Aksaray, Sultanahmet, Esenler, Bakırköy, Avcılar, Halkalı-Başakşehir, Beylikdüzü, Silivri and Arnavutköy. The IETT buses take 5 lines, and the airport's own pages also cover the intercity transport, the car rental and the parking.

What happens when you arrive at IST

Keep your passport and any form you filled in on the plane with you the whole way, from the aircraft door to the exit.

The airport publishes a passenger guide for the arriving passengers and one for the transferring ones, and the live waiting times show you how long the queues are at the terminal entrance, at the passport control and at the domestic control while you are on your way.

Istanbul Airport with children

The airport has five playgrounds with different themes, on a total area of 700 square metres, and it offers free buggy rides for the passengers with children up to 2 years old, both on and off the plane. There are also baby care rooms, a special parking area for families with children and a special entrance gate, plus family priority security checkpoints.

Leave the passports and the children's documents in your carry-on bag, not in the checked luggage, so you have them at passport control. And the IETT buses are adapted for wheelchairs, which is worth knowing if you are pushing a stroller.

Plan your stop at Istanbul Airport

Check with the airline and with the airport's own passenger guides before you travel, because the terminal, the airlines and the arrival procedures change. And check with the embassy or consulate about the documents your family needs for the entry rules of every country on your route.

Sources

• Official page of Istanbul Airport on the urban transport: the Havaist airport buses on their 11 lines, the M11 metro with its 10 stations, and the IETT buses. — istairport.com (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of Istanbul Airport on the child and family services: the playgrounds, the free buggy rides, the family parking and the family entrance gate, the baby care rooms and the strollers. — istairport.com (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of Istanbul Airport on the transport to and from the airport, with the urban and the intercity transport, the parking and the car rental, and the links to the passenger guides. — istairport.com (checked 21 October 2026)