Sabiha Gökçen International Airport Voyage Tips and guide

Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW  ^IATA) is one of the two international airports serving Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. It is 35 km southeast of Istanbul center, on the Asian side of the city.

The airport is named after Sabiha Gökçen, adopted daughter of Atatürk, the world's first female fighter pilot. It was built to relieve pressure on Istanbul Atatürk Airport (ISL ^IATA) on the European side and opened in 2001. As passenger numbers at Atatürk Airport rose even further, it was ultimately replaced by the new Istanbul Airport on the European side. Sabiha Gökçen airport continues to grow despite this, but isn't served by many of the big legacy airlines that serve the main airport on the European side. Low-cost carriers and charter airlines in particular use this airport. While most passengers will not think of SAW as a hub, Pegasus airlines operates a pretty extensive network via SAW (including secondary Turkish cities which don't have direct flights from much of Europe but also destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and may be an alternative to Turkish Airlines via IST whether your final destination is in Turkey or not. A new terminal opened in October 2009, expanding the airport's capacity to 25 million passengers per year. In 2023 the airport opened its second runway and there are plans for additional terminals to deal with the continued passenger growth, which reached 48 million in 2025.

The airport can get pretty busy at high Turkish holidays as it sees a lot of domestic travel. Plan for plenty of time (three hours to be on the safe side) to make your flight and check in online if possible.

Pegasus and AJet (formerly known as Anadolujet) are by far the largest airlines at SAW and offer connecting flights similar to Turkish Airlines at IST. While Pegasus or AJet may be cheaper than Turkish Airlines at times, the hassle of a connection at SAW is not much less than that of a connection at IST.

Metro M4 connects the airport with Kadiköy on the Asian side of the Bosporus.

From Kadıköy ferry port, bus lines E10 and E11 run every 20 minutes to Sabiha Gökçen, fare 8 lira, duration approx. 1 hour (or longer in heavy traffic). The city bus routes are mainly used by Istanbul residents.

Much more comfortable is the HAVATAŞ Shuttle, which connects the airport with 3 HAVATAŞ Shuttle Taksım (departure opposite the Taksim Divan Hotel, in front of the Point Hotel) or the 4 HAVATAŞ Shuttle Kadıköy Kadıköy Ferry Port almost around the clock (3:30 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.) non-stop, fare 14 TL (2015). Departure time to/from Taksim is always on the hour and half hour, from/to Kadıköy always 15 minutes before/after the hour. The journey time to Taksim is approx. 1½ hours (or longer in heavy traffic).

Private minibus transfers are available from around €25 (up to 6 people).

Istanbul Airport Transfer company offers taxi transfers to the airport, city and hotels at a fixed price. A taxi from Sabiha airport to Kadikoy, the center on the Asian side, costs around 800 TL.

From the center of Istanbul, take the express roads E6 or E5, follow the signs to the airport and leave the express road at the Pendik/Kurtköy exit.

There are parking spaces for short and long-term parkers in front of the terminals. Payment can be made in cash or by credit card at the checkout. The fees: up to 1 hour 7 TL, up to 3 hours 9 TL, up to 6 hours 13 TL, up to 12 hours 17 TL, up to 24 hours 23 TL, up to 4 days 65 TL, up to 7 days 109 TL, up to 15 days 142 TL and up to 30 days 162 TL.

If you need to change between the two airports, you have the following options:

• From Sabiha Gökçen by public transport: Bus E10 or E11 to Kadıköy, then the ferry to Eminönü, then tram T1 to Zeytinburnu, then continue with the metro to Havalimani (airport). Pure travel time 3 - 4 hours, price 15 TL, delays in city traffic are possible and are only recommended with light luggage due to the sometimes long transfer routes that are not barrier-free.
• With the Havaş buses via the central transfer point near Taksim Square: journey time approx. 2½ hours, price 23 TL
• By taxi: travel time approx. 90 minutes, price approx. 70€.

There are drinking water taps inside the departure terminal.

• Asian Side of Istanbul

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