In the largest city of Turkey - Istanbul - there are two air harbors. Both of them are international. But the airport named after Sabiha Gokcen (the first Turkish military pilot) accepts mainly domestic flights or low-cost airlines. If you are not traveling with a low-cost airline, then most likely you will be met by the main air harbor of Turkey - Ataturk. The airport bears the name of the leader of the Turkish people, which only emphasizes its important status. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the first president of the republic and is still considered a national hero. And by the way, Sabiha Gokcen was his adopted daughter. In this article, we will focus on the country's main airport, whose full name is İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı. How not to get lost in this huge transport hub? How to easily get to the city center? Are there hotels nearby? Is it possible to change currency or leave luggage in the luggage room? How to refund VAT? We will try to answer all these questions below.
Brief description of Ataturk Airport
Travellers in their reviews are often surprised at how huge the air hosting them seems from a heightharbor. It is even more impressive when passengers pass through the sleeves to the huge terminals. And if you get acquainted with the statistics about the harbor, then there will be no limits to amazement. Ataturk International Airport is the largest in the country, third in Europe in terms of the number of passengers served and eleventh in the world. In 2015, the flow of travelers reached 61 million people! This prompted the Turkish authorities to build a third airport in Istanbul. And the main harbor has become impossible to expand, since the sprawling metropolis surrounded it on three sides with residential areas, and on the fourth is the Sea of Marmara. Now the airport is like a town with its shops, hotels, parking lots, cargo docks and other infrastructure. Its area is 9.5 million square meters, of which 62.5 thousand m2 is occupied by terminals. The hub is the headquarters of Turkish Airlines, Onur Air and Atlasglobal.
History of the airport
The hub was built at the dawn of Turkish aviation, back in 1912. True, then it was a military airport. After the passions after the First World War subsided a bit, it was decided to convert it to the needs of civil aviation. In 1938, the first passenger terminal was built. Soon, the geographical map of flights expanded significantly (initially, flights were carried out only on the Istanbul-Ankara route). Passenger traffic also increased. Therefore, in 1953, the old terminal was demolished, and a new one was built in its place, meeting international requirements for internationalairports. For a long time, the hub was called Yesilkey - after the village in the Bakirkey district, where it is located. And since 1980, it has become known as Ataturk Airport. Since this is the main air gate of the country, the Turkish government spares no expense for its reconstruction. The last one took place in the late 1990s. As a result, the terminals received modern elevators, escalators and travelators, new shops and cafes were opened, and free Wi-Fi was launched.
Terminals
The airport consists of three buildings. One thing stands apart - this is a cargo terminal. The other two are interconnected by a convenient underground passage. If you are arriving from Russia and want to travel further by air, for example, to Antalya, then you need to go through passport control and go from terminal "I" ("International") to "D" ("Domestic"), from where domestic flights are made. But if you are in Istanbul only passing through, and waiting to board the next liner, following outside of Turkey, you do not need to leave the transit zone of Ataturk Airport. Convenient air bridges will allow you to quickly and without experiencing the vagaries of the weather to move from the aircraft to the terminal building. Does the connecting flight leave after 12 hours or more? There is an Air Side branch of the TAV Hotel right in the transit area. The other half is within a five-minute walk from the terminals. The departure and arrival halls are located on different floors of the buildings.
How to spend time at the airport
Even the most budget travellers, the harbor has everything tocomfortable waiting for flights. You can charge mobile phones and laptops free of charge, use wireless Internet. In any hall of the two passenger terminals, there are enough eateries (Burger King, McDonald's, Starbucks Cafe) and restaurants, shops and souvenir shops. We have already mentioned the hotel at Ataturk Airport. TAV Hotel helps out those travelers who arrive in Istanbul late in the evening or depart early in the morning. "Land Side" - a branch of the hotel next to the international terminal - is available to everyone. You can also stay at Air Side, but they are only allowed in after check-in with boarding passes. If you book a hotel in advance, the room will cost you less. In a 5-10 minute drive from the airport there are about five more hotels of world chains, in particular, SAS Radisson, Holiday Inn, Marritt, Sheraton. If the waiting time for a flight is limited to 2-3 hours, you can use one of the VIP lounges with upholstered furniture and other amenities. In case you want to go to the city for a tour, leave your luggage in the luggage room.
Where can I fly from the airport
More than a hundred airlines send their liners here. The board of departures from Ataturk Airport is unlikely to fit, if reproduced, on one page, but it is available on the hub website. Istanbul is connected with all European countries, many states of North Africa and the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and the USA. It is in this air harbor that Aeroflot planes arrive from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Turkish airlineAtlasglobal operates flights from Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Sheremetyevo, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Samara. Onur Air will deliver passengers to Istanbul from Chelyabinsk, Grozny, Nalchik, Rostov-on-Don. And Turkish Airlines, the flagship of Turkish civil aviation, connects the City on two continents with more than one hundred and one hundred airports in the world. It should be said that, according to the requirements for modern hubs with international status, you can check in for a flight online at İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı.
How to get from the air harbor to the city is expensive and fast
The airport is located in the European part of Istanbul. If we consider Sultanahmet Square as the center of the city, then the hub is located 24 kilometers to the west of it. Therefore, unlike Sabiha Gokcen Airport, getting to Istanbul is simple and easy. Consider all options. The most hassle-free, but also the most expensive way to get to the city is a transfer from Ataturk Airport. In the arrivals hall, along with a crowd of people meeting you, a driver will be waiting for you with a sign on which your name will be indicated. He will help you with your luggage and take you to the specified address. At the same time, you can pre-select a car of a suitable class - from economy to executive. The second way is to rent a car. In the arrivals halls, there are enough rental offices. Taxi at Ataturk Airport (Istanbul) can also be ordered online. The trip to the city center will last about half an hour. For landing you need to pay two and a half lira and another one and a half - for each kilometer of the way. Average taxi ride to city centerwill cost 50 lira (for reference: 1 lira is 15 rubles).
How to get from the airport to the city quickly and cheaply. Metro
Experienced travelers advise taking a taxi only if you need to get to remote areas of Istanbul. Why pay for standing in traffic jams, if you can get to the city in the same half an hour and spend four lira at the same time? Ataturk Airport is connected to Istanbul by light rail lines. Half of the way will pass underground. How do I get to the terminus of the subway called "Hawalimani" (Airport)? The station is located directly below the international terminal. Once you have collected your luggage and proceeded to the arrivals hall, follow the Metro/Subway signs to the escalator. There is a ticket office and token vending machines in front of the entrance to the station. If you plan to drive only once from the airport to the city, it is more profitable to buy the latter. One token costs 4 lira. But if you want to actively use the public transport of the metropolis, purchase "Istanbulkart" (10 lira). If necessary, it can be replenished with money. Moreover, one trip on the card will cost you not four, but only 2.5 lira. The metro line runs from the airport to the Fatih and Aksaray districts, making 23 stops along the way. To quickly see the main attractions of Istanbul, you should get to the Zeytinburnu station, go to the surface of the earth and transfer to the T1 tram. It will take you to the Sultanahmet area where Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Cisterns, the Hippodrome and other tourist spots are located.
Get to know Istanbul better
The first option is suitable for those travelers who have at least three hours to spare. Of these, 90 minutes will be spent on travel there and back. And if you have more time to spare, we offer you another option for a trip to get to know the sights of Turkey's greatest city more fully. Ataturk Airport - Aksaray: This metro journey takes less than half an hour. Then you can walk to Sultanahmet Square. The path of two and a half kilometers runs through the picturesque Laleli district and the busy Ordu street. Passing by the Blue Mosque and the Sultan's Palace, you go down to the sea, to the embankments of Karakoy and Eminenu, from where you can take a ferry to the Princes' Islands from the Kabatas pier or take a boat trip along the Golden Horn. You can cross the picturesque Galata Bridge or take the funicular up to the Taksim area.
Istanbul in transit
Many travelers arrive at Ataturk Airport to then travel on board a low-cost flight to other countries. In this case, they are interested in how to quickly get to the second, smaller air harbor of Istanbul. Salihi Airport can only be reached from Ataturk's hub with a transfer at Taksim Square. So that the journey does not take you much time, look for the express bus stop at the exit from the arrivals hall. They are called "Hawatash". Large white cars are easily recognizable by the words "Havatas" on the side. Make sure that the bus goes exactly to Taksim, as the other "Havatas" goes to the terminus "Yenikapi Port" (European part of the city). The fare is worthten lire. The journey, which lasts half an hour at night, can stretch up to one and a half during peak hours. Therefore, if you are in a hurry, it is better to get to the Salihi hub by metro, light rail or funicular, ferry, and then by bus.
Around Turkey by bus or train
Now information for those passengers who, having arrived at Ataturk Airport, wish to travel around the country by land. Buses in Turkey are very comfortable, air-conditioned, with wide reclining seats, service and Wi-Fi on board. They run strictly according to the schedule, and travel in them is relatively cheap. Getting to Istanbul's main bus station is very easy. From the international terminal, go down to the metro and go to the Esenler Otogar stop. You rise to the surface - and you are already at the main bus station of the city. The path to Harem station is more winding. It is located in the Asian part of the city, while the airport is in the European part. Therefore, you need to take the metro to the Eminonu embankment, find the Harem pier, cross the Bosphorus and look for the bus station. Bayrampasa Otogar can be reached by city metro. Travelers who have chosen rail transport need to get to the main station of Sirkeci. It is located very conveniently - a stone's throw from the metro stop of the same name. The hardest thing to get to is located in the Asian part of Istanbul, the Haydarpasa station. You need to go by metro to the Eminenu stop. Then take the ferry and get off at the Haydarpasa pier.
How to get from the city to Istanbul Ataturk Air Harbor
The public transport network in the metropolis is verybranched. In the daytime, give preference to the metro or light rail, which moves along a dedicated line and does not depend on traffic jams. From literally every point in Istanbul, you can drive up to the subway station.
How to get VAT back
Purchases worth more than one hundred lira, present forms and receipts at customs. After receiving the stamp, go to one of the three VAT refund points located in the departure hall. Only one of them works around the clock - "Global Blue". Turk Tax Refund and DSD Refund are open during the day.
Ataturk Airport Reviews
Travelers are pleasantly surprised by the level of service in Turkey's main air harbor. The airport is equipped with the latest technology. Despite the huge size, it is almost impossible to get lost in the terminals, since the inscriptions in Turkish are duplicated in English and pictures. Passengers with children assure that the kids will not be bored here - everywhere there are corners with toys and playgrounds with slides and swings. Shopaholics are delighted with local duty free shops. Airport staff are extremely polite and show Turkish hospitality.
