Atatürk Airport

Atatürk Airport (IATA: ISL, ICAO: LTBA) is a public airport located in Yeşilköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Formerly the primary international airport of Istanbul and the hub of Turkish Airlines, it was closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019. From that point, all commercial scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new Istanbul Airport. Since the move of commercial operations to the new airport, Atatürk Airport is open to general aviation and functions as an executive airport. History Growth and development In 1911, a small apron with two hangars was built in Yeşilköy, Istanbul, for the Ottoman Armed Forces. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded Türk Tayyare Cemiyeti (Turkish Aircraft Company, today Türk Hava Kurumu - THK) in 1925. In 1933, today's Turkish Airlines, the Türkiye Devlet Hava Yolları started its flights with two Curtiss Kingbird aircraft. Flights from Istanbul to Ankara and Athens began. The small apron was expanded and a new passenger terminal was built. This is considered the beginning of the airport's 86-year history. It was originally named Yeşilköy Airport. In the 1980s, it was renamed Atatürk International Airport. It served more than 60 million passengers in 2015, making it the 11th-busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic and the 10th-busiest in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. In 2017, it was Europe's 5th-busiest airport after London–Heathrow, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt Airport, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, having fallen from third place after a decline in passengers due to security fears. Closure Istanbul Atatürk Airport was replaced in regards to commercial passenger functions by the newly constructed Istanbul Airport, in April 2019, in order to meet Istanbul's growing domestic and international air traffic demand as a source, destination, and transit point. Both airports were used in parallel for five months from late 2018, with the new airport gradually expanding to serve more domestic and regional destinations. On 6 April 2019, Atatürk's IST IATA airport code was inherited by Istanbul Airport and Atatürk Airport was assigned the code ISL after the full transfer of all scheduled passenger activities to the new airport was completed. The final commercial flight, Turkish Airlines Flight 54, left Atatürk Airport on 6 April 2019 at 02:44 for Singapore. On 5 February 2022, Turkish Cargo relocated all cargo flights and operations from their former hub at the airport to the new Istanbul Airport. Atatürk Airport National Garden Turkey's government announced its plans to construct a giant park on the grounds of the former Istanbul Atatürk Airport (whose operations were transferred to the new Istanbul Airport) in 2019. The park, Atatürk Airport National Garden, is part of a larger urban transformation plan that seeks to correct some of the haphazard urban planning that characterised most major Turkish cities since the 1970s. Due to the little space available to construct or expand green spaces, new parks are often constructed on spots formerly occupied by factories or other major facilities. The Atatürk Airport National Garden was to be constructed on and around one of the two runways of Atatürk Airport. These runways were already rendered unusable after they were chosen as the site for Istanbul's pandemic hospital in early 2020. More than 132,500 trees are to be planted in place of the asphalt runway and taxiways that will also help to keep the city cooler. The other runway was set to remain in use for select cargo and private jet flights, aviation fairs (such as Teknofest) and for use by the Turkish Air Force (which still maintains a small training base and the Istanbul Aviation Museum here). The leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu called the proposed construction of the park "treason" and threatened to hold those responsible to account. Construction commenced in 2022. First areas of the park were opened to the public in 2023. In 2024, the Council of State cancelled the construction tender, following a lawsuit filed by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The park officially opened to the public on 1 November 2025. Facilities Former passenger terminals Istanbul Atatürk Airport featured two passenger terminals linked to each other. The former domestic terminal is the older and smaller of the two terminals and exclusively handled domestic flights within Turkey. It featured its own check-in and airside facilities on the upper floor, with twelve departure gates equipped with jet bridges and five baggage claim belts on the ground level. The former international terminal was inaugurated in 2000 and used for all international flights. It featured a large main hall containing 8 check-in aisles and a wide range of airside facilities such as shops and restaurants, 34 gates equipped with jet bridges, and 7 bus-boarding stands. The arrivals floor had 11 baggage claim belts. In addition, there is a general aviation terminal to the northwest of the passenger terminals. Former cargo terminal The airport featured a dedicated cargo terminal including facilities for the handling of radioactive and refrigerated freight. Other facilities Turkish Airlines has its headquarters in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building, located within the airport campus. Prima Aviation Services Inc. has its MRO facilities in new technical site at the air side Gate A. A metro station on the M1A line served the airport from its opening on 20 December 2002. In May 2020, the Yeşilköy Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Emergency Hospital using the former site of the 35L/35R runways were opened in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Current operations As of April 2019, all passenger operations have been relocated to the new Istanbul Airport. As of February 2022, all cargo operations have been relocated to the new airport as well. Currently, the airport serves only private and business jets as well as operations on behalf of the Government of Turkey. Traffic statistics Movements Accidents and incidents On 30 January 1975, Turkish Airlines Flight 345, crashed into the Sea of Marmara during its final approach to the airport. All 42 passengers and crew on board were killed. On 24 April 1998, an engine of an Ilyushin Il-62M (registered YR-IRD) exploded shortly before take-off of the aircraft, which was operating a passenger flight from Istanbul Atatürk Airport on behalf of Trans-Asia. Due to the ensuing fire, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. All 64 passengers and 9 crew members on board survived. On 25 April 2015, Turkish Airlines Flight 1878, operated by an A320-200, TC-JPE was severely damaged in a landing accident. The aircraft aborted the first hard landing, which inflicted engine and gear damage. On the second attempt at landing, the right gear collapsed and the aircraft rolled off the runway spinning 180 degrees. All 97 passengers and 5 crew members survived with no injuries. The aircraft was written off as a result of the accident. On 28 June 2016, three terrorists killed 44 civilians by gunfire and subsequent suicide bombings, along with 239 civilians injured. The three men arrived in a taxi cab and opened fire at the terminal. The three men then blew themselves up when police opened fire. The airport has X-ray scanners at the entrance to the terminal but security checks for cars are limited. On 15 July 2016, the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt took place. During the attempted coup, units of the Turkish Armed Forces seized control of the airport and closed it, but it was reopened after pro-government forces regained control. Accolades The Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists İstanbul Atatürk Airport as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects completed in the first 50 years of the chamber's existence. In the 2013 Air Transport News awards ceremony, İstanbul Atatürk Airport was named Airport of the Year. The airport was named Europe's Best Airport in the 40–50 million passenger per year category at the 2013 Skytrax World Airport Awards. See also List of the busiest airports in Turkey List of the busiest airports in Europe List of the busiest airports in Europe (2010–2015) References This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency External links Media related to Istanbul Atatürk Airport at Wikimedia Commons Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 8 February 2020) "Current weather for LTBA". NOAA/NWS. Accident history for IST at Aviation Safety Network