IST or SAW? What Istanbul's Two Airport Codes Mean for Your Trip

Istanbul has two international airports with two codes: IST is Istanbul Airport, on the European side north of the city, and SAW is Sabiha Gökçen International, on the Asian side. They are separate airports on different continents, with the Bosphorus between them, so the code printed on your ticket decides where you land, how you get into town and whether a connection can work at all. Here is how to read the two codes before you book.

IST: the code that moved

IST belongs to Istanbul Airport, the large airport that opened on the European side north of the city and took over all scheduled passenger flights from the old Atatürk Airport in 2019. With the move, the code IST went with it; Atatürk Airport was given the code ISL and no longer handles scheduled passenger flights.

This matters because older guides, saved bookings and even some hotel websites still describe “the airport near the city centre” as IST. If a blog post tells you the airport is a short ride from the old town and gives a tram connection, it is describing Atatürk, not the airport your flight uses today. Trust the airport name on your boarding pass, Istanbul Airport, and ignore any directions written before the move.

SAW: the Asian-side airport

SAW is Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, on the Asian side of the city, east of the Bosphorus. It is not a small regional field but a major airport in its own right, with both domestic and international flights, and the main base of Pegasus.

Its position is the thing to understand. If you are staying in Kadıköy, Üsküdar or elsewhere on the Asian shore, SAW can be the closer airport. If your hotel is in Sultanahmet, Beyoğlu or the other European-side districts, arriving at SAW means crossing the Bosphorus on the way in, by road or by rail under the strait. Our guide to Sabiha Gökçen arrivals and the HAVABÜS covers the first hour there.

The two airports compared

	IST: Istanbul Airport	SAW: Sabiha Gökçen
Side of the city	European, north of the centre	Asian, east of the Bosphorus
Code history	Took over IST from Atatürk in 2019	Unchanged
Home airline	Turkish Airlines’ main hub	Main base of Pegasus; AJet flies here too
Rail link	M11 metro line	M4 metro line
Airport buses	Havaist	HAVABÜS
Closer for	European-side districts	Asian-side districts

The airline is a strong hint but not a rule. Turkish Airlines is based at IST and Pegasus at SAW, yet airline groups move flights between the two, so check the code on each individual flight before assuming.

Why the code matters when you book

Booking sites often let you search for “Istanbul, all airports”, which is convenient but mixes the two in one list. A cheaper fare into SAW can look like a bargain until you add the cross-city transfer to a European-side hotel; a flight out of IST can be awkward if you are staying in Kadıköy. Compare the full journey, not the fare alone.

The bigger risk is a connection. If you book two separate tickets, one landing at IST and the next leaving from SAW, you are not connecting at an airport; you are crossing a city of millions by road or rail, through passport control, baggage claim and check-in again. The second airline has no obligation to wait if the first flight on a separate ticket is late. Keep both flights at the same airport, or leave an entire day between them.

Getting into the city from each airport

Both airports are connected to the metro network: the M11 line serves Istanbul Airport and the M4 line serves Sabiha Gökçen, and each airport has its own coach service into the main districts, Havaist at IST and HAVABÜS at SAW. Taxis and pre-booked transfers wait at both. Our guide to getting from Istanbul’s airports into the city compares the options for each arrival, including late-night ones.

Your Istanbulkart works on the metro lines from both airports. If you arrive without one, the machines in the stations sell it; have a card or cash ready.

Reading the airport map before you land

Behind the search for an “Istanbul airport map” there is one practical question: where am I going to walk after the plane? Istanbul Airport is one very large terminal building, and long walks between the gate, passport control and baggage claim are part of arriving there. SAW is more compact. In both, follow the signs for arrivals, then for the metro or the airport buses, which are clearly marked in Turkish and English.

Look at the terminal map on the airport’s official website before you fly. Our Istanbul Airport arrival guide walks through the first steps after the gate at IST.

A line that is ready at either airport

The first thing you do in the arrivals hall at IST or SAW is open a map, a ride-hailing app or a message from your driver. Airport Wi-Fi can ask for a local phone number or a passport scan before it lets you on, so a data line of your own saves that step; compare data sizes on our plans and prices page.

Turkey eSIM is installed at home over Wi-Fi before departure, so nothing has to be done in the terminal: no SIM shop, no QR code to hunt for, no passport registration at a counter. The steps for each phone are in our eSIM installation guides.