Major Airports in Turkey

Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey has built one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation networks, anchored by Istanbul Airport – the global mega-hub of Turkish Airlines and one of the busiest airports on the planet. More than 45 Turkish airports carry scheduled flights, from the two giants serving Istanbul to a string of sun-soaked coastal airports that fill with charter jets every summer.

✈️ See also: Most Active Airlines in Turkey — which carriers fly the most routes from Turkey, mapped.

Beyond Istanbul, the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts – Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum and Izmir – draw vast seasonal leisure traffic, while Ankara anchors the domestic network and eastern gateways such as Trabzon, Gaziantep and Diyarbakir connect the regions. Below we map and rank Turkey’s major airports by the number of nonstop destinations each one serves, drawn from live route data on AirportRoutes.

Because the figures come from observed flight data – a large sample rather than a complete published timetable – we use the regularly-served count, which filters out one-off and seasonal-only observations. That matters in Turkey, where holiday airports like Antalya and Bodrum show many summer-only charter routes; ranking by regularly-served destinations gives a fairer picture of year-round connectivity.

Which Turkish airports fly to the US – and internationally?

Turkey’s long-haul flying is concentrated almost entirely at Istanbul Airport (IST). As the home of Turkish Airlines – a carrier that reaches more countries than any other airline in the world – IST is a true super-connector, linking Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas across roughly 162 intercontinental routes. Its low-cost sibling Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) adds a dense web of European and Middle Eastern links, while the coastal resorts connect mainly to Europe.

Nonstop flights to the United States run only from Istanbul. From IST, Turkish Airlines (joined on some routes by United, Delta and American) flies nonstop to cities including New York, Newark, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston, Detroit, Denver and Seattle. No other Turkish airport offers scheduled nonstop US service – travellers from Antalya, Izmir, Ankara or the coast reach America by connecting through Istanbul.

A closer look at Turkey’s biggest airports

🛫 Istanbul Airport (IST)

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Istanbul Airport opened in 2018-19 to replace the old Ataturk Airport and is now one of the largest airports in the world. It sits on the European side of the city, near the Black Sea, and serves as the sprawling global hub of Turkish Airlines.

Serving Istanbul, IST reaches about 257 regularly-served nonstop destinations – by far the most of any Turkish airport – including roughly 162 intercontinental routes. Top destinations span Ankara, Izmir and Antalya at home plus a vast international network from Frankfurt to Almaty.

Main airlines: Turkish Airlines (dominant), with international carriers such as Wizz Air, Saudia, Air Astana and Transavia France. See the full route map for IST on AirportRoutes →

🛬 Sabiha Gokcen (SAW)

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Sabiha Gokcen is Istanbul’s second airport, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. It is the main base of low-cost giant Pegasus Airlines, and a key hub for AJet and Turkish Airlines, focused on dense domestic, European and Middle Eastern flying.

Serving Istanbul, SAW reaches about 143 regularly-served nonstop destinations, blending a heavy domestic schedule with low-cost links across Europe and the Gulf. Top destinations include Antalya, Izmir, Ankara, Adana and Trabzon.

Main airlines: Pegasus Airlines, AJet, Turkish Airlines, Flynas. See the full route map for SAW on AirportRoutes →

🏖️ Antalya (AYT)

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Antalya is Turkey’s number-one holiday airport and the gateway to the Turkish Riviera, the Mediterranean coastline of resorts that fills with European and Russian sunseekers every summer. By passenger numbers it rivals Istanbul’s airports at the seasonal peak.

Serving Antalya, AYT reaches about 136 regularly-served nonstop destinations – and many more summer-only charters on top – with around 133 of them international. Top destinations include Istanbul, Dusseldorf, Ankara, Moscow and Stuttgart.

Main airlines: SunExpress, Pegasus Airlines, Corendon Airlines, Southwind Airlines, Jet2 and other leisure carriers. See the full route map for AYT on AirportRoutes →

🏛️ Izmir / Adnan Menderes (ADB)

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Adnan Menderes Airport serves Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, on the Aegean coast. It is the gateway to Aegean resorts such as Cesme and Kusadasi and to the ancient ruins of Ephesus, with strong links to Germany’s large Turkish community.

Serving Izmir, ADB reaches about 91 regularly-served nonstop destinations, mixing a solid domestic network with European leisure and diaspora routes. Top destinations include Istanbul, Ankara and Dusseldorf.

Main airlines: SunExpress, Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Corendon Airlines, Jet2, AJet. See the full route map for ADB on AirportRoutes →

🏙️ Ankara Esenboga (ESB)

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Esenboga International serves Ankara, Turkey’s capital, and is the country’s main government and business gateway. It carries one of Turkey’s strongest domestic networks, fanning out to cities across Anatolia.

Serving Ankara, ESB reaches about 73 regularly-served nonstop destinations, weighted towards domestic flying – around 36 Turkish cities – alongside a selection of international routes. Top destinations include Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Erzurum and Van.

Main airlines: Turkish Airlines, AJet, Pegasus Airlines, SunExpress, Iraqi Airways. See the full route map for ESB on AirportRoutes →

⛵ Dalaman (DLM)

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Dalaman Airport sits on the southwest Mediterranean coast and is the gateway to the resorts of Fethiye, Marmaris, Oludeniz and Gocek. It is overwhelmingly a seasonal leisure airport, dominated by British and other European holiday traffic.

Serving the Mugla coast, DLM reaches about 49 regularly-served nonstop destinations, with almost no domestic flying and a heavy tilt towards UK and northern European cities. Top destinations include London, Manchester, Birmingham and Moscow.

Main airlines: SunExpress, Jet2, TUI Airways, easyJet, Turkish Airlines, TUIfly. See the full route map for DLM on AirportRoutes →

🌊 Trabzon (TZX)

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Trabzon International lies on the Black Sea coast in Turkey’s lush, mountainous northeast. It is the main gateway to the green Pontic highlands – a region increasingly popular with visitors from the Gulf – as well as a busy domestic hub for the eastern Black Sea.

Serving Trabzon, TZX reaches about 28 regularly-served nonstop destinations, blending domestic routes with links to the Gulf and the Caucasus. Top destinations include Istanbul, Ankara, Baku and Riyadh.

Main airlines: Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines, SunExpress, Flynas, AJet, flyadeal. See the full route map for TZX on AirportRoutes →

🏝️ Bodrum / Milas-Bodrum (BJV)

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Milas-Bodrum Airport serves the upmarket Aegean resort of Bodrum and its peninsula, one of Turkey’s most fashionable summer destinations. Like Dalaman it is heavily seasonal, quiet in winter and packed with European and regional charters in high summer.

Serving Bodrum, BJV reaches about 25 regularly-served nonstop destinations – with many more summer-only routes on top, around 33 of them international at peak. Top destinations include Istanbul, Ankara, Moscow, Riyadh and London.

Main airlines: Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Jet2, AJet, easyJet, Discover Airlines. See the full route map for BJV on AirportRoutes →

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