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Istanbul (European side, Arnavutköy), Turkey
Istanbul Airport is one very large terminal building with long arms called piers: A, B, D and F for international flights, G for domestic flights, and C and E joined straight to the main building. Follow the transfer signs and ask a staff member if you are unsure. The gates can be a long walk apart, so plan extra time and ask for a free buggy if you are 65 or older.
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Your bags go through. You only change planes.
Take every bag you carried on board. If your checked bags were sent through to your final airport, you do not collect them here. Check your bag tag receipts, or ask at the transfer desk if you are not sure.
Do not follow signs for 'Arrivals', 'Baggage Claim' or 'Exit'. Follow the transfer signs for international flights. Airport staff in yellow vests are there to help older guests, so ask one if you are unsure.
On one booking you stay inside the secure area, so there is no passport check, as long as your next flight is also international. If your next flight is inside Turkey, the steps are different and you may have to pass passport control, so ask your airline before you travel. You do go through one more security check, with a scanner for you and your bag. Have your boarding pass ready if you already have one. Liquids must be 100 ml or less each, all in one clear bag. The airport offers a free Fast Track security service for guests aged 65 and over. Its list of Fast Track points names only one transfer security point, marked 'International - Domestic'. Ask a staff member whether you can use a Fast Track lane at your transfer security check.
The transfer desks are directly opposite the international-to-international transfer security checkpoint. They are run by ground staff companies (TGS, Celebi, Havas and Fugo) and serve Turkish Airlines and other airlines. Show your passport and ticket. Turkish Airlines calls this a transit check-in counter.
You come out on the departures floor, where the gates are. Look at the flight screens for your flight number. You can also use an 'Ask Me' touch screen (there are 23 in the terminal): scan your boarding pass and it shows your gate and a walking route. The Istanbul Airport phone app also shows gates, in English, Turkish and five other languages.
Do not wander. Sit near the transfer desks or at the free Napzone rest area opposite the transfer security checkpoint, and check the screens every 10 minutes or so. Ask the transfer desk staff, or phone the airport's 24 hour call center on 444 1 442 (a Turkish short number that may not work from a foreign phone). The airport also lists WhatsApp lines, but its own pages show two different numbers (+90 444 1 442 and +90 549 563 34 34), so a message may not get through. Gates can change, so check again before you walk to the gate.
Some gates are a long way from the transfer area (see 'Getting around'). If you are 65 or older, the electric buggy is free. Buggy stops on the departures floor are opposite gates C1, D1 and E1 and near the gate G information desk. You can also ask a yellow-vest helper or phone the airport's 24 hour call center on 444 1 442. The buggy call points near gates A11, B16-17, D13-14 and F14-16 are on the arrivals floor, not the departures floor. Leave for the gate as soon as you know it.
You collect your bags and check in again. Allow much more time.
With separate tickets your bags are usually not sent through, so you normally collect them and enter Turkey. Leave the plane with your hand luggage and follow the arrivals signs for passport control. If you have hand luggage only, ask your second airline before you travel whether you can get the next boarding pass in advance and stay inside the airport. Do not count on it. Check the entry rules for your passport before you travel. Do this at home, because it may mean you need a visa or e-visa.
Show your passport at a counter. If you need a visa, there are two visa offices before passport control. Staff cannot wave you through because you are only passing through. You have to be allowed in to collect bags.
Take your bags from the baggage belt in the international baggage claim. Porters are available at the arrivals baggage claim. Passengers with disabilities have priority waiting areas near the belts. There is a free water dispenser at International Baggage Claim.
Walk through customs and out to the landside area. Then go to the departures floor, find your next airline's check-in counter on the departure screens, and check in and drop off your bags. Information points are on the departures floor, across from entrance gate 2 and entrance gate 5, if you need to ask.
After check-in you pass departure passport control, then security again. Have your boarding pass ready for the second security check. Then find your gate on the screens.
No official minimum connection time was found for Istanbul Airport. On separate tickets you usually have to collect bags, pass passport control, check in again and go through security, so leave a very large margin. As plain advice for an older traveler, plan at least 4 hours between landing and the next flight, and more if the first flight is often late. Nobody has to hold your second plane for you on separate tickets.
Go to your second airline's desk or transfer desk straight away. The airport advises that for missed or cancelled connections you contact your airline's transfer desk. On separate tickets the second airline may not have to rebook you, so keep their phone number with you.
If you are on one booking, connecting between two international flights, and stay inside the secure transfer area, there is no passport control, and most travelers need no Turkish visa. If your next flight is inside Turkey, the steps are different and you may have to pass passport control. A few nationalities need a free electronic airport transit visa even if they stay inside the airport, depending on where they fly next. Check evisa.gov.tr or ask your airline before you travel. If you are on separate tickets, you will usually have to go through passport control and enter Turkey, and you must if you need to collect bags or leave the secure area, so check the entry rules for your own passport before you fly (some passports need a visa or e-visa, others do not). Istanbul Airport has two visa offices, placed before passport control, for people who need a visa. The airport's own FAQ says you need a Turkish visa if you must claim bags or enter the country. Some Turkish Airlines pages say no visa is needed for transit, so ask your airline which rule applies to your ticket.
There is only one terminal building, so there are no buses or trains between terminals. The international piers are A, B, D and F, with C and E joined directly to the main building, and G is for domestic flights only. The airport's own walking times from the Silent Room at gate B1 are: B gates 1 to 7 minutes, A gates 3 to 9, C gates 4 to 6, E gates 11 to 13, D gates 9 to 17, and F gates 14 to 23 minutes. These are for a normal walking pace, so allow more time if you walk slowly. An older travel writer (2019) measured more than 3,000 feet from security to a far gate, and a walk between far pier ends of more than a mile. So the distances can be long for older travelers. Free electric buggies are offered to guests 65 and over on a fixed route. Buggy desks on international departures are at C1 and E1, and on the arrivals floor at A5, B5, D9 and F6. There are also call points on the arrivals floor near gates A11, B16-17, D13-14 and F14-16. Buggies can be busy and the arrivals ones are not always available. Ask Me touch screens show a walking route to your gate.
Ask your airline, not the airport. Both Istanbul Airport and Turkish Airlines say to request wheelchair or special help when you book, or at least 48 hours before the flight. Turkish Airlines says later requests are met only if staff are available. Ask for help on every flight of your trip, including the connection, and ask the airline to confirm it in your booking. For help from the airport itself, call its 24 hour call center on 444 1 442 (a Turkish short number that may not work from a foreign phone), or email ist@igairport.aero. The airport also lists a WhatsApp line, but its pages show two different numbers (+90 444 1 442 and +90 549 563 34 34), so check which one works.
Airport staff in yellow vests are there to help guests aged 65 and over. Assistance call phones are on the guide paths from the metro station to the terminal entrance gates. Special Assistance Service Points are in the departures check-in area, across from the first and sixth terminal entrance gates. The free buggy stops and call points are described under 'Getting around'. After landing, go to the transfer desks opposite the international transfer security checkpoint.
Free for guests 65 and over: the buggy, and the Fast Track security service at the points the airport lists. Ask staff whether Fast Track is open at your transfer security check. Turkish Airlines says its wheelchair service is free for approved requests, but we could only see this in a search summary of its page. A paid Meet and Greet helper is available (35 percent off for guests over 65): book through the call center or igapass.com. A Sunflower Lanyard lets staff see you may need extra help. If you use a wheelchair or have a pacemaker, tell the security staff before you are screened. The airport says they use other search methods for you.
Transfer desks are directly opposite the international-to-international transfer security checkpoint, staffed by the ground handling companies TGS, Celebi, Havas and Fugo for Turkish Airlines and other airlines. Information points are on the departures floor across from entrance gates 2 and 5, before security. 'Ask Me' touch-screen kiosks (23 in the terminal) let you scan your ticket to see your gate and a walking route. Yellow-vest staff help guests aged 65 and over. The airport's 24 hour call center is 444 1 442 (a Turkish short number that may not work from a foreign phone). The email is ist@igairport.aero. The airport lists two different WhatsApp numbers on its pages, so do not rely on WhatsApp alone. The airport's phone app works in English, Turkish and five other languages, but not in Persian or Arabic. The airport website is also in Arabic, but staff language support in Persian or Arabic is not officially stated. Turkish Sign Language help is available at Ask Me kiosks. Two visa offices are before passport control.
Free Napzone rest areas are around the terminal, including opposite the transfer security checkpoint and near several international gates (A5, A7, B4, B18, C1, C4, E1, E4, F13). The free iGA Cares Silent Room is on the international side after passport control, opposite gate B1. It needs no booking, and there is a call button for staff. Free hot and cold drinking water is next to the transfer desks and at several gates (opposite A2, next to D2, opposite F1, next to Zone A-B). There is a Yotel hotel airside next to Zone A-B. Paid sleeping pods and lounges (35 percent off for guests over 65) are also available. Medical help runs 24 hours, with a polyclinic airside on the apron floor. The airport's pharmacies are on the departures and arrivals floors, and one is on the domestic side near gate G2. If you need medicine after passport control, the airport says you can ask at the nearest information desk for its free medicine delivery service. Adult changing rooms and a charging point for electric wheelchairs exist, but locations were not given.
Show this to a member of staff if you cannot say it. In Turkish
Aktarma uçuşumu bulmak için yardıma ihtiyacım var. (say: ahk-tar-MAH oo-choo-shoo-MOO bool-MAHK ee-CHEEN yahr-duh-MAH ee-tee-yah-juhm VAR)
I need help to find my connecting flight.
Transfer masası nerede? (say: TRANS-fer mah-sah-SUH neh-reh-DEH)
Where is the transfer desk?
Tekerlekli sandalyeye ihtiyacım var, lütfen. (say: teh-kehr-lehk-LEE sahn-dahl-yeh-YEH ee-tee-yah-juhm VAR, lewt-FEN)
I need a wheelchair, please.
Print this page, fill in the lines by hand, and keep the card in your pocket.
I am traveling alone. I need help to find my connecting flight. Please show me the way, or call someone who can help me. Thank you.
Aktarma uçuşumu bulmak için yardıma ihtiyacım var.
You can type the details here before printing. They stay on this device only.
Partly checked against official pages.
Airports change signs, gates and rules. This guide is general help, not an official instruction. Always follow the staff and the screens, and check with your airline.
Last prepared 2 November 2026.