- Airport history
- Terminal
- Passenger safety
- How to get to the airport by bus
- Airport shuttle and metrobus
- Airport hotels
The city of Istanbul, located on two continents at once, has two airports. Ataturk International Airport is considered the main one; it is located in the European part of Istanbul. Sabiha Gokcen Airport can be found on the Asian side, in the Pendik region, a few dozen kilometers from the central part of one of the most famous cities in Turkey. The airport got its name in honor of the woman Sabiha Gokcen, who was the first Turkish woman to fly a plane.
Before the reconstruction, the airport annually received up to 3 million foreign passengers. The domestic portion of the terminal handled 0.5 million passengers a year. Now these numbers have increased significantly. Currently, the passenger traffic has increased to 28 million people. That is why the airport is the second largest in Turkey after Istanbul Ataturk Airport. There are 3 airlines based here: Pegasus Airlines, Borajet and Turkish Airlines.
Airport history
Sabiha Gokcen Airport was opened in 2001. Its construction was caused by the heavy workload of another Istanbul Ataturk Airport. Until 2004, Sabiha Gokcen Airport was practically not used, as the company that manages Ataturk Airport believed that it would incur colossal losses due to the transfer of flights to the new airport. Initially, 2 terminals were built at the airport: for international and domestic flights.
The airport became part of the Advanced Technologies Industrial Park program. It was to become an excellent technological base with a unique infrastructure. The passenger who found himself at the airport, in addition to transport services, should have received a number of interesting offers. All this remained just an unfulfilled dream.
Sabiha Gokcen Airport was originally designed to serve a much smaller number of passengers than Ataturk Airport. In June 2007, several contractors were awarded a contract to expand this airport. The new terminal appeared here in 2009. The terminal building has two wings. One of them is intended for servicing international routes, the second - for domestic ones.
Due to its location on the Asian side of Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen Airport is not very popular with carriers. Most of the major airlines prefer to cooperate with Ataturk Airport, which is located a little closer to Europe. Sabiha Gokcen Airport mainly serves international flights of Turkish airlines and charter seasonal flights. Some low-cost airlines from Europe and the CIS countries also choose this particular airport. Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Anadolu Jet, Sunexpress and some other small airlines fly from here to cities in Turkey.
In September 2010, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport was named the world's best airport for low-cost carriers. In 2015, it served 206,000 aircraft, making it the second busiest airport in the world with a single runway. The first place is taken by London Gatwick Airport. And although it has two runways, it cannot use them at the same time.
Currently, the second runway has been commissioned at Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Terminal
In the building of the new airport terminal, you can spend several hours waiting for your flight and at the same time not get bored at all, but find something to your liking. The terminal consists of:
- a four-storey car park for more than 4500 cars. At the same time, only 3,836 cars are placed in a covered parking lot, and slightly less than a thousand can be parked in the open air. There is also a parking lot for buses and minibuses;
- a four-story hotel with 128 rooms, which is attached to the terminal;
- 112 check-in counters and 24 online check-in counters;
- VIP-zones, where the lounges of increased comfort are located;
- conference center with an area of 400 square meters;
- a tourist office, where you can get comprehensive information about the work of city transport, how to get from the airport to Istanbul or other cities in Turkey, about hotels, cultural events in the city, etc.;
- foot court with an area of 5 thousand square meters, where you can find cafes and restaurants for every taste;
- trading floor, where on the territory of 4500 sq. m there are duty-free shops. Here you can buy souvenirs, jewelry, watches from famous manufacturers, clothes of fashion brands, Turkish sweets, drinks and much more.
The airport cargo terminal can receive up to 90 tons of cargo per year. For the preservation of perishable goods, 18 spacious refrigerating chambers are installed here.
Passenger safety
For the safety of the airport, aircraft and passengers, all entrances to the terminal are controlled by a smart card system. Inside the building and along its perimeter, 137 moving cameras are installed, which continuously shoot and transmit footage to 60 screens.
The customs service uses devices that can recognize, among other things in luggage, drugs and explosives, weapons, valuable historical artifacts that are prohibited from exporting from the country. Each violation is recorded and transmitted to the screen to the operator, who can already intervene and invite the passenger to clarify the situation.
Sabiha Gokcen Airport is considered unique. It was built in an area where destructive earthquakes are frequent. During the construction of the terminal, 300 seismic isolators were laid in its foundation. Such a building is able to withstand even the strongest earthquake. The technology used in the construction of this airport is now considered mandatory for the construction of similar terminals in other earthquake-prone corners of the world.
How to get to the airport by bus
Sabiha Gokcen Airport is not located in the most popular area of Istanbul. But the city authorities have done everything in their power to make it as easy as possible for passengers to get to the airport.
The airport can be reached with a rental car on the E80 road. Ordinary buses run along it.
From the Kartal metro station, which can be reached from anywhere in the city where there is a metro, the KM22 bus goes to the airport. If a passenger travels from the European part of the city, which is located on the other side of the Bosphorus, then he should take the Marmoray train to the Ayrilikchesme station, from where it is easy to get to Kartala by metro.
The final stop of the bus # E3, which also takes you to the airport, is located in the business sector of Istanbul - in the Levent district. There is a metro station at the 4. Levent stop, so it is very easy to get here from Mecidiekei and Taksim squares.
Buses # E10 and # E11 connect Sibihi Gokcen Airport with one of the most popular districts of Istanbul called Kadikoy. It is located in the Asian sector of the city.
Bus E9 runs to the airport from the prosperous area of Bostanci, where the most popular restaurants and trendy boutiques in the city are located. Bostanci can be reached by ferry.
Bus # 18H connects you to the airport from the Sultanbeyli area. This is a large non-tourist area with large shopping centers.
Finally, bus number 132 runs from Tepeoren to the airport.
Airport shuttle and metrobus
Havatas shuttles and metrobuses can be an alternative to regular buses.
Shuttles leave for the airport from the most crowded points of Istanbul - from Taksim and Kadikoy squares and from the Yenisakhra metro station. These buses run daily from 3:30 - 4:30 am to 1:00 am. The interval of movement is 30 minutes. It takes an hour and a half to get to the airport from Taksim Square, an hour from Kadikoy Square, and 45 minutes from Yenisakhra. But the way to the airport may take longer, as in Istanbul, as in any other large city, there are often "traffic jams". The fare is paid at the entrance to the shuttle. The ticket costs about 10-15 Turkish lira, depending on the route.
Metrobus is a road train that runs along a special line. The advantages of traveling by Metrobus are as follows:
- No traffic jams;
- high speed, which allows you to get to the airport faster than by bus or taxi;
- convenient fare payment system. The further you go, the more expensive you pay for the ticket.
The metro bus stop is not at the terminal itself, but a little further away - at the Unalan metro station, which can be reached by buses # E10 and # E11.
Airport hotels
Divan Istanbul Asia
Many Istanbul guests arriving at Sabiha Gokcen Airport prefer to stay in hotels located in its vicinity. There are several such hotels, and among them there are both luxury and budget.
Hotel Divan Istanbul Asia is located half a kilometer from the airport. One room in it costs about 120 euros, but for this price the guest gets a room superbly furnished with expensive elegant furniture with a set of ultra-modern household appliances.
The Lounge hotel is within walking distance from the airport. The road will take no more than 10 minutes. The cost of living is from 80 euros and more, depending on the selected room. The peculiarity of this hotel is that not all rooms are equipped with air conditioning. You should inquire about its availability when booking a room.
Hotel "Inera" is located close to the coast. To get to it, it is better to take a taxi. The airport is 10 km away from the hotel, so the fare will not be expensive. The average room charge is € 100.
A little closer is the budget hotel "Pendik Marine" (room rates - from 90 euros). It is only 1.5 km from the airport. The rooms are very stylishly decorated with wooden floors. The hotel has several restaurants, a laundry service and even a tour desk where you can book city tours.
