Check compensationCheck

Esenboğa International Airport (ESB): flight delays and compensation

Esenboğa International Airport. Not an EU airport: flights to Ankara from the EU and flights operated by EU airlines are covered by EU 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

Check compensation or start a claim with AirHelp straight away

In short: Flights departing from Esenboğa International Airport are covered by EU261 only with an EU airline; flights from an EU airport to Ankara are always covered, and flights from the UK by UK261. Departures: covered only on EU (or UK) airlines flying to the EU (or UK).

Live at Ankara (ESB) today

Loading the live board…

About the airport

Esenboğa International Airport (ESB) serves Ankara, Turkey. On the routes Eurostat reports, 11,121,355 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 44th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Istanbul, Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya.

This airport is outside the EU and the UK: departing flights are covered by EU261 only if an EU airline operates them to the EU (or UK261 if a UK or EU airline flies them to the UK). Flights arriving here from the EU or the UK are covered with any airline.

Busiest routes from Ankara – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom ESBReturn
Istanbul IST1,497,202381 km––
Istanbul SAW1,329,543323 km––
Izmir ADB875,721543 km––
Antalya AYT823,201407 km––
Tymbou (Kirklar) ECN689,588555 km€250*€250
Van VAN370,438908 km––
Diyarbakır DIY363,566670 km––
Trabzon TZX346,086582 km––
Gaziantep GZT342,611526 km––
Bodrum BJV333,016562 km––
Erzurum ERZ268,583696 km––
Şanlıurfa GNY233,419592 km––
Elazığ EZS226,478567 km––
Rize RZV206,812673 km––
Dalaman DLM205,706527 km––
Düsseldorf DUS196,2052,366 km€400*€400
Batman BAL168,764743 km––
Şırnak NKT159,080843 km––
Frankfurt FRA154,9492,197 km€400*€400
Malatya MLX145,819477 km––
Ordu OGU134,729440 km––
Vienna VIE127,9931,578 km€400*€400
Kars KSY122,045859 km––
Mardin MQM122,037737 km––
Muş MSR118,425760 km––
Ağrı AJI114,454857 km––
Munich MUC110,4331,912 km€400*€400
Iğdır IGD109,149926 km––
Çanakkale CKZ109,057558 km––
Adıyaman ADF105,113543 km––

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Esenboğa (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 47,051 flights arrived at ESB; 165 of them were held back this way, 79 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.07 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather100%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 25 November 2025 – 625 minutes, mostly weather; 9 January 2025 – 555 minutes, mostly weather; 27 January 2025 – 309 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 37,012 arrivals, 0.01 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (95%) and aerodrome capacity (4%).

Check what happened at ESB on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (100% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Esenboğa International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 47,051 arrivals at ESB in 2025; 165 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 79 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (100%).
  • The worst day was 25 November 2025, with 625 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

    Check your flight from Ankara

    Two minutes, free, no sign-up.

    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Esenboğa International Airport?

    Only if the flight is operated by an EU airline. With a non-EU airline, EU261 does not apply to departures from Esenboğa International Airport, but local rules and the Montreal Convention may give you a claim for proven losses.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Esenboğa International Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport (for example Frankfurt, Madrid or Budapest): yes, under EU261, whatever the airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.