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Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW): flight delays and compensation

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Not an EU airport: flights to Istanbul 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

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In short: Flights departing from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport are covered by EU261 only with an EU airline; flights from an EU airport to Istanbul 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 Istanbul (SAW) today

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About the airport

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) serves Istanbul, Turkey. On the routes Eurostat reports, 32,849,965 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 8th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Antalya, Izmir, Tymbou (Kirklar), Trabzon.

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 Istanbul – 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 SAWReturn
Antalya AYT2,357,074463 km––
Izmir ADB1,724,367343 km––
Tymbou (Kirklar) ECN1,547,419737 km€250*€250
Trabzon TZX1,406,683880 km––
Ankara ESB1,329,543323 km––
Bodrum BJV1,196,709430 km––
Dalaman DLM1,001,953468 km––
Kayseri ASR973,410579 km––
Gaziantep GZT908,584832 km––
London STN877,2692,518 km£350*£350
Samsun SZF687,726610 km––
Cologne CGN675,4522,030 km€400*€400
Düsseldorf DUS669,3802,074 km€400*€400
Amsterdam AMS627,4642,246 km€400*€400
Diyarbakır DIY618,145993 km––
Adana COV562,515668 km––
Vienna VIE500,4591,287 km€250*€250
Rize RZV492,994968 km––
Berlin BER479,0351,748 km€400*€400
Van VAN470,8251,229 km––
Erzurum ERZ463,7191,009 km––
Ordu OGU460,702737 km––
Stuttgart STR447,0131,799 km€400*€400
Frankfurt FRA443,2691,901 km€400*€400
Munich MUC407,2031,610 km€400*€400
Rome FCO405,9041,425 km€250*€250
Zurich ZRH389,3011,802 km€400*€400
Milan BGY388,3851,668 km€400*€400
Hamburg HAM375,8672,020 km€400*€400
Konya KYA373,338428 km––

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

Air traffic flow delays at Sabiha Gökçen (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, 132,648 flights arrived at SAW; 1,263 of them were held back this way, 817 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.29 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity55%
  • weather45%

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: 5 April 2025 – 6,883 minutes, mostly weather; 27 October 2025 – 4,569 minutes, mostly weather; 20 December 2025 – 2,850 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 105,490 arrivals, 0.43 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (77%) and aerodrome capacity (23%).

Check what happened at SAW on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (45% 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 Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 132,648 arrivals at SAW in 2025; 1,263 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 817 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (55%); weather accounted for 45%.
  • The worst day was 5 April 2025, with 6,883 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

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    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 Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport?

    Only if the flight is operated by an EU airline. With a non-EU airline, EU261 does not apply to departures from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen 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 Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen 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.