Is 2 hours 20 minutes enough at Atatürk Airport (Istanbul) if I have separate tickets?

Upvote:2

As you have checked luggage, remember that the critical point is the check-in deadline, which is 1 hour before the departure time of your outgoing flight.

This means you have 1 hour 20 minutes to:

  • exit the plane
  • get to immigration
  • queue at immigration
  • go through immigration
  • wait for your bags
  • go through customs
  • get to the departures area and find the check-in counters for you flight
  • queue
  • drop your bags

If everything goes as planned, this should be more than enough. However, if your incoming flight is late, it will quickly become very tight. Remember that if you miss the check-in deadline, you're on your own:

  • unless you have a fare that allows changes (and you make the change before the check-in deadline), you will need to book and pay for a new ticket
  • the return ticket may be cancelled as well
  • if you need to stay overnight, any hotel, meals, or transportation costs will be on you

If you still can, I would recommend rebooking with a bit more time. 4 hours between scheduled departure and arrival should give you enough buffer. If not, check if you are eligible for travel insurance which would actually cover this situation.

Upvote:3

You do have to pass through immigration, collect your bags, pass through security and re-check your bags.

140 minutes might be OK, a little tight but doable. If your nationality requires you to have a transit visa from Turkey then you definitely need a visa/eVisa for this. It is not a direct air-side transfer.

Run, Don't walk!

As noted in George's comment below, if you don't have checked baggage then you don't need to go through these steps. You can check-in online, have a boarding pass and go straight to your gate after passing security.

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