Metro Istanbul Airport line m11
A long-awaited Istanbul Airport metro to the city: meet M11 metro Istanbul which connects every city part with the new airport.
Getting to know Istanbul Airport Metro
Millions of passengers travel to Istanbul Airport each day. Various airlines land their flights from Spain (Seville/SVQ. Madrid/MAD, Barcelona/BCN), China (Beijing Daxing/PKX), Greece (Santorini/JTR, Athens/ATH, Portugal (Lisbon/LIS) Mykonos/JMK, Thessaloniki/SKG), Hungary (Budapest/BUD), the UK (Heathrow/LHR) Czech Republic (Prague/PRG), France (Paris/CDG), Germany (Berlin/BER), Italy (Rome/FCO), USA (New York/JFK, Miami/MIA), Netherlands (Amsterdam/AMS), some even fly from Argentina (Buenos Aires/EZE) or Canada (Toronto/YYZ) and the UAE (Dubai/DXB). However, when they are arriving and heading to the brand-new Istanbul Airport, the first thing after their flights land they want to know is how to get safe, fast, and reliable transfer services to the city of Istanbul.
Although multiple hotels provide their private shuttle transfers to Istanbul from the airport, and there is a bus station, taxis, and car rentals inside the airport, all these transportation options are quite time-consuming and, well, quite expensive. Moreover, rentals require a traveler to be an experienced and equipped driver as Istanbul traffic is terrific, and bus transportation often is complex as for buses providing a ride with a longer distance than Sultanahmet or Taksim Square you need to change a couple of buses. Taxis are quite tricky. As for personal private shuttle transfer, not all hotels provide it, and if a passenger decides to stay, for example, at the airport’s Yotel, no private transfer is available in this case via the hotel. Yet, a long layover before your departures shouldn’t be messy, and your journey to Istanbul shouldn’t be troublesome. That’s a disclaimer of our guide. Nevertheless, there is a super-fast and long-anticipated way to almost everywhere in Istanbul from the new airport. We are talking about the subway! Istanbul metro and its opportunities for Istanbul International Airport passengers are the main topics of our guide whereas it’d be useful . Let’s experience what is the Istanbul Airport metro.
Let’s consider in detail what the Istanbul metro is and its specific M11 Istanbul line that connects all the main city districts with the airport, how to get to the city center using it, and how much it is costing to travel by metro.
Do you know that the M11 metro line company is connecting the airport with the city is a new itinerary that speaks English? It began its operation on the twenty-second of January, 2023. Today, it is the fastest transportation which is 41.2 km long with 16 planned stops that begin at Arnavutkoy EYP and will be created 120 km long in the future. It’s second among metro lines with its length.
The airport metro project combines the latest tech advantages like driverless high-speed trains and contactless Instabulkart payments with the traditional spirit of Turkey. The estimated exact length of the M11 metro line will be 69 km and it’s a record not only for Istanbul metro but for the whole world. Only 120 km Moscow metro beats it.
Metro stops at Istanbul Airport
Today, the airport subway line consists of a total of 16 stations with the opportunity to hop to another line, namely, the M2 and M7 metro lines. Unfortunately, you cannot use it to the contrary side of Istanbul, as like the airport, the M11 lies on its European side and serves its districts. Thus, passengers who want to get to SAW, have to find a transfer. The following stations form the network that lasts from Halkali with its ending at Gayrettepe: 1. Gayrettepe and Zincirlikuyu are the starting point in the center of Istanbul with the bus transfers to over 10 IETT routes.
2.Kâğithane has also IETT platforms. When they reach Kâğithane, passengers can visit the fabulous traversed Kâğithane Creek.
3. Hasdal at Eyüpis the gate to the new Istanbul university.
4. Kemerburgaz station unites the airport with the city of Kemerburgaz.
5. Göktürk station hosts local forestry officials.
6. Hsaniye station which is in Ihsaniye district.
7-9 are stations at Istanbul Airport, namely, at Terminal 2, the central exit from the airport, and its cargo terminal.
10. Tasoluk is the station in Arnavutkoy.
11. Arnavutkoy Hastane station itself which is in the center of the district.
12. Fenertepe also provides bus transfers to public transport lines.
13. Kayasehir Merkez at Basaksehir district.
14. Olimpiyat station is a popular metro station near Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
15-16. Finally, metro ends at Halkali Stadi.
These stations of the M11 line were designed consistently with the 34-km Kâğithane-Istanbul Airport section constructed up to January 2023, the Gayrettepe-Kâğithane section opened on January 2024, Arnavutkoy Hastane-Istanbul Airport launched on March 2024, and the last part is scheduled to start its operation approximately in early semester of 2025.
More info can be got via the long-anticipated link set to provide more comfort to travelers.
Rates and tickets
Istanbul Airport Metro provides expected comfortable ticket purchases. Hence, you can pay for your ride with automatic Istanbulkart, a card that you can purchase and top up with money and spend it for each metro ride during your traveling.
Please, take into account that you don’t need an Istanbulkart for each family member used as a single Istanbulkart to buy metro tickets for 5 passengers. Therefore, a child of the age under 6 years needs no a ticket.
A ticket’s cost per single run on the M11 metro from the airport is 16.99 TL and these make this transportation option mode the most affordable and easy for the airport passengers. You can pay for your Istanbulkart in cash or using your bank cards and contactless payment systems and you are able to get them right in the airport’s app. If you run out of fares, your Istanbulkart is rechargeable and you can recharge it at any metro station in official or unofficial payment points.
The importance of the metro line
The metro line construction is highly important for Istanbul Airport. It is intended to minimize timeline of the transportation. Once it was launched, the airport and various districts became linked. The most critical is that the airport’s passengers get the possibility of running to other parts of the city comfortably, at high speed, and for a moderate price. By following the metro operation company link, you can call local metro authorities and select similarly worth stations.
The timetable schedule of the Istanbul Airport metro line
Please, note that Istanbul metro can operate from 6 am until midnight with the interval of no more than 30 minutes between trains. If your arrivals are past midnight you have to spend the night at the airport and then use the M11 transportation. Yet, your layover can be pleasant as the airport offers lots of amenities.
The metro station at the Istanbul Airport
The metro station lying at the airport can be found following special signs near the parking area. Follow them after your arrivals are completed and you pass security control. Take a tip: the metro station at the airport is located in front of the car park close to entrance/exit 11. You have to pass a 300-meter distance from the ISN terminal to get here. Although the IST terminal is vast, it can be tedious to get to the metro station, so leaving some time reserved for it is a good idea.
Metro prices to and from Istanbul Airport
The prices for metro transportation are progressing, and they depend on the number of stations you pass through.
- 1-3 stations – 12.67 TL
- 4-6 stations – 14.51 TL
- 7-8 stations – 16.28 TL
- 9-10 stations – 18.05 TL
From 1 to 2 transfers in the middle of your ride are included in the purchased and loaded oneway ticket price Istanbulkarts offer. Do feel free to use it
FAQs
Let’s finish this info guide by giving answers to the most frequent questions (aka FAQs) for a traveler who leaves the airport.
Where can I buy my ticket to get to the city on the Metro?
Being a universal payment tool, your Istanbulkart can be bought in cash booths, online, or at the airport counters. Please, ask the airport’s staff to get to the closest low selling point.
From Istanbul Airport, is there a metro line?
Yes, there is a special airport metro line, the M11 added to the map in 2023.
How to take the metro from Istanbul Airport to the city centre?
You’ll get almost to Taksim Square by riding to Gayrettepe by metro and further switching to metrobs or taxi machines.
How do you pay for the underground in Istanbul?
You should use a special Istanbulkart you can handle to buy for you in advance to provide comfort at the moment.of your expansion.