# Esenboğa International Airport (ESB)

> Ankara, TR · IATA: ESB · ICAO: LTAC · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `ESB` |
| ICAO | `LTAC` |
| City | Ankara |
| Country | TR |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 953 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 40.12810, 32.99510 |

## Description

More than 950 metres above sea level on the Anatolian plateau, winter de-icing is part of normal operations at Esenboğa Airport (IATA: ESB, ICAO: LTAC), the gateway to the Turkish capital Ankara, some 28 kilometres north-east of the city centre. Despite capital status, ESB ranks only fourth in the country with around 13 million passengers a year – hub traffic is concentrated in Istanbul, and Ankara is served largely point to point. The airport is operated by TAV Airports under a long-term concession. Its name reaches back to 1402: «Esenboğa» derives from Esen Buqa, a commander under Timur at the Battle of Ankara. On the freight side, cargo volume rose 8 percent year-on-year in November 2025 to 125,094 tonnes, split into roughly 75,300 tonnes domestic and 49,800 tonnes international. A new 85,000-square-metre cargo apron with six additional stands for freighter aircraft opened in January 2026. Even so, most air cargo from the region – including output from Ankara's defence and aerospace cluster around TUSAŞ, Aselsan and Roketsan, plus machinery and pharmaceutical products – still moves by truck to the Istanbul airports IST and SAW, four to five hours away via the O-4 (TEM) motorway. For planning purposes, ESB remains primarily a bellyhold and ad-hoc station with growing cargo infrastructure of its own, while Istanbul stays the standard routing for main-deck freighters.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/esenboga-international-airport-esb](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/esenboga-international-airport-esb)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/esenboga-international-airport-esb](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/esenboga-international-airport-esb)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/esenboga-international-airport-esb/llm-summary*