# Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW)

> Pendik, Istanbul, TR · IATA: SAW · ICAO: LTFJ · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `SAW` |
| ICAO | `LTFJ` |
| City | Pendik, Istanbul |
| Country | TR |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 95 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| Cargo Rank | #2 |
| GPS | 40.89860, 29.30920 |

## Description

While the giant new airport on the European side grabs the headlines, Istanbul's second airport quietly handles a workload most capitals would envy: Sabiha Gökçen Airport (IATA: SAW, ICAO: LTFJ) at Pendik on the Asian side serves over 40 million passengers a year, enough to rank among Europe's ten busiest airports in its own right. It is the home base of low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines and of AJet, Turkish Airlines' budget subsidiary. On the freight side SAW is Turkey's clear number two: cargo airlines MNG Airlines and ULS Airlines Cargo are based here, complemented by growing e-commerce volumes from the Far East destined for the Turkish market. A second runway opened in 2023, easing a capacity bottleneck that had constrained operations for years. The TEM motorway (O-4) links the airport towards Ankara and Europe, and the M4 metro line has connected it to the Asian city centre since 2022 – though for truck planning, the Bosphorus bridge crossings to the European side remain the critical constraint. For shippers serving the industrial belt of Istanbul's Asian hinterland – Gebze, Kocaeli, Bursa – SAW offers markedly shorter drayage than IST. The airport is named after Sabiha Gökçen, the world's first female fighter pilot and Atatürk's adopted daughter, and is operated by a consortium led by Malaysia Airports.

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

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