Flights from London to Istanbul

Flight time is typically around 3.5 hours in the air.

The great-circle distance is roughly 2,487 km (1,544 miles).

Yes — British Airways, Turkish Airlines fly this pair nonstop in the reference schedule data. Schedules change seasonally, so the live search confirms today's options.

Istanbul Airport (IST), Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). Searching by city covers all of them at once.

Compare midweek dates, check nearby departure airports, and book international trips a few months ahead. The search above shows current fares from our booking partners.

mid-haul routes like this usually settle one to two months out, with late-bookings pricing highest on peak dates. These are booking windows, not rules — fares change constantly, so compare dates in the search above and book when the total, bags included, is right.

The cheapest month depends on the demand calendar at Istanbul — school holidays, the Christmas–New Year peak and major local events price highest, and shoulder-season months between them price lowest. Rather than trusting a generic answer, open the fare calendar on the search above: it shows real prices for every date this month and next, so the cheap windows are visible immediately.

Midweek departures — Tuesday to Thursday — commonly price below Friday–Sunday on routes like London → Istanbul, because leisure demand concentrates at the weekend. The pattern is not guaranteed on every date, so compare a midweek date against your first-choice day in the search above before locking in.

M11 metro link. New mega-terminal; distances inside are long. FlyraGo’s Istanbul airport transfer guide compares fixed-price cars, taxis and public transport for this airport.

It depends on your nationality, not on the route — two travellers on the same London → Istanbul flight can face completely different entry rules. Check the destination country’s official immigration site or your foreign-ministry travel advice for your passport, and do it before booking: some destinations require a visa obtained in advance, others issue visas or waivers on arrival.

Whatever the fare you buy includes — baggage is set by the carrier and fare class, not the route, and the carriers on this pair (British Airways, Turkish Airlines) price bags very differently. Low-cost fares usually include cabin bags only and charge per checked bag; full-service fares typically include at least one. Compare totals with your bags added, because a dearer fare with bags included is often cheaper overall.

Istanbul has a left-luggage network — the bazaar is the worst possible place to be encumbered — drop before the souks FlyraGo’s Istanbul luggage storage page lists the network, with flat daily rates you can book before you fly.