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Istanbul flight delays: the record, day by day

Eurocontrol attributes air-traffic delay to Istanbul on the days it happens, with the cause. On its 25 worst days since 2019 the airport lost 202,230 minutes of arrival delay, mostly to weather and aerodrome capacity. Days with nothing logged are a strong point for any passenger whose flight was late for another reason.

Was your Istanbul flight 3 hours late?

The day the flight was due to leave, in local time where it left. For an overnight flight, that is the evening you set off.

Same flight number twice that day? Add the departure code

Free. No account. The airline is not contacted.

Worst days on record

DateDelay minLateCause
1 October 202324,929220Weather
5 February 202314,910219Weather
29 November 202113,65285Weather
30 November 202112,549142Weather
26 January 202211,900152Weather
28 September 202310,666178Weather
11 November 202310,381145Weather
8 February 20239,243134Weather
28 August 20247,549129Weather
27 October 20257,03793Weather
26 April 20237,024180Weather
18 March 20226,588138Weather
13 November 20236,133116Weather
2 November 20235,953101Weather
10 July 20225,86698Weather

Most recent days with delay logged

DateDelay minLateCause
4 July 20261,71655Weather
4 April 20261,48937Weather
24 March 202658718Weather
23 March 202654819Weather
22 March 20261,00234Weather
21 March 202664318Weather
13 February 202661316Weather
8 February 202667421Weather
7 February 202645615Aerodrome capacity
23 January 20261,31539Weather
10 January 20262,57761Weather
30 December 20251,48538Weather
28 November 2025230Weather
27 October 20257,03793Weather
6 August 202556414Weather

Data to 30 September 2026. Eurocontrol publishes about a month in arrears.

What usually goes wrong at Istanbul

Weather97%
Aerodrome capacity3%

Share of logged delay minutes across the worst and most recent days shown above. Weather, ATC staffing, ATC capacity and equipment failures are the causes airlines most often plead as extraordinary; airport capacity and unspecified delay are arguable.

Airlines based at Istanbul

Turkish Airlines compensation

Questions

Is a delay at Istanbul caused by weather always an extraordinary circumstance?

No. The airline must show that the weather actually affected your flight and that it took all reasonable measures. Eurocontrol logs weather delay at Istanbul on specific days; if your day is not one of them, the weather defence has nothing behind it. If it is, the airline still has to connect it to your flight.

How do I find out if my Istanbul flight was delayed 3 hours?

Enter the flight number and date in the checker above. It pulls the recorded arrival time, works out the delay against the schedule, and shows what Eurocontrol and the airport weather logged for Istanbul that day.

Which airlines' passengers can claim after a Istanbul delay?

Any airline departing Istanbul is covered by EU261 regardless of nationality. Arrivals are covered when the airline is a UK or EU carrier.

Source: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit, airport arrival ATFM delay by cause, daily. See also your rights and the compensation calculator.