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Istanbul Atatürk flight delays: the record, day by day

Eurocontrol attributes air-traffic delay to Istanbul Atatürk on the days it happens, with the cause. On its 25 worst days since 2019 the airport lost 84,390 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 Atatürk 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
20 February 201918,593206Weather
24 February 20197,235144Weather
9 January 20196,156153Weather
21 February 20196,044108Weather
29 March 20194,504116Weather
14 January 20193,03568Weather
10 January 20192,94385Weather
4 February 20192,90571ATC equipment
31 January 20192,65958Aerodrome capacity
11 February 20192,43761Weather
3 February 20192,30772Aerodrome capacity
10 March 20192,21054Aerodrome capacity
11 January 20192,04151Aerodrome capacity
7 February 20192,02659Aerodrome capacity
20 January 20191,99771Aerodrome capacity

Most recent days with delay logged

DateDelay minLateCause
27 August 2026331Other
20 September 2025160Other
19 September 2025701Other
17 September 2025392Other
15 September 2025912Other
14 September 2025271Other
25 July 2025772Special event
22 July 2025191Special event
21 July 2025471Special event
20 July 20251782Special event
19 July 20251282Other
29 May 2025431Aerodrome capacity
28 May 2025201Other
27 May 20251152Other
29 October 202440Other

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

What usually goes wrong at Istanbul Atatürk

Weather54%
Aerodrome capacity41%
ATC equipment3%
ATC capacity2%

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 Atatürk

Turkish Airlines compensation

Questions

Is a delay at Istanbul Atatürk 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 Atatürk 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 Atatürk 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 Atatürk that day.

Which airlines' passengers can claim after a Istanbul Atatürk delay?

Any airline departing Istanbul Atatürk 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.