Atatürk Airport
international airport in Istanbul, Turkey
Atatürk Airport (IATA: ISL, ICAO: LTBA) is a public airport located in Yeşilköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Formerly the primary international airport of Istanbul and the hub of Turkish Airlines, it was closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019. From that point, all commercial scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new Istanbul Airport. Since the move of commercial operations to the new airport, Atatürk Airport is open to general aviation and functions as an executive airport.
History
Growth and development
In 1911, a small apron with two hangars was built in Yeşilköy, Istanbul, for the Ottoman Armed Forces. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded Türk Tayyare Cemiyeti (Turkish Aircraft Company, today Türk Hava Kurumu - THK) in 1925. In 1933, today's Turkish Airlines, the Türkiye Devlet Hava Yolları started its flights with two Curtiss Kingbird aircraft. Flights from Istanbul to Ankara and Athens began. The small apron was expanded and a new passenger terminal was built. This is considered the beginning of the airport's 86-year history.
The public source identifies “Atatürk Airport” as international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Atatürk, Airport and international.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Atatürk Airport”, the useful work is to connect “international airport in Istanbul, Turkey” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q86473. Authority coordinates are 40.976, 28.814. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019, 1911, 1925 and 1933.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Atatürk Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Atatürk Airport primary sources, Atatürk Airport archive and Atatürk research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Atatürk Airport”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Atatürk Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.