Most operators bury rush-hour supplements in the terms and you discover them at checkout. Here are ours, in full, with the exact times and the reason they exist.
Sabiha Gokcen sits on the Asian side, well outside the city, and the roads that reach it carry the whole of Istanbul's eastern commute. For most of the day this is fine. For a few hours in the late afternoon it is not.
We charge more for transfers inside that window. Rather than hide it in the small print, here it is with the times, the amounts and the reasoning.
The Exact Windows
Going to Sabiha Gokcen — supplements are based on your flight departure time:
| Departure time | Supplement |
|---|---|
| 15:30 to 16:00 | plus 15 EUR |
| 16:00 to 19:30 | plus 25 EUR |
Arriving at Sabiha Gokcen — supplements are based on your landing time:
| Landing time | Supplement |
|---|---|
| 14:30 to 15:00 | plus 10 EUR |
| 15:00 to 18:30 | plus 20 EUR |
Outside these hours there is no supplement. Istanbul Airport on the European side is not affected at all; its approach roads do not suffer the same way.
Why Departures Cost More Than Arrivals
You will notice the departure supplement is higher than the arrival one at the same time of day. That is deliberate.
An arrival has no deadline. If the road is slow, the journey takes longer and you reach your hotel later than planned. Frustrating, not costly.
A departure has a hard deadline, and it is not ours, it is the airline's. To protect it we allocate more time to the journey, which means the vehicle and driver are committed for longer and cannot take another booking behind yours. That is what the difference between 25 EUR and 20 EUR is paying for.
What the Traffic Actually Does
Outside the window we allow about an hour and a half from central Istanbul to Sabiha Gokcen. Inside it we allow two hours.
That half hour is not padding. It is the difference we plan around, and it is why a 20:00 departure from Sabiha Gokcen means a 16:00 pickup rather than the 16:30 the same flight would need at a quieter hour.
For comparison, Istanbul Airport is roughly an hour from the centre and stays close to that figure through the day. The same 20:00 flight from Istanbul Airport is a 17:00 pickup. One hour of difference between the two airports for an identical flight time, decided entirely by which side of the city you are flying from.
How to Avoid the Supplement
Some of this is within your control.
Check which airport before you book anything. Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen are on opposite sides of the city. This is the single most consequential thing on your ticket for transfer planning, and passengers do get it wrong.
Where you are staying matters as much as when. From Kadikoy or Uskudar on the Asian side, a Vito to Sabiha Gokcen is 50 EUR. From Taksim, Sultanahmet, Sisli, Besiktas or Levent on the European side it is 60 EUR, because you are crossing the Bosphorus. If you have a Sabiha Gokcen flight and you are choosing between neighbourhoods, that crossing is worth a thought.
A morning flight avoids the window entirely. Anything departing before 15:30 or landing before 14:30 carries no supplement. If your schedule is flexible, the morning is both cheaper and more predictable.
Between the two airports, ask about the third bridge. For journeys between Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen we can route over the Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge for 15 EUR. It is longer in distance and often shorter in time, and on a bad afternoon it is the difference between making a connection and not.
What We Will Not Do
We will not quote you a low fare and add the supplement at the end. The price you are shown at booking already includes it, calculated from the time you entered.
We will also not charge it when it does not apply. Enter a flight number and the pickup is calculated from the actual scheduled time, so if your evening flight is at 19:45 rather than 19:15, the system knows.
The Short Version
Sabiha Gokcen between roughly half past two and half past seven is a different journey from Sabiha Gokcen at any other hour. It takes longer, it ties up a vehicle for longer, and it costs more.
We would rather you knew that at the booking screen than discovered it in the fare. And if your plans are flexible, now you know exactly which hours to plan around.
