Istanbul Airport
Istanbul Airport (IATA: IST, ICAO: LTFM) is the biggest airport in Turkiye. Located in north west of Istanbul, the airport is the busiest and biggest airport in Europe as per 2022 statistics of EuroControl[1]. The airport has 5 runways, fuel farm, dedicated cargo area consisting of 5 apron (29 heavy stands), several warehouses and facilities (biggest one being Turkish Cargo followed by DHL and UPS), and is home to world's biggest airport terminal (under one roof).
The airport has not been completed. As of January 2023, only Phase 1a and 1b is finished. The final phase of the airport includes 8 runways, 2 terminals with 1 satellite terminal.
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Sceneries
Payware
There are multiple payware options depending on the simulator for Istanbul Airport. You can find more information from the table below.
| Simulator | Developer | Publisher | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| P3D v4/v5 | SceneryTR | SceneryTR | https://secure.simmarket.com/scenerytr-stanbul-airport-ltfm.phtml |
| X-Plane | SceneryTR | Aerosoft | https://secure.simmarket.com/aerosoft-airport-istanbul-x-plane-11.phtml |
| MSFS 2020 | SceneryTR | SceneryTR | Can be bought from MarketPlace
OR https://secure.simmarket.com/scenerytr-istanbul-airport-ltfm_msfs.phtml |
Freeware
There are also freeware options available for Istanbul Airport. However there is significant difference in quality.
| Simulator | Developer | Publisher | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSX/P3D | Hakan Daghan, Kamil Uzun, Erman Gokman Pilicoglu, Muhtesem Firtina Ozcinar | Turkish Virtual | https://turkishvirtual.com/turkishvirtual_LTFM_scenerys.asp |
| X-Plane | Mali Oguducu, Hayri Buberci, Kamil Uzun, Muhtesem Firtina Ozcinar | Turkish Virtual | https://turkishvirtual.com/turkishvirtual_LTFM_scenerys.asp |
| MSFS 2020 | Hayri Buberci, Mali Oguducu, Kamil UZUN, M Firtina Ozcinar | Turkish Virtual | https://turkishvirtual.com/turkishvirtual_LTFM_scenerys.asp |
Arrival Procedures
Istanbul Airport is located within Yesilkoy TMA (Terminal Manoeuvring Area). Yesilkoy TMA covers Istanbul Airport (LTFM), Sabiha Gokcen Airport (LTFJ), Ataturk Airport (LTBA), Samandira Airbase (LTBX), Corlu Ataturk Airport (LTBU), Hezarfen Municipal Airport (LTBW), Cengiz Topel Airport (LTBQ), Canakkale Airport (LTBH), Bursa Yunuseli Airport (LTBE) and Bursa Yenisehir Airport (LTBQ).
Istanbul Airport utilizes RNAV in all of its procedures. In addition, P-RNAV (Precision-Area Navigation, RNP1) capability is required. If unable, pilot must inform the controller so that aircraft can be given radar vectors to final. Arrival into Istanbul Airport might seem complicated to some pilots however it is actually very simple. LTFM STARs utilize PMS (Point Merge System) for efficient airspace control, separation, and to control traffic flow within Yesilkoy TMA. All STARs utilize idle descent philosophy until PMS entry. These point merge systems act as an arc of a circle and ease air traffic control.
STARs
The STARs at Istanbul airport are designed to be ambiguous between the active runways. For instance, if northern config is active, RILEX2A STAR will end at IMREN waypoint, and IMREN is IAF (Initial Approach Fix) for all approach procedures for all northern runways. This means, whether you land at 34L, 35R or 36 (when north config is active), you still use the same STAR procedure for all runways. You can find the STAR designator table on the next page.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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As Istanbul Airport utilizes multiple configurations depending on traffic, weather, congestion, NOTAMs etc. You might be cleared to a different STAR compared to another traffic that is flying exactly the same route as you. Default designators for northern config (34/35/36) is 2A and default designator for southern configuration (16/17/18) is 2B. These STARs keep the traffic arriving west to use the west PMS and traffic arriving from east to use the east PMS. 2N and 2P STARs are designed to ease the workload of a PMS, by making the traffic to use the opposite PMS (traffic arriving from west to use the east PMS or to enter PMS from north instead of south at different altitude e.g).
North Config
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South Config
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Transitions and Approach Phase
As mentioned previously, Istanbul Airport utilizes Point-Merge System. Each PMS leads to last point of the STAR and the entry point of the approach transition . For northern config, IAF for west PMS is IMREN, for east config it is SADIK. For south config, IAF for west PMS is INSTA and for east PMS it is DIVDI. Flying the correct transition is crucial and must. Each pilot is responsible for selecting the correct transition. This transition is NOT a STAR transition but transition for the approach procedure. There are different approach procedures and each has different transition phase (both laterally and vertically), go around procedure and used differently to streamline the independent parallel approach procedure . As a pilot, you must make sure you have programmed your FMS using the correct approach procedure and transition. If ATC clears you for ILS-X 35R via IMREN transition, you cannot fly ILS-Y or ILS-Z approach. On top of that, you have to select IMREN transition for ILS-X. If you do not select the transition, the plane will fly directly to FAF, skipping the transition completely. This is not allowed for approach procedure into Istanbul as each approach procedure and transition is very different than one another, both laterally and vertically. You can see an example of how ILS-X and ILS-Z transition differs from the pictures below.