Flights Frankfurt → Istanbul
FRA → IST
How long is the flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul?
The flight from Frankfurt (FRA) to Istanbul (IST) takes about 2h 43m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
The flight route connects Frankfurt with Istanbul, operating with a diverse fleet of aircraft including Airbus A321, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340-300, and Airbus A330-200. Serving the recently opened destination airport which welcomed its first passengers in 2018, this route caters to a significant number of travelers annually, with the airport accommodating over 84 million passengers per year.
The Frankfurt (FRA) → Istanbul (IST) route is operated by Lufthansa Cargo, Turkish Airlines. Across 93 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 6 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.00%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 8.6/100 (low), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Istanbul the average ATFM delay is 3.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Frankfurt the average ATFM delay is 2.1 minutes.
Heading to Istanbul: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Frankfurt (FRA) to Istanbul (IST) heads south-east for about 1,837 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 43m.
Departures from Frankfurt on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 43% of FRA-IST flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Frankfurt the average ATFM delay is 2.1 min (atfm); arriving into Istanbul it is 3.5 min (atfm).
Across 93 tracked FRA-IST flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 6 min and a 0.0% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lufthansa Cargo (LH) | 74% | 21 min | 0.0% |
Airlines operating FRA-IST
Frequently asked questions about FRA-IST
The flight from Frankfurt (FRA) to Istanbul (IST) takes about 2h 43m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Frankfurt (FRA) -> Istanbul (IST) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 6 minutes, based on 93 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Frankfurt-Istanbul is 0.00% across 93 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Lufthansa Cargo, Turkish Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Istanbul, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
The Frankfurt-Istanbul route is about 1,837 km: for a cancellation (with less than 14 days' notice), a delay over 3 hours, or denied boarding, EU261 compensation is €400, barring extraordinary circumstances.
