Flights London → Istanbul
LHR → IST
How long is the flight from London to Istanbul?
The flight from London (LHR) to Istanbul (IST) takes 3h 22m on average. That is the median time recorded across 3 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from London to Istanbul has an on-time performance rate of 88%, with an average delay of just 3.3 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen a total of 28 flights operated by various aircraft types including Boeing 767, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, and Boeing 777-300ER, serving Istanbul's busy airport which opened in 2018 and handles over 84 million passengers annually.
The London (LHR) → Istanbul (IST) route is operated by American Airlines, British Airways, Turkish Airlines. Across 45 flights monitored in recent months, 85% 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 13/100 (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 London the average ATFM delay is 1.8 minutes.
Heading to Istanbul: what to expect in this direction
Flying from London (LHR) to Istanbul (IST) heads east for about 2,487 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 22m.
Departures from London on this leg cluster in the evening window: about 71% of LHR-IST flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing London the average ATFM delay is 1.8 min (atfm); arriving into Istanbul it is 3.5 min (atfm).
Across 45 tracked LHR-IST flights, 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
| British Airways (BA) | 66% | 31 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating LHR-IST
Frequently asked questions about LHR-IST
The flight from London (LHR) to Istanbul (IST) takes 3h 22m on average. That is the median time recorded across 3 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the London (LHR) -> Istanbul (IST) route, on-time performance is 85% with an average delay of 6 minutes, based on 45 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on London-Istanbul is 0.00% across 45 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, British Airways, 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 London-Istanbul route is about 2,487 km: for a cancellation (with less than 14 days' notice), a delay over 3 hours, or denied boarding, UK261 compensation is £350, barring extraordinary circumstances.
