Great-circle route IST ↔ STN. Faint dots are other airports, for geographic context. Download this map — free to reuse with a link back to this page.
Frequencies below are per direction, from our most recent schedule sample.
| Direction | Frequency | Days | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| IST → STN Istanbul to London |
15/wk | Daily | Turkish Airlines |
| STN → IST London to Istanbul |
15/wk | Daily | Turkish Airlines |
Where a direction shows “—” we track it as an operating nonstop but hold no schedule sample for it — we would rather show nothing than guess.
Turkish Airlines is the only airline flying the IST–STN nonstop.
Recent scheduled departures on this route have used the Airbus A321, Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Boeing 737-800.
Aircraft assignments change by season and by time of day.
On a long east–west route like this one the two directions do not take the same time. Aircraft flying eastbound ride the mid-latitude jet stream and typically arrive earlier than the westbound leg, which flies into it. The difference is commonly 30 to 90 minutes on transatlantic and transpacific flights, and it varies by season. The estimate above does not model wind — treat it as a midpoint and check the airline's own timetable for the block time on your date.
The distance between Istanbul Airport and London Stansted Airport is 1,526 miles, or 2,456 kilometres.
| Great-circle distance | 1,526 mi |
| Kilometres | 2,456 km |
| Nautical miles | 1,326 nmi |
Measured airport to airport. The actual track is longer — aircraft follow airways, avoid restricted airspace and route around weather.
Yes. Turkish Airlines flies the route nonstop, with about 30 departures a week across both directions. The route is in our live nonstop dataset, last seeded 2026-07-07.
About 3h 33m in the air. That is a great-circle estimate from the 1,526-mile distance, not a scheduled block time — an airline's published time will differ by roughly 15 to 45 minutes depending on routing, winds and taxi.
About 15 a week from Istanbul to London and 15 a week from London to Istanbul, from our most recent schedule sample.
Turkish Airlines.
Recent scheduled departures have used the Airbus A321, Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Boeing 737-800. Assignments change by season and by time of day.
