Ankara - Esenboga

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ICAO Code LTAC/ESB
Last Validated
City Ankara
Position 40°07'41"N 032°59'42"E
Runway(s) 03L/21R, 03R/21L
Elevation 3125 ft

General

As the main airport of Turkey's capital, Esenboga has enough room for lots of movements, bringing many planes and passengers to the new terminal. However, the field is not busy at all with few scheduled foreign carriers. Several Turkish airlines dominate the scene including a handful of MNG Friendships on remote parking. Now and then very interesting visitors can be caught though, often from neighbouring Asian republics. Nice to know is that NASA picked the 3750m runways as an emergency landing facility for the Space Shuttle.

Layout

Real estate was not a problem when this airport was designed. The large airfield area is surrounded by fences and walls and even watchtowers every few hundred meters! More than often these are not manned, however. The old terminal and most facilities have a central location but this area may not be open to the public anymore since the new terminal opened in October 2006. The latter is a very modern building with five times the capacity of the old one. A small general aviation and maintenance area lies west of the northern runway ends.

Getting There

The airport is 28km north of the city centre and to drive here one should leave the Ankara ring road via road D140. This one leads to the junction of main roads just south of the field and bends to the east itself. Public transport from the city is available, notably buses.

Around the Airport

1Final 21

Traffic landing from the north can be observed and photographed here. A large furniture outlet and its customer traffic may be helpful in not attracting the wrong kind of attention.

2West side

This spot is mainly useful to read what's on the general aviation and maintenance aprons behind the fence. Notably a bunch of MNG Cargo F-27s can be resting here between night shifts. Photography is no option.

3Final 03

Near the village of Yenice traffic can be logged using either runway in any direction. A small road to a farm enables you to get to the east side of the centrelines and closer to the apron too, but there is no shelter from curious looks there. This side will be better for photography however than the village. Any regular lens will do for traffic on finals.

4New terminal

The possibilities from the outside are thought to be limited but updates on the situation are most welcome. Passengers travelling to/from here have panoramic windows to bag some numbers from within. Photography conditions once again unsure. Be aware that even entrance to the airport grounds itself is controlled so access may be restricted.

5Old terminal

When this was in use hardly anything could be seen - let alone photographed - from outside but once inside most aircraft near the terminal could be read off. Limited photography was possible through glass. It is unsure if this area is still accessible. The stored An-74 mentioned on this page has been near this terminal since 2002.

6East side

From Balikhisar a largely unpaved road follows the eastern perimeter. A drive here may produce some otherwise missed numbers, but mind the watchtowers.

Assuming approval of our hobby is not recommended, but asking permission for a photo is - and has led to results. This was taken from the old terminal (spot 5) by Erik Sleutelberg.

Frequencies

121.900Ground
118.100 / 257.800Tower
119.100 / 119.600 / 120.600Approach
122.100 / 362.300Approach
123.600ATIS

Based Operators

Ahsel Air TransportationBAe125
Anadolu JetA320, B737
DHMI Hava TaksiAS355, Ce560
Güneydogu AviationAB206, Bell 222, Bell 230, PA-34
Hava Taksi IsletmesiCe208
Menekse AviationBAe125, Ce550, Lj45
Nurol AviationBeech 400A, Falcon 2000LX
Sindel HavacilikCe421
THK-Türk Hava KurumuAn-2, Ce402, Ce421, CL-215, PA-42, PZL M18

Preserved

T9-ABEAn-74 in storage

More Info

Ankara Esenboga AirportOfficial website

Other Airfields

Afyon  
Anadolu
Ankara - Akinci  
Ankara - Esenboga  
Ankara - Etimesgut
Ankara - Güvercinlik  
Ankara - Ufuk Danismend Polis Heliportu (Gölbasi)
Aydin - Çildir  
Balikesir  
Bandirma  
Bodrum (Milâs)  
Dalaman (Muğla)
Eskisehir  
Istanbul - Samandira
Izmir - Adnan Menderes / Gaziemir  
Izmir - Çigli / Kakliç  
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Konya  
Kütahya  
Temelli  
Yalova

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