Traveling can be challenging, especially when navigating large, busy airports. For passengers with reduced mobility (PRM), needing wheelchair assistance is common. The good news is that airports worldwide, including Istanbul Airport (IST), offer free wheelchair services to ensure a smoother journey.

This is Part 1 of our series on requesting airport wheelchair assistance. Today, we focus specifically on Istanbul Airport (IST), operated by İGA. We’ll cover the essential steps and contact information based on current procedures (as of April 2025).

The Most Important Step: Contact Your Airline!

This is the golden rule for requesting wheelchair assistance at almost any airport globally, including IST:

You MUST request wheelchair assistance directly from your AIRLINE, preferably at the time of booking, or at least 48 hours before your flight.

Why the airline? Airlines are responsible for coordinating ground handling services for their passengers. When you inform your airline, they officially log your request and communicate it to the ground handling teams and the airport authority (İGA) at Istanbul Airport. This ensures staff and equipment are ready for your arrival or departure.

Step 1

Assistance and Wheelchair Service

Assisted wheelchair service at our airport is provided by the airlines for which tickets are purchased. In order to receive the assistance service without a long wait, our guests must make a reservation with the airlines at the time of ticket purchase or 48 hours before their flight.

If you do not know your airline, click for a list.

Step 2

Assistant Call Point

Guests who have made a reservation with the airlines for assistance service can use the assistant call phones located on the right in front of the terminal entrance gates to inform the relevant personnel of their arrival, rest on the bench located after the first entrance gate and wait for the assistant to arrive

Step 3

Download the iga app on your phone.

If you are looking for a further guide, you can download the istanbul airport mobile application to your phones and access accessibility services from here.

ios > https://apps.apple.com/us/app/istanbul-airport/id1440706986?mt=8

Android > https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.igasystem.iga&hl=en

Requesting Wheelchair for Passenger Relatives

For guests who come to the airport to meet or see off their passengers and have difficulty walking, they can request a wheelchair free of charge from the information points located before the passport control points.