Ankara Esenboğa Airport Arrival Guide: Passport Control, SIM Cards, Money and Transport

Esenboğa Airport (ESB) is about 30 km by road north-east of Kızılay, the centre of Ankara. It is a single building, so finding your way is straightforward once you know which side you're on. This guide follows your arrival in order, then covers what most visitors sort out on the spot: a SIM or eSIM, cash, Wi-Fi, left luggage and the way into the city.

Esenboğa to the city: all options at a glance

Times and prices for Kızılay. Coach and bus fares are per person, one way (October 2026). Taxi: meter estimate in normal traffic; rush hour adds time and waiting time on the meter. Private transfer: starting price per vehicle (Mercedes Vito, up to 6 passengers); the exact price for your date and pickup time is shown before you pay. For one or two people, the coaches and bus 442 are much cheaper; to Kızılay, a taxi usually costs less than a transfer if your luggage fits.

Sources — checked on 15 October 2026: Esenboğa Airport arrival guide · Transit guide · Esenboğa transport · Wi-Fi · Banks and ATMs · Travelex · Left luggage · Ministry of Foreign Affairs (visas) · e-Visa · Turkcell · Türk Telekom (line taxes) · MCKS (IMEI) · AnkaraAir · EGO fares
Euro amounts at €1 = ₺55.6.

One terminal, two sections: where you arrive

Esenboğa has one terminal building with an international section (Dış Hatlar) and a domestic one (İç Hatlar). Arrivals are on the ground floor and departures on the floors above. Each section has its own baggage claim and its own arrivals exit, and the services you need after landing are split between the two sides of the same arrivals floor:

• International arrivals side: the SIM outlets, Travelex, Need Stop (drinks and snacks), the lost-property office and the coach columns 20–23.
• Domestic arrivals side: the ATMs, left luggage, Caffe Nero, the arrivals information desk and the coach columns 1–5.

Flying in from abroad via Istanbul? If your bags are checked through to Ankara, you clear passport control at your first airport in Türkiye. In Ankara you land on the domestic side, but you're directed to international arrivals for baggage claim and customs, so you leave through the international arrivals exit. Check with your airline whether your bags are checked through; if they aren't, you collect them at your first airport, clear customs there and check in again for the flight to Ankara.

Step by step: from the aircraft to the arrivals exit

Before you fly: visa and passport. Entry rules depend on your nationality, so check them on the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (mfa.gov.tr). If you need a visa and are eligible for an e-Visa, apply on the official site, evisa.gov.tr; the e-Visa is valid only for tourism or commerce. The ministry lists visas on arrival only for certain nationalities, and the airport's website shows no visa office at Esenboğa. Your passport must be valid for at least 60 days beyond the end of your permitted stay, and the ministry recommends six months.

1. Passport control (international arrivals): have your passport and your visa or e-Visa ready. Passengers who declare a disability can use the Fast Track lane with one companion, without documents, and get priority at passport control; for a wheelchair, use one of the red phones to call the information desk. The airport also offers a paid Primeclass Meet & Greet service at international arrivals; book it at least 48 hours before your flight (prices aren't published).
2. Baggage claim: your belt number is shown on the information screens. Trolleys, run by SIMTUR, are available around the clock; the airport doesn't publish a fee. If your bag is missing or damaged, report it to your airline's ground-handling company at the baggage claim area before you leave. Turkish Airlines has a lost-baggage office in both arrivals areas, open 24/7, and Havaş and Çelebi have 24/7 offices on the international side.
3. Customs: with nothing to declare, take the green channel; with goods to declare, the red one. Pets are released after a compulsory veterinary check in the baggage area, so carry the pet passport, vaccination certificates and, if required, an import permit.
4. The arrivals exit: you come out into the public part of the arrivals floor. The services below are a few steps away, and the coaches and taxis wait just outside.

Where to find it: the first 30 minutes after landing

Locations as published by the airport operator, TAV, on its website and terminal map. Where the airport publishes no hours, ask at the information desk.

SIM card or eSIM

The airport's own terminal map shows Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom outlets on the international arrivals floor. They don't appear in the airport's shop list, and no opening hours are published, so if you land late at night they may be closed. You need your passport to buy a line; Turkcell doesn't accept ID cards. Compare before you buy:

• Turkcell: its tourist pack (20 GB, 200 minutes and unlimited WhatsApp messaging for 28 days) cost ≈€32 (₺1,800) in early October 2026. Turkcell's website currently shows no price, so confirm it in the shop.
• Türk Telekom: a new prepaid line carries one-off charges on top of the package: ≈€12.50 (₺700) in special communication tax and a ≈€6 (₺323.81) radio licence fee.
• Vodafone: its price at Esenboğa isn't published.

Whichever you choose, ask for the total, SIM and taxes included, before you hand over your passport.

eSIM tip: with an eSIM phone that has NFC and a biometric passport, you can activate Turkcell's tourist line yourself in the Turkcell app, using the free airport Wi-Fi; otherwise any Turkcell store can set it up. That way the shop hours don't matter. A travel eSIM bought before you leave home also works as soon as you land.

Your phone: a phone brought from abroad can be used in Türkiye for 120 days without registering its IMEI number, which covers a normal holiday.

Free Wi-Fi

The airport network, Airport_Free_Wifi, is free. Without a Turkish phone number, the easiest way in is to scan your passport at one of the Wi-Fi kiosks, which give you a password. The kiosks are in both the international and the domestic section, in the public areas and airside (behind passport control and security). With a Turkish number, enter your e-mail address and phone number on the login page and the password arrives by SMS. The terminal map also shows charging points and work stations on the international arrivals floor.

Money: exchange, ATMs and cards

Exchange: Travelex has a 24-hour exchange office on the international arrivals floor, and a second one on the international departures floor. It doesn't publish its rates, so change only what you need for the first day.

ATMs: the airport lists ATMs from Akbank, HSBC, İş Bankası, Garanti and Vakıfbank on the domestic arrivals floor, and Yapı Kredi on the domestic departures floor. None is listed on the international side, so if you land from abroad, use Travelex or walk over to the domestic arrivals side. Check the fee on screen before you confirm, and if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose lira.

Cash or card for the ride:

• AnkaraAir: pay the staff at the stop, or buy online by card in advance.
• Taxis: from 16 November 2026, every taxi in Turkey must use a payment device linked to the meter that takes bank cards; drivers then have up to 15 days to sign up with a bank. Until card payment is standard, ask before you get in and carry enough lira for the fare.
• Bus 442: reports conflict. The airport operator says cash and credit cards are accepted on board, EGO doesn't say, and some travellers were asked for a Başkent Kart. Carry some lira in cash and a contactless bank card.

Luggage storage

Left luggage is open 24/7 in the arrivals area of the domestic section; from international arrivals, walk over to the domestic side. Fees are charged per bag per day, and cash and credit cards are accepted.

If someone else will collect your bag, contact the left-luggage service in advance.

Open around the clock: food, pharmacy and car hire

• Caffe Nero: in the public area of the domestic arrivals floor, open 24 hours; there's another on the domestic departures floor.
• Need Stop: hot and cold drinks and packaged food on the international arrivals floor, open 24 hours.
• Pharmacy: in the public departures area of the domestic section, open 24/7 (+90 312 398 21 87).
• Clinic: the terminal map shows Portclinic on the international arrivals floor; its hours aren't published. In an emergency, call 112.
• Car hire: 19 firms have desks on the domestic and international arrivals levels, open 24/7; follow the "Rent a Car" signs. Cars are handed over and returned on levels A200 and B200 of the car parks.

Into the city: where AnkaraAir, Havaş, bus 442 and taxis leave from

Everything leaves from just outside the arrivals exits. The coaches stop at numbered columns:

• AnkaraAir (formerly BelkoAir): runs 24/7, leaving according to demand, via Pursaklar, Aydınlıkevler, AKM, Eski Tren Garı (opposite the old railway station) and Kızılay to AŞTİ, about an hour in all. ≈€4.50 (₺250) per person from the staff at the stop or online. See our Ankara Airport bus guide.
• Havaş: goes only to AŞTİ, Ankara's intercity bus station, via Pursaklar and the Ankamall shopping centre, in about 45 minutes, with a coach for every arriving flight. ≈€4.50 (₺250) per person. It no longer goes to the YHT train station.
• EGO bus 442: the cheapest way in, at ≈€2.50 (₺150), and the only public transport to Ulus; it continues via the railway station and Kızılay (Güvenpark) to AŞTİ. At night it leaves the airport only at 00:01, 02:00 and 04:00, then every 25 minutes from 06:20 to 23:00, plus 23:30. If neither cash nor card works on board, the AnkaraAir staff at columns 1–2 and 20–21 sell coach tickets.
• Taxis: wait in taxi zones outside both arrivals exits around the clock; the airport also lists taxi zones on the departures level. The rank is run by Esenboğa Taksi, with about 166 cars, and fares are by the meter only: about €21–25 (₺1,150–1,400) to Kızılay in normal traffic, and there is no night rate. If no taxi is waiting, call +90 312 398 08 97 or 98. See Ankara Airport taxi prices.

For journey times, stops and prices to each district, see Ankara Airport to the city centre; for the high-speed train, see Ankara Airport to the YHT station.

Başkent Kart: what visitors pay

The Başkent Kart is Ankara's transport card for EGO buses, the metro and the Ankaray. It isn't sold at the airport: none of EGO's 394 official sales points is there, and the nearest is about 7 km away in Akyurt. You don't need it for the AnkaraAir or Havaş coaches. In the city, a metro or Ankaray ride costs ≈€0.70 (₺40) with the card and a little more by contactless bank card. See our Başkent Kart guide.

Meeting a pre-booked transfer

If you've booked a transfer with us, your driver tracks your flight and meets you just outside the arrivals exit. Once you land, the driver contacts you on WhatsApp with the exact meeting point and a short video showing the way. Coming from abroad via Istanbul with your bags checked through? You'll leave through the international arrivals exit even though your last flight was domestic, so mention it when your driver messages you. A Mercedes Vito for up to 6 passengers costs from €33 per vehicle to Ulus and from €36 per vehicle to Kızılay; the exact price for your date and pickup time is shown before you pay. More on the pickup in Meeting your driver at Ankara Airport.

Useful numbers

• Emergency (ambulance, police, fire): 112
• Esenboğa Airport switchboard: +90 312 590 40 00 (arrivals information desk: extension 4393)
• Lost property (items left at the airport): +90 312 590 40 00, extension 4388
• Turkish Airlines lost baggage, 24/7: +90 312 590 40 00, extension 4811 or 4812
• Airport taxis: +90 312 398 08 97 or 98
• AnkaraAir, 24/7: 444 9 312
• Havaş: 0850 222 0 487
• EGO (bus 442): 153
• Our 24/7 transfer line: +90 544 102 1414

Related guides: Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB) · Ankara Airport to the city centre · Ankara Airport bus · Ankara Airport taxi prices · Arriving in Ankara at night · Meeting your driver at Ankara Airport · Başkent Kart guide · Getting to Ankara Airport

Frequently asked questions