10AUG25 - Türkiye Virtual Presents: Crowded Istanbul


Server: Expert

Airport: Istanbul Airport(LTFM)

2025-08-09T18:00:00Z2025-08-10T20:00:00Z


Join us for a special fly-in as we come together to celebrate our love for flying and share the experience of our beautiful home base — Istanbul Airport, LTFM!

For this event, our pilots will be departing EGLL in the stunning Turkish A350, embarking on a 3h30min hop across Europe and the Alps. We’ll soar over Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Southern Hungary, descend into northern Turkey along the Black Sea, and finally touch down in the magical land of Istanbul!

We invite everyone to join us and enjoy the joy of flying together as a community — whether you’re part of TKVA or not!


Our VA group featured flight/route [FPL TBC]

FPL TBC

EGLL - LTFM 3:20 Flight

Origin Airport Destination Airport Suggested Aircraft Suggested Airline Flight Duration ETD ETA
EGLL LTFM A350 Turkish Airlines 3:20 1530zulu 1900zulu

EGLL KONAN KOK KOMOB DIK PITES BANUX VEKIR MAH MUN UNKEN LATLO 4700N/01400E KFT VALLU PODET ZAG VBA NASSY ADULA TUVAR SMI OKLOP ETIDA GASRU RILEX LTFM



Istanbul Airport is the biggest meeting point of the World, is an essential gateway to the Türkiye as well as for more than 350 all over the World. It is the countries largest and busiest airport which replaced the old Istanbul Atatürk International Airport back in 2018.

The airport beautifully embodies progress, with its lively atmosphere and strategic place among Europe’s bustling hubs, being the second busiest airport on the European continent, and the seventh one worldwide. Every year, the number of passengers continues to grow, testifying to its growing importance on the international scene. Istanbul Grand airport isn’t just a massive building; it’s the vibrant hub of the national airline, Turkish Airlines, where every connection comes to life!


Runway & Terminal Information

The airport currently has five runways that are currently in operation;

18/36 (Departures)

17L/35R (Arrivals)

17R/35L (Departures)

16L/34R (Backup - Not in use)

16R/34L (Arrivals)

The two 17/35 runways are both 4,100 meters (13,500 feet) long, while the 16/34 runways are both 3,750 meters (12,300 feet) long. Runway 18/36 is 3,060 meters (10,040 feet) long, shorter than the other runways, although it is projected to expand to 3,750 meters (12,300 feet), the same length as the 16/34 pair. Runways 17L/35R and 16R/34L are 60 meters (200 feet) wide, while 17R/35L, 16L/34R and 18/36 are 45 meters (148 feet) wide


Istanbul Arrival & Departure Procedures

As always, ATC vectors take priority over your flight plan and real life procedures. Please follow their instructions

You can receive an ALT/Speed vector from ATC anytime, but until then, you should follow the published restrictions

Departure Procedures

As an example, this is MAKO3E /OSME3E


The blue lines tell you whether you need to be at, above, or below a given altitude

  • If a blue line is below the altitude (like at FM032), it means you need to be at or above that altitude.

  • If a blue line is above an altitude (like at FM037), you must be at or below that altitude.

  • If there is a blue line above and below the altitude, you must be at that altitude when passing that fix

Speed restrictions are shown in magenta and bolded: (examples above)

MAX 240kt: Maximum allowed speed is 240kt at that waypoint.

AT 240kt: Should be at 240kt at that waypoint.

As always, ATC vectors take priority over your flight plan and real life procedures. Please follow their instructions

Arrival Procedures

Point merge procedures

Almost every single arrival into Istanbul follows a point-merge STAR. Point merge is a procedure where aircraft file a curved arc, and ATC directs them to the Merge Point when there is sufficient spacing.



Türkiye Virtual Pilots have compiled a bunch of routes they have personally flown and found the most enjoyment in! Many are even personal favourites of ours and we’d like to share them with you so you may experience the vast, wonderful lands that you may not be familiar with! Being the airline that broke all the records! You can count on us to provide you some amazing routes and you’ll surely not be disappointed! Here are the routes that we personally recommend!

SHORT HAUL
DEPARTURE ARRIVAL AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TIME
EDDN LTFM B737 MAX8 2:30h
HECA LTFM A321 2:15h
LFPG LTFM A330 3:00h
LTAI LTFM B777-300ER 1:00h
LGAV LTFM B787-9 / A350-900 1:00h
MEDIUM HAUL
DEPARTURE ARRIVAL AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TIME
OMDB LTFM A350-900 4:20h
HTZA LTFM B737 MAX8 7:00h
HKJK LTFM A330 / B737 MAX8 6:30h
FZAA LTFM B737 MAX8 7:10h
LONG HAUL
DEPARTURE ARRIVAL AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TIME
FACT LTFM A350-900 10:20h
KIAD LTFM B787-9 9:00h
ZSPD LTFM B777-300ER 11:00h

ATC is needed throughout the day but members of TKVA will be there to assist.

Thank you in advance for your service!

Summary
Frequency User
ATIS N/A
GROUND N/A
TOWER N/A
APPROACH N/A
DEARTURE N/A
CENTER N/A

Attending

Time Virtual Airline Departure ICAO Arrival ICAO Aircraft Airline
1900z @TurkiyeVirtual EGLL LTFM A350-900 Turkish Airlines
1830z @QatariVirtual OTHH LTFM B777-300ER Qatar Airways
1900z @Etihad_Virtual OMAA LTFM B787-9 Etihad Airways
1900z @VirtualBlue OSDI LTFM A330-300 Turkish Airlines
2000z @BrusselsVirtual EBBR LTFM A330-300 Turkish Airlines
1500z @MalaysiaVirtual EDDN LTFM B737-800MAX Turkish Airlines
2000z @UPSVirtual LTCG LTFM B777F Turkish Airlines
1900z @VietnamAirlinesVA VRMM LTFM A330-300 Turkish Airlines
1130z @Akasa_Air_Virtual LSZH LTFM A330-300 Turkish Airlines
1700z @IndianVirtual VIDP LTFM B777-300ER Turkish Airlines
1900z @ThaiAirwaysVirtual VTBS LTFM A350-900 Thai Airways
1945z @FedExVirtual LFPG LTFM B777F FedEx
TBC @easyJetVirtual
1500z @Singapore_Virtual WSSS LTFM A350-900 Singapore Airlines
1300z @CathayPacificVA EGLL LTFM A350-900 Turkish Airlines
2000z @KenyaVirtual LGAV LTFM B787-9 Turkish Airlines
1900z @RyanairVirtualGroup LTAI LTFM A330-300 Tukrish Airlines
1900z @IAGVirtual EGLL LTFM A321 & A320 British Airways
1600z @AF-KLM_VA EHAM LTFM B737-900 KLM
1800z @DubaiVirtual OMDB LTFM A380-800 Emirates
1900z @SaudiaVirtual OERK LTFM A330-300 Saudia
2100z @DeltaVirtual LFPG LTFM A350-900 Delta Airlines
1900z @EgyptAirVirtualGroup HECA LTFM A330-300 Egypt Air
2000z @IcelandicVirtual BIKF LTFM B737-800MAX/B757 Iceland Air
1500z @GarudaVirtualGroup WIII LTFM A350-900 Turkish Airlines
1700z @IndiGo_Virtual VIDP LTFM B777-300ER IndiGo

  • Turkiye Virtual are not responsible for any violations issued during the event.
  • This event will be on the expert server so we ask for your full cooperation with IFATC.
  • If ATC is not present at anytime, please use the traffic UNICOM frequency professionally.
  • Most importantly, Widen your World!

We welcome you all, not just a Virtual Airline, but all are welcome and we welcome our community of aviators that love Türkiye Airlines. With great destinations, regular events and an overall pleasant community of pilots, We can’t wait to Widen Your World!

Visit the Türkiye Virtual Official Website to learn more about us!

Interested in applying? Great! Before you apply, please read the application requirements.

Requirements

  • Grade 3 or above
  • At least 13 years old
  • Have an Infinite Flight Pro Subscription
  • IFC Account must be at least 30 days old
  • Must be able to log a flight at least once every month
  • Use Discord professionally while being active

Thank you, and we hope to see you in Türkiye! :türkiye:

Güle güle,

Kirill

Chief Executive Officer

The TKVA Family.


Website | Apply | IFVARB

Türkiye Virtual is no way affliliated, sponsored or endorsed with the real world airline Turkish Airlines.Türkiye Virtual, all rights reserved, 2024.For any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

13 Likes

This looks awesome!! A crowded Istanbul is always fun

4 Likes

It’s going to be a great event. Feel free to join in :grin::airplane:

2 Likes

Can’t wait for the event! See you all in IST!

2 Likes

i’m joining

2 Likes

This gonna be fun events :star_struck:

2 Likes

can’t wait to light the sky with FRVG Callsigns in a TK A330

2 Likes

It’s going to be great, I’m very excited for the event.:star_struck:

2 Likes

sign me up!

2 Likes

:butter: machine

1 Like

no? i mean everyone knows Ryanair is not a :butter: machine and just a hard lander… am i right?

2 Likes

I’m definitely coming. Sign me up!

2 Likes

We at Brussels Virtual and fellow codeshare partners are happy to attend! See you at Istanbul for your wonderful event!


2 Likes

Fun fact about LTFM: The terminal’s design includes patterns based on Ottoman and Islamic architecture, like domes and mosaics. Even the control tower is shaped like a tulip, a symbol of Istanbul.

Can’t wait to see everyone at this event!

Sincerely,
TKVA staff team

3 Likes

Nice fact! Have never been to Istanbul but with new flights from my home airport beginning next year, I might as well come and visit

2 Likes

FUN FACTS!!

Did You Know That

Turkish Airlines has a 30-country lead over its closest competitor in this hard-to-break record

Turkish Airlines, which has held the title of flying to the most countries in the world since 2012, has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records™ as the record holder. The national flag carrier has successfully achieved the Guinness World Records™ title for the “Most Countries Flown to by an Airline”.

Based on Guinness World Records™ evaluation criteria, Turkish Airlines set the record with flights to 120 countries, reflecting only the active routes of the past 12 months. Nevertheless, including temporarily suspended routes and today’s inaugural flight to Chile, Turkish Airlines’ flight network now spans 131 countries.

Facts as of December 2024
Sponsored by @TurkiyeVirtual

4 Likes

FUN FACTS!!

Did You Know That

Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents. Geographically, it is in both Europe and Asia. Istanbul is considered European, despite occupying two different continents. The Bosporus strait divides the two continents and passes through Istanbul. It is the link between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. The European side is the western half of Istanbul – located west of the Bosphorus. The Asian side is the eastern half of the city and is located east of the Bosphorus. Two-thirds of the population of Istanbul live on the European side.

Sponsored by @TurkiyeVirtual*

4 Likes

Definitely attending this!

2 Likes

FUN FACTS!!

Did You Know That

Turkish Airlines, the airline that flies to more countries than any other, has once again asserted its leadership in the aviation industry, earning the prestigious Best Airline in Europe award at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards for the tenth time.

The ceremony, widely regarded as the Oscars of the Aviation Industry, was held at the historic Air and Space Museum in Paris on 17 June.

Also chosen as the Best Airline in Southern Europe, Türkiye’s national flag carrier was recognized with several other prestigious awards. Turkish Airlines received the World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering, Best Business Class in Europe, Best Business Class in Southern Europe and Best Business Class Onboard Catering in Europe awards, reflecting its superior service in premium cabins. The carrier also earned the Best Economy Class in Europe and Best Economy Class Onboard Catering in Europe titles, underlining its dedication to providing a high-quality travel experience across all service classes. These accolades, totaling eight once again reaffirm Turkish Airlines’ strong position in the global aviation sector and its leadership in the region.

These awards are granted based on the direct feedback of millions of international passengers, making them a true benchmark of passenger satisfaction. The continued recognition of Turkish Airlines’ superior service quality, unparalleled flight network, and exceptional inflight dining experiences crafted with its catering partner Turkish DO&CO demonstrates the airline’s unwavering commitment to its guests.

With a continually expanding route network that spans six continents and holds a Guinness record for most countries flown by an airline, Turkish Airlines embodies the spirit of Turkish hospitality while remaining at the forefront of sustainability and technological innovation in aviation. The airline’s growing global footprint ensures that it will continue to set industry standards for years to come.

Sponsored by @TurkiyeVirtual*

5 Likes

We will see you there. Most VAs are arriving around 1900z!!!

3 Likes