Erzurum (ERZ): twelve kilometres out, and the ski gateway
A short run into the city, municipal buses for almost nothing, and a winter peak driven entirely by the Palandoken ski resort above the town.
- The airport is 11 to 13 km from central Erzurum, a 20 to 30 minute drive.
- Municipal buses are the cheapest way in and take about 20 minutes.
- Havas shuttles run to and from the centre on a schedule matched to flights, costing more than the bus and much less than a taxi.
- A taxi is around 200 to 300 TRY and runs 24 hours from the airport.
- Fares here are the least reliable figure on this page. One guide still quotes 50 to 60 lira, which is years out of date. Assume the higher range.
- One modern terminal handles domestic and international, with arrivals and departures clearly separated.
- Free wifi, ATMs, currency exchange, cafés, duty free, a medical post, mother and child rooms and a CIP lounge.
- This is the main air gateway to the Palandöken ski resort, so it is busiest in winter.
- Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress run the schedule, linking eastern Turkey to Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
- Erzurum sits high and cold. Winter flight disruption from snow is normal, not exceptional.
The run into town
- 11 to 13 km, 20 to 30 minutes. Short enough that the choice of transport is about money rather than time.
- Municipal buses take about 20 minutes and are the budget answer. They run on the city fare, not an airport premium.
- Havas shuttles are the middle option, timed to flights, more comfortable than the bus and far cheaper than a taxi.
- Taxis are available 24 hours at the airport, at roughly 200 to 300 TRY.
A note on the fares
- Turkish fare figures go stale faster than anything else in this corpus. One otherwise useful guide still quotes 50 to 60 lira for the airport taxi, which was true several inflation cycles ago.
- Take the higher range and expect it to have moved again. Ask the driver to run the meter rather than accepting a quoted number.
Why the airport is here
- Palandöken is the reason. The ski resort sits above Erzurum and this airport is its main gateway, which is why the winter schedule is heavier than the summer one and why the arrivals hall fills with ski bags.
- Erzurum is also the regional centre for eastern Anatolia, so there is a solid year-round business and family traffic to Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
- Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress carry most of it.
The terminal
- One modern passenger terminal for domestic and international, with the arrivals and departures zones clearly split.
- Cafés, shops, duty free, free wifi, ATMs, currency exchange, a medical post and mother and child rooms, plus a CIP lounge.
Winter
- Erzurum is one of the coldest cities in Turkey and snow disruption is a normal part of the winter schedule rather than an occasional event.
- If you are connecting through Istanbul in January, leave a long gap. A missed connection here is a night in Erzurum.
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