Istanbul Airport Meet and Greet: How the Name-Sign Pickup Works

An Istanbul airport meet and greet means a driver waiting for you in the arrivals hall with a sign showing your name, ready to walk you to a private car as soon as you come out of customs. At both Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) this happens after passport control and baggage claim, not at the aircraft door. Our private airport transfer with name-sign pickup starts from $60 per group in a Mercedes Vito.

Many travellers book a meet and greet for the first arrival only: a long flight, a new country, a huge airport and a city of more than 15 million people. Knowing exactly who will be waiting, and where, takes most of the stress out of the first hour. This page walks through that hour, from the aircraft to the car, explains what to send before you fly, and covers what to do if something goes wrong.

Two kinds of meet and greet

The phrase is used for two different services in Istanbul, and it helps to know which one you are buying.

At Istanbul Airport, the operator sells its own services under the iGA Pass name, including an iGA Meet & Greet service and an iGA Fast Track option. The airport also has a separate premium terminal, the JETEX-iGA Terminal, listed under its VIP services. The exact contents and prices of these packages are set by the airport, so check them on istairport.com or through the airport's 24-hour call centre (444 1 442) before you buy.

Most travellers only need the first kind: a driver who is there when they come out. The two can be combined if you want help inside the terminal and a car outside it.

From the aircraft to the arrivals hall at IST

Istanbul Airport is one of the largest airports in Europe, and the walk is long. Here is the sequence for an international arrival:

1. Leave the aircraft. Some flights park at a gate with an air bridge, others at a remote stand with a bus to the terminal.
2. Follow the signs for arrivals and passport control. The walk from a far gate can take a good while, and there are moving walkways along much of it.
3. Passport control. The automatic e-gates are for Turkish citizens with chip passports. Foreign visitors use the staffed desks. If your nationality needs an e-Visa, have it ready on your phone or printed. Queues vary a lot, from a few minutes to much longer when several long-haul flights land together.
4. Baggage claim. Screens show the belt for your flight. Trolleys are available in the hall.
5. Customs. Most visitors walk through the green channel.
6. The arrivals hall. You come out into a public area where people wait for arriving passengers. This is where your driver meets you.

Because steps 3 and 4 are unpredictable, a good driver does not stand at the exit from the moment the aircraft lands. He tracks the flight, checks the actual landing time, and allows for the walk, the passport queue and the bags. You do not need to rush. Check our Turkey visa requirements update before you fly to see whether you need an e-Visa.

Arriving at Sabiha Gökçen

Sabiha Gökçen, on the Asian side of the city, is smaller, and the walk from the gate is shorter. The order is the same: passport control, baggage claim, customs, then the arrivals hall, where drivers wait. Taxis, the Havabus shuttles and the city buses leave from in front of the terminal on the arrivals level, and the M4 metro station has an entrance inside the terminal.

Two things are different at SAW:

• Many arrivals land late in the evening. Low-cost and regional flights often arrive late, after the metro has stopped running at midnight. A driver who is already waiting matters more at that hour.
• The drive to most hotels is longer. Sultanahmet, Taksim and Beşiktaş are across the Bosphorus, so the car has to use one of the bridges or the Eurasia Tunnel.

If you are not sure which airport your ticket uses, look for the code: IST or SAW. A meet and greet booked at the wrong airport is the most common mix-up we see, and the two are far apart.

The name sign: what it says and where to look

When you come through the doors, the hall can be crowded, with a long line of drivers and hotel staff holding signs and tablets. A few simple points make it easy to find yours:

• Decide what the sign should say. Most people use their surname. If you prefer not to have your full name shown in a public hall, ask for a surname only, a company name or a code word that you agree in advance.
• Look along the barrier. Drivers usually stand at the front of the waiting area, facing the doors you come out of.
• Check the name of the company and the driver. We send the driver's name in advance. If someone approaches you with a sign you did not agree, or without one, do not follow them.
• Stay inside if you cannot see the driver. Do not walk out to the kerb or take an offer from someone who approaches you. Message or call the WhatsApp number on your confirmation and wait inside the arrivals area.

Once you have found each other, the driver helps with the bags and walks you to the vehicle, which waits in the parking area or the pick-up zone allowed for private cars. Expect a short walk to the car.

What to send before you fly

The meet and greet only works if the driver has the right information. When you book, send:

• Flight number and date, not just the landing time. The flight number is what lets us follow delays and early arrivals.
• The name for the sign, and the number of passengers.
• Luggage: number of suitcases, and anything large such as golf bags, a stroller, a wheelchair or a bicycle.
• Child seats, with the children's ages.
• The hotel name and address, or the address of your apartment, with a phone number for the property.
• A phone number that works on WhatsApp in Turkey. Both airports have free Wi-Fi, but logging in can take a few minutes, so keep mobile data on if your plan allows it.

We reply with the meeting details, the driver's name and his contact number. The day before arrival we confirm everything again.

When things do not go to plan

Most meet and greets are routine. These are the situations that do come up, and what happens.

• Your flight is delayed or early. The driver follows the flight number and adjusts. You do not need to message us unless your flight is changed to a different number.
• Your bag does not arrive. Report it at your airline's baggage service desk in the baggage claim hall before you go through customs, and keep the reference number. Send us a quick message so the driver knows you are on your way out.
• You are stuck in a long passport queue. This is normal at busy hours and is already allowed for. If it is unusually long, a short message helps.
• Your phone is dead or has no signal. Go to an information point in the arrivals hall and ask them to call the number on your printed confirmation, or connect to the airport Wi-Fi.
• Your flight is diverted. Fog sometimes closes one airport for a few hours, mainly in winter. On 4 March 2026, for example, fog made landings at Sabiha Gökçen impossible for several hours and 24 aircraft were diverted, 13 of them to Istanbul Airport. If your plane lands at the other airport, message us as soon as you can and we will send the car there.

Who books a meet and greet, and why

These are the travellers who usually find it most useful:

• First-time visitors, especially those arriving after a long-haul flight.
• Families with young children, who want child seats ready and someone to help with the luggage.
• Older travellers and guests with reduced mobility. Istanbul Airport has its own accessibility programme, iGA Cares, and your airline can arrange assistance inside the terminal when you book; a driver waiting in the hall covers the rest. Tell us in advance if anyone uses a wheelchair.
• Late arrivals, when the metro is closed and taxi queues can be long.
• Business travellers, who want to go straight to a meeting in Levent or Maslak.
• Groups, who want one vehicle and one meeting point instead of several taxis.

For a long connection, the same meeting can start a day of sightseeing instead of a hotel transfer. Our Istanbul layover tour page explains how that works, and how much time you need between flights.

The return: departure-day pickup

For departures there is no sign: the driver collects you at your hotel and drops you at the departures level. The planning is simple but worth doing carefully.

• Both airports have a security check at the terminal entrance, before check-in. Queues there can be long at peak times.
• Follow your airline's guidance on how early to arrive, then add the drive from your district.
• Weekday mornings and evenings are the slowest times on the roads.

We agree the pickup time with you the day before, based on your flight and the hotel's location. If you plan to keep a driver for a day in the city, our private car with driver page explains how a full day works, and Istanbul tours with hotel pickup lists guided days that start from your door.

For drive times from each airport to the main hotel districts, see our Istanbul airport private transfer guide. Our Istanbul destination page and our full list of Istanbul tours help with the days after you land.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul Airport VIP transfer, private Mercedes Vito to your hotel: from $60 per group, name-sign pickup at IST or SAW.
• Istanbul layover tour with private guide and van: from $550 per person, 6 to 8 hours, starting and ending at the airport.
• Istanbul private driver tour, Mercedes Vito for 8 hours: from $299 per group, for the first full day after you land.

Frequently Asked Questions