Flights from Istanbul to Skopje, and every other direct route from Turkey

Which airports in Turkey fly direct to Skopje

Six airports in Turkey have scheduled direct flights to Skopje International Airport (SKP). Four of them fly all year, although Antalya keeps only a handful of winter flights; Ankara and Bodrum are summer-only. Four airlines share the routes: Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, AJet and SunExpress.

• Istanbul Airport (IST): Turkish Airlines, all year, about 12 to 14 flights a week.
• Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW): Pegasus Airlines and AJet, all year, about 21 to 22 flights a week between them.
• Antalya (AYT): SunExpress all year, but in winter only in selected weeks; Pegasus Airlines adds flights from May to October.
• Izmir Adnan Menderes (ADB): Pegasus Airlines all year, about 4 a week in winter and 7 in summer, plus SunExpress in summer and some winter weeks.
• Ankara Esenboğa (ESB): AJet, twice a week in summer only.
• Milas-Bodrum (BJV): AJet, once a week in summer 2026.

Flights from Istanbul to Skopje: Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen

Istanbul has two airports with flights to Skopje, and they are on opposite sides of the city. Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side; Pegasus Airlines and AJet fly from Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side. Check the three-letter code on your ticket before you plan how to get to the airport, because getting from one to the other means crossing the whole city.

Between them the two airports have more than 30 flights a week to Skopje in both summer and winter, which gives Istanbul the widest choice of departure times of any Turkish city. It is also the busiest link Skopje has: according to the airport operator TAV Macedonia, Istanbul was the most frequented destination from Skopje Airport in every month of 2025, with a 16.6% share of its traffic.

Istanbul Airport is Turkish Airlines' hub and the usual connecting point for travellers coming to Skopje from the Americas, Asia and Australia. If you start further afield, one ticket through Istanbul is usually the simplest way to connect, and the short last leg means you are in Skopje soon after you change planes.

Flights from Antalya, Izmir, Ankara and Bodrum

From Antalya, SunExpress flies to Skopje all year, but in winter only in selected weeks and at most about twice a week. Pegasus Airlines adds Antalya flights from May to October, when the route reaches around 11 flights a week. In summer there are also holiday charter flights from Antalya; they are package-holiday flights, not scheduled routes.

Izmir has the steadiest service outside Istanbul. Pegasus Airlines flies about four times a week in winter and about seven in summer, and SunExpress adds two to four summer flights a week plus some winter weeks.

AJet's Ankara route ran twice a week from 2 July to 22 October 2026 and has been announced again from 3 June 2027. Its Bodrum flight ran once a week over the same summer; summer 2027 was not confirmed when we checked. Outside those months there is no direct flight from Ankara or Bodrum, so you need a connection, for example through Istanbul.

Istanbul to Skopje flight time, and the time difference

The flight from Istanbul to Skopje takes about 1 hour 25 minutes from Istanbul Airport and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Sabiha Gökçen. From Izmir it takes about 1 hour 25 minutes, from Bodrum about 1 hour 35 minutes, from Antalya about 1 hour 50 minutes and from Ankara about 1 hour 55 minutes. These are our estimates from the published timetables and the distance flown, so use the times on your ticket for planning.

Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year, while North Macedonia uses Central European Time and moves its clocks for summer. Skopje is 1 hour behind Turkey from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and 2 hours behind in winter. Because you fly west, the local landing time can look earlier than the flight length suggests: a 1-hour-30-minute flight leaving Istanbul at 10:00 in January lands at about 09:30 Skopje time.

Whatever you arrange for your arrival, give the Skopje local time. Our own booking form, for example, takes the pickup date and time in Skopje local time, whichever time zone you book from.

Year-round and seasonal routes from Turkey

In winter (25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027) both Istanbul airports keep flying to Skopje, as does Pegasus Airlines from Izmir. SunExpress flies Antalya and Izmir only in selected weeks, and the Ankara, Bodrum and Pegasus Airlines Antalya flights stop until summer.

Summer runs from the end of March to late October and brings back the seasonal routes. In summer 2026 there were also holiday and diaspora charter flights from Turkish cities such as Adana, Diyarbakır, Samsun and Trabzon. Charters are not regular scheduled routes and can change from one year to the next.

For summer 2027, AJet has announced Ankara again from 3 June. We had no confirmed summer 2027 dates for the other seasonal Turkish routes when we checked on 1 November 2026.

Flights from Istanbul to Ohrid

Turkish Airlines flew from Istanbul Airport to Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport (OHD) four times a week from 16 June to 4 October 2026, a flight of about 1 hour 30 minutes. It is a summer-only route, and summer 2027 dates had not been confirmed on 1 November 2026. No other airport in Turkey has a scheduled route to Ohrid.

Ohrid Airport is about 10 km from the town, opens around its flight timetable and has no regular shuttle bus, and we don't pick up there; the Ohrid Airport guide covers the official taxis and car rental. Outside the summer, or if the four weekly flights don't suit your dates, fly to Skopje and continue by road: a car booked with us from Skopje Airport to Ohrid costs a fixed €145 per vehicle, as set out on the Skopje Airport to Ohrid page.

Beyond Turkey: the other airlines at Skopje Airport

The routes from Turkey are only part of the airport's network. Across the airport as a whole, about a dozen airlines fly scheduled routes to Skopje in the winter 2026/27 timetable, and Wizz Air, with Wizz Air UK from London Luton, flies about three in four of them. The rest are mostly hub connections, useful when your own dates don't fit: Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport, Pegasus and AJet from Sabiha Gökçen, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, Air Serbia from Belgrade, Aegean from Athens, Croatia Airlines from Zagreb, Edelweiss and Chair Airlines from Zurich, and easyJet from Geneva. Lufthansa from Frankfurt, LOT from Warsaw and Norwegian from Oslo flew only in summer 2026.

Landing in Skopje: your onward options

You have three realistic ways out of the airport. The airport shuttle bus costs 199 MKD one way and stops at three points in the city; its stops and timetable are in the Skopje Airport bus guide. The official airport taxi rank charges 1,500 MKD to the city on its fixed price list. Or you book a car before you fly: we charge a fixed €32 per vehicle to the city, and the driver waits in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign (fixed-price cars from Skopje Airport).

The bus is the cheapest option and works well if you travel light and land during the day. A car booked ahead makes more sense if you land late, travel as a family with luggage, because the price is per vehicle and not per person, or are going beyond Skopje. Straight from the airport to Tetovo costs €80, to Gostivar €105 and to Pristina in Kosovo €135 by car.

Put your flight number in the booking: the driver follows the flight, and there's no extra charge for waiting caused by a delay. What happens if a flight is late or cancelled is explained in the flight delay guide.

Direct flights

Routes and timetables change by season; check with the airline before you book your flight.

Frequently asked questions

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