Turkish Airlines· Callsign THY1979 ·Daily

TK1979 IST → LHR

London is served with multiple daily widebody flights, unusual for a route under four hours.

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Status on this page means observed ADS-B activity inside available receiver coverage. Confirm official delay, cancellation, gate and booking status with Turkish Airlines.

IST
Istanbul
Istanbul Airport
07:55 UTC+3
4h 05m
2,488 km · 1,546 mi
Non-stop
LHR
London
London Heathrow Airport
10:00 BST (UTC+1)
Typical schedule · next departure Thursday, July 30 · times shown in airport local time
Aircraft
Airbus A350-900
typical equipment
Distance
2,488 km
1,344 nautical miles
Heading
307°
tracks north-west
Clock change
-2 h
on arrival
Block speed
609 km/h
gate to gate average
Range used
17%
of the type's book range
Length rank
#194
of 255 tracked routes

Follow TK1979 in real time

The aircraft appears below whenever it is airborne and inside receiver coverage. Its planned route is drawn between the two airports.

TK1979 is not transmitting right now. It may be between rotations, on the ground, or out of receiver range - Check back near 07:55 at IST. The full map has the rest of the sky.

TK1979 at a glance

  • The trip: 2,488 km (1,546 miles) from Istanbul to London, flying north-west.
  • How long: 4h 05m gate to gate. That is about 609 km/h on average, taxi time included.
  • The plane: usually an Airbus A350-900. This route uses about 17% of how far it can fly.
  • Your watch: set it 2 hours back on arrival.
  • Window seat tip: the left (south-facing) side gets the sun on a daytime flight.
  • When it goes: out of IST in early morning, into LHR in mid-morning.

TK1979 route overview: IST to LHR

TK1979 distance and great-circle path

TK1979 covers 2,488 km, or 1,546 miles. That makes it a medium-haul flight, long enough for a full meal service, short enough for narrowbodies. Of the 255 routes we track, it ranks 194 by distance.

The plane leaves Istanbul heading north-west. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the IST–LHR route appears on a tracker map.

Why TK1979 block time differs from cruise time

The schedule allows 4.1 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 609 km/h. An Airbus A350-900 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.

Flying west, this route pushes against the wind. The trip back east is usually shorter, even though the distance is the same. See what really moves flight times.

Can the Airbus A350-900 comfortably fly TK1979?

Not at all. At roughly 17% of its range, this is an easy trip for an Airbus A350-900. The airline picked it for cabin size, not distance. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Airbus A350-900.

What to know about TK1979

  • Time change: you land 2 hours behind the time you left.

TK1979 activity in the past 7 days

No stored observation has been recorded in this seven-day window. The published schedule and route above remain reference data, not evidence that the flight operated.

Date (UTC)RouteFirst trackedLast trackedTracked for
No tracked activity recorded yet for the past 7 days. Activity is logged every time this flight appears on the live map.

“First/last tracked” are when TK1979 entered and left receiver coverage, in UTC.

Airports and aircraft on TK1979

Every scheduled service we follow is listed in the tracker directory, including Turkish Airlines and other tracked flights grouped by airline.

IST Istanbul Airport Istanbul, Turkey · live radar → LHR London Heathrow Airport London, United Kingdom · live radar → A359 Airbus A350-900 Typical equipment · specs →

Other tracked flights from Istanbul

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
6E17Mumbai (BOM) → Istanbul (IST) Boeing 777-300ER6E17 flight tracker →
TK1Istanbul (IST) → New York (JFK) Boeing 777-300ERTK1 flight tracker →
TK9Istanbul (IST) → Los Angeles (LAX) Airbus A350-900TK9 flight tracker →
TK15Istanbul (IST) → Sao Paulo (GRU) → Buenos Aires (EZE) Boeing 777-300ERTK15 flight tracker →
TK52Istanbul (IST) → Tokyo (NRT) Boeing 787-9TK52 flight tracker →

Guides relevant to TK1979

Chosen from this route's distance, timing, aircraft, airline and airports.

How airlines plan routes This medium-haul sector shows how aircraft size and local demand shape a network. Boeing versus Airbus The typical aircraft is built by Airbus; these visual clues help identify it. Airline alliances explained Turkish Airlines belongs to Star Alliance, which affects connections and codeshares.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

The route and typical schedule are maintained reference data. Live ADS-B observations are evidence of receiver coverage, not proof of on-time performance. Always confirm the operating date and times with the airline.

Read our schedule and observation review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

TK1979 frequently asked questions

How long is the TK1979 flight?

Istanbul to London is 2,488 km (1,546 miles) in a straight line, scheduled at 4.1 hours gate to gate. Actual airborne time varies with winds, routing and holding.

What aircraft operates TK1979?

Typically an Airbus A350-900 (full specifications), using roughly 17% of that type's published range.

Does TK1979 fly every day?

The published pattern is daily, departing 07:55 local from IST. Always confirm with the airline before travelling.

Can I track TK1979 live?

Yes. Whenever TK1979 is airborne and in receiver coverage the map above follows it live, with altitude, ground speed and heading. Between rotations, the seven-day log above shows where it has been.

More Turkish Airlines flights to watch

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
TK1 Istanbul (IST) → New York (JFK) Boeing 777-300ER TK1 flight tracker →
TK9 Istanbul (IST) → Los Angeles (LAX) Airbus A350-900 TK9 flight tracker →
TK15 Istanbul (IST) → Sao Paulo (GRU) → Buenos Aires (EZE) Boeing 777-300ER TK15 flight tracker →
TK52 Istanbul (IST) → Tokyo (NRT) Boeing 787-9 TK52 flight tracker →