Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (IATA: SAW, ICAO: LTFJ) is the secondary international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. Located 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city centre, Sabiha Gökçen Airport is in the Asian part of the transcontinental city and serves as the operating base for AJet and Pegasus Airlines.
The airport is named after Sabiha Gökçen, the adoptive daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the first female fighter pilot in the world.
Real world replica of Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen Airport
High resolution PBR textures and modelling
Interior modelling with 3D people.
Parallax windows for all airport buildings around.
Custom ground polygons and markings
Custom jetways
Up to date airport layout as of May 2025
Hand crafted terrain mesh and runway profiles
Custom CGL covering for the airport
Custom light fixtures models for taxiways
Custom taxiway signs
Custom animated Windsock and Anemometer
Custom GSE vehicles in operations
Animated custom apron vehicles
Interior models for all hangars
Animated doors with proximity for all hangars
Ambient sound effects and announcements for the Terminal building and both ATC towers
Night light animation for ATC tower
Snow piles when the Simulator time is between December and February in snowy weather
Dynamic GSX doors in the terminal building can trigger with Boarding/Deboarding
Custom GSX profile is ready for ground services, pushback, and passengers.
This review contains two parts.
In the first part i want to review the scenery by itself. My review is based on MSFS2024. For the price you have to pay, this is a very nice scenery. For me this is a reason to fly to Turkey a bit more! The airport buildings are nicely done, ground textures are nice and there is a lot of life on the airport with a lot of ground vehicles. I especially like the way the glass textures of the terminal are done. Also the airports blends nicely in the sim On the performance side i can say that the airports performs very well, altough i encouter a repeating stutter at the airport. But this isn't that big deal!
The seccond part i want to talk a bit about the developer. I contacted him to get some support to resolve the stutter i talked about. I came in contact with a very friendly person who took a lot of time to help me and search together with me to find a solution! He didn't tell me at any point that 'it would be my pc or my sim' He listened from the first moment and did some tests to eliminate the stutter I did not have this experience before! Only for the way this developer takes his support serious, he would deserve more then a 5/5!
Absolutely Stunning – A Must-Have Scenery for MSFS 2024
As someone who has flown virtually since FS98 (thanks to my father) and logged countless hours on platforms like IVAO, it takes a lot to impress me. But this rendition of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (LTFJ) is hands down one of the most immersive and realistic sceneries I’ve experienced.
From the moment you spawn in, the level of detail stands out. The high-resolution PBR textures and handcrafted ground polygons make every surface look convincingly real. Markings, weathering, and apron wear have all been recreated with exceptional care.
The interior modeling is superb—with 3D animated passengers, ambient sound effects, and even dynamic GSX doors. Combined with animated apron vehicles, custom GSE, and working hangar doors, the airport feels truly alive.
Night lighting is equally impressive, especially the animated ATC tower lights. Small touches like custom windsocks, anemometers, and seasonal snow piles elevate immersion even further. The Nool VDGS system and included GSX profile make ground handling seamless.
Developed by a talented local creator, this scenery captures not just the airport, but its spirit. Performance was smooth on my system, and even knowing an optimization update is coming, it’s already highly enjoyable.
Honestly, I enjoyed being on the apron so much, I delayed my departure—at one point, I even considered simulating an emergency just to return and land again.
If you fly in Turkey or the region, this is essential. It’s more than a scenery—it’s an experience.
MXI-Design has truly outdone themselfs here.
With the long-awaited Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, they have created an all-around fantastic product and recreated one of Turkey's most important airports.
My personal highlights are the created vehicles, jetways, and textures. There are also announcements in the terminal, which gives the whole thing a whole new flair.
For such a large airport, the performance is also really great, and I'm really looking forward to future projects.
The scenery features good modelling, especially in the area around the main terminal. The textures for the paved surfaces are quite nice as well.
However, for the price they are asking, a lot of areas are not at a quality level they should be. Building textures can look somewhat sterile and digital at places away from the terminal. Also, the glass material used for the terminal building makes it look as if there's no glass installed in daytime, which doesn't look very realistic.
My biggest gripe is the work done all around the perimeter of the airport. Modelling and texturing is rather crude with generic looking textures and low fidelity models. The approach lights support structures are default mixed with a bit of additioinal modelling, good intentions but the result just doesn't look realistic. Add to that flat vegetation visible all around the airport peripheral.
The product is by no means terrible, but to me the price asked vs quality is not satisfactory with many competitors doing larger airports with higher fidelity models/textures at a lower price point.