Turkish Presidential Flight Gulfstream G550 TC-ATA lands in Ankara from London Luton

Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Turkish Presidential Flight's Gulfstream G550, tail number TC-ATA, flew from London Luton Airport (EGGW) in Luton, United Kingdom to Esenboğa International Airport (LTAC) in Ankara, Türkiye on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The aircraft departed at 19:41 UTC and touched down at 22:37 UTC. The flight lasted 2 hours and 56 minutes.

The great-circle distance between the two airports is 1,503 nm (1,729 miles, 2,783 km). The aircraft averaged 511 knots ground speed and reached a highest altitude of 41,025 feet and a top ground speed of 542 knots. Based on our estimates, the flight burned about 1,206 US gallons of fuel and produced about 11,583 kg (11.6 metric tons) of CO2, roughly the same as driving a car 28,670 miles. The Gulfstream G550 is an ultra long range jet with a range of 6,750 nm, a top speed of Mach 0.885, a ceiling of 51,000 feet, and typically seats 16 passengers.

The Gulfstream G550 is a GV-SP type, with over 617 in operation worldwide. The aircraft used about 22 percent of its range on this flight. It burned an estimated 410 US gallons of fuel per hour.

This is the third tracked landing at Ankara for any of Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Turkish Presidential Flight's four aircraft in our tracking window. The last one was on November 1, 2026, also by TC-ATA. The home base on file is Istanbul Airport (LTFM) in Istanbul, Türkiye. Usual destinations on file include Paris, Riyadh, Dubai, Moscow, Beijing, and New York. In the 30 days before this flight, the owner's aircraft flew 13 flights totaling 38.2 hours in the air, with the longest leg being Atlanta to Istanbul on November 1, 2026, a distance of 4,988 nm, flown by the same Gulfstream G550 TC-ATA.

Before this flight, the aircraft had been on the ground for about 11 hours after a previous tracked landing at London, Essex. In the tracking window, the owner's four aircraft made 23 tracked flights. The most common destinations included Istanbul(Bakırköy) with 4 landings, and Ankara with 2 landings at LTAC and 2 at LTAD.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics since 2002, first as Prime Minister then President. Turkey is a NATO member with ambitions of strategic autonomy, making Erdogan one of the most diplomatically active heads of state globally, with shuttle diplomacy between Moscow, Kyiv, Riyadh, Tehran, and Washington. Ankara is the capital of Türkiye and the seat of government, where the presidential palace and parliament are located.

The departure airport, London Luton, has a longest runway of 7,093 feet and an elevation of 526 feet. The arrival airport, Esenboğa International, has a longest runway of 12,303 feet and an elevation of 3,125 feet. The distance from the home base at Istanbul Airport to Ankara is 206 nautical miles.

The aircraft remains on the ground at Esenboğa International Airport. Its next movement has not yet been tracked.