Turkey to maintain permanent time zone despite European clock changes

Turkey will not implement a seasonal time change in 2026, maintaining its permanent UTC+3 time zone. While European Union member states are scheduled to end daylight saving time and move clocks back by one hour on Sunday, October 25, 2026, Turkey will continue its current practice of permanent advanced time to maximize daylight.

This divergence will result in an increased time difference between Turkey and several European countries. This shift may impact international flights, online meetings, and businesses operating between the two regions.

Users are cautioned that older electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and smartwatches, may automatically adjust their clocks based on European settings. To avoid errors, users should ensure their device settings are manually set to ‘Istanbul/Turkey – UTC+3’.