Airport emergency grounds Abbott's wife Margie in Turkey

Margie Abbott, the wife of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, was left stranded at Istanbul's airport overnight after trying to return home from the Anzac Day memorial service at Gallipoli.

Ms Abbott was due to fly out about midnight on Saturday from Turkey but when she arrived at the airport she learned her plane was delayed by up to seven hours, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The airport had been shut down after a separate plane had caught fire and made an emergency landing.

The only alternative flight involved a 24-hour stopover in Bangkok.

Australian Embassy officials said it was fortunate Ms Abbott was a "calm and good-humoured person". She has since departed Turkey on a flight back to Australia.