Dalaman Airport review by Keith Doherty

6 September 2007   Customer Rating :

Appalling. The prices for food and drink were ridiculous. There must be a way of telling future passengers of this situation so that they can take their own. Confusion caused by the prices in the duty free shop being in Euros without pointing this out clearly. The air conditioning was not very efficient either. They charge you €1 or £1 for a trolley. It doesn't deserve any rating at all. It's rip off.

Dalaman Airport review by Tom Maul

6 September 2007   Customer Rating :

Never thought I'd say it, but the old terminal was much better than the new one! They seem to be cost cutting and don't even put enough lights on during the night, the whole place was gloomy and uninviting. Very little seating airside except for the empty food outlets, where you have to pay ridiculous prices for everything 8.75YTL (£3.45)for a small lukewarm coffee!

Dalaman Airport review by C Craig

9 August 2007   Customer Rating :

Next to Heathrow the worst airport I've experienced. Nearly all flights had been delayed, security was inconsistant, with little communication available. The food prices - where do I begin? Extortionate does not even cover it - daylight robery comes close. £20 for a basic pizza, or a slice for £3, with no cheaper options is hellish. Long delays mean a hefty price to pay. Long queues with and no comfort when hanging around make for a weary holiday.

Dalaman Airport review by Tyrrell Curtis

27 April 2007   Customer Rating :

This new airport is a mess. Smoking everywhere, even in food court. No seats for over half people. Go prepared as food and drink dearer that the Ritz in London!

Dalaman Airport review by R Pell

17 November 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

Had arrived at old DLM and left from new DLM. Security at entrance to new terminal building seemed to follow a logic of its own - some of our party had to take off jewellery, others did not. Surprised more people do not end up stark naked given the amount of belts and shoes and whatnot we were asked to remove! The prices charged by the cafes are pure egregious daylight robbery - staggeringly overpriced and delivered with a scowl. Paid 17YTL for two Fanta drinks (not cans). DLM should really wake up to this and have pricing which is nearer to the prices payable in the country itself.

Dalaman Airport review by Sarah Saunders
15 October 2006

I have just returned to the UK via Dalaman. There isn't anything I can say in favour of this airport. It may have an ultra modern terminal but it was hot and stuffy with an appaling lack of seating. Staff were unfriendly, unhelpful and not one of them could manage a smile. The prices for food and drink are the most expensive I have ever seen at any airport. My advice to anyone would be to take your own. The toilet facilities were also inadequate. Very dimly lit and long queues. There is also a distinct lack of information, in any language, to passengers arriving at the airport. Anyone who is unused to air travel would find this extremely confusing. So Dalaman, until you get your act together re customer service you get a huge thumb's down!

Dalaman Airport review by Angela Faulkner
30 September 2006

Talk about a rip off merchants - I paid £18.75 for two stale sandwiches & two teas. The tables were dirty and full of cups and empty packaging and during our 3 hour stay that’s how the tables remained. There is very little seating so be prepared to stand for long periods of time. There is nothing to occupy children and as many parents found out bored children and lack of seating causes bedlam. The PA system was next to useless no one could hear a thing about departures times or what gate they should go to. The security staff treat your belongings with total contempt I was made to remove my laptop from its case prior to security screening Once out of its protective case the Security officers then proceeded to throw it about on and off the conveyer belt as if it was a sack of potatoes. When I protested the only response I received was a shrug of the shoulders and a curt “move along”.

Dalaman Airport review by George Thompson
12 August 2006

Terminal buildings cool, staff friendly and helpful. Prices very high - 15YTL for two coffees. Limited places to sit meant some people sat on the floor. Security was quite good, with several passport checks. Boarding the aircraft was a minor problem as it was on a stand in the thirties, which meant boarding a bus and being ferried out to it. Then it was a case of queuing to mount the steps into the plane. The result was a missed slot and a delay of some thirty minutes.

Dalaman Airport review by Richard Gault
12 August 2006

New terminal, perhaps, but still not a good final impression of Turkey. Nine out of ten?? I don't think so - more like E for effort at best. The prices are a scandal: can of coke around £3, small beer £3.50, for example. Our flight was delayed by four hours - so we were forced to buy food and drink. Thank goodness we only were delayed this long because comfortable seats are few and far between. Looking for information or help? There is no information desk once through passport control. Want to phone home to warn of delay? Tracking down a phone was a challenge: even airport staff were unsure where (or whether) a public phone could be found.It might be a teething problem but of the two pairs of escalators connecting the two levels, one pair didn't work and the pair that did went in the same direction - up. If it's whisky that keeps you calm in fraught circumstances, here's a tip. Upstairs at the bar a whisky costs around £9 a glass. For about a pound extra you can buy a liter of the stuff downstairs in the duty-free shop!

Dalaman Airport review by Bob Ellis
24 July 2006

I have passed many negative comments regarding Dalaman airport over the years, but now am able to praise the new terminal and its facilities. The overall feeling is of space, and cool airy surroundings. Although not finished yet as it still is in its basic decoration there is no queuing outside the terminal as the x ray machines have been sited inside the main building. The desk facilities are a big improvement as well as the information screens and the signs. The baggage reclaim and the parking for transfer coaches is vastly improved and well lit for those night time arrivals / departures. So 9 out of ten for Dalaman, the reason for losing one mark is the exorbitant prices in the food hall exactly as it was in the old terminal. But if you take your own food and drink and just use the food hall to sit in the overall experience is a vast improvement

Dalaman Airport review by C van Meurs
18 May 2006

Returned from Dalaman in Turkey to Schiphol after a nice holiday and a very positive feeling about Turkey and the Turkey's people. Unfortunately this is completely destroyed by the exhorbitant pricing of drinks and food in the departure hall - 2 coffees and two beers for 20 Euro - how to disqualify for the EU! This is pure rip off and taking advantage of a monopolistic situation in a place were people have no choice. Also the tax free goods pricing and exchange rate is unrealistic.

Dalaman Airport review by Richard Wicher
15 February 2006

As a seasoned traveller to Turkey since 1991 - mostly to Dalaman airport - I have to agree with the vast majority of comments published. Over the years things have gradually got worse. I hope the new terminal will be ready by the time I return this October! It has to be the worst airport for departures I have been to in a long time. This is a bad advertisement for Turkey - enough to put people off from returning. Chaos reigns and refreshments are overpriced. I was in a party of 12 so I warned them about Dalaman's prices. We all took our own drinks and our own food-so the airport didn't make a single lira from us! I suggest that until they revise their ridiculous prices everyone takes their own refreshments. Having said that this is not representative of the Turkey that I know and love.

Dalaman Airport review by Edna Coles
31 January 2006

This is a reasonable airport to wait in, but make sure you have your own food and drink with you. I had to pay £5 for a small can of coke and a very small bottle of water !

Dalaman Airport review by Yves Genier
11 October 2005

All the comments reflecting the chaotic situation of every Saturday night's departure from the charters terminal are just understating the reality. On Oct. 1st, long after the end of the high touristic season, we discovered thousands of people (maybe 5000) waiting in three distinct queues just to be allowed by security officers to enter the building. We were very lucky to embark not for London, Frankfurt or whatever other charter destination, but for Istanbul, flying with a regular airline. The reality of this airport is, in this case, completely different of that of the charter passengers: we were directed to a separate and very small terminal that awaits the rare travellers who are immediately let going through security checks and registration to their airplane just across the tarmac. A fully other story. From Istanbul, there are many flights to many European cities.

Dalaman Airport review by Hugh Walton
9 September 2005

What a pity that my last memory of Turkey is not friendly people, blue skies, crystal clear seas but having to pay over £3 for a can of iced tea in probably the filthiest "Food Court" I have ever been in. I see that a new airport is planned for 2006 - it's overdue.

Dalaman Airport review by Laura Walton
1 September 2005

Departed from Dalaman airport yesterday, what a nightmare. Had to queue outside for almost an hourin the midday sun just to get into the airport. There is no organisation at all, it's not big enough to cope with all the holidaymakers, hopefully the new one there building next year will be better. Me and my husband had a cheeseburger meal each from Burger King, cost us 18.00 GBP - what a rip off, take your own food with you. There's not enough seats in the airport and the air conditioning is poor.

Dalaman Airport review by Bob Ellis
8 August 2005

I use Dalaman Airport about six times a year. Each time I use this Airport I get more frustrated and annoyed at the total incompetence of the Airport and its staff. This is completely against the character and work rate of the ordinary Turks which is excellent. I am well used to the exhorbitant prices charged at this airport, but have noticed one or two new worrying trends. Firstly the refreshment staff are tending not to ring prices up on the till and then either overcharge or pretend to have no change. If you have to buy anything at the Airport then insist on a receipt. Secondly the exchange rate offered by the duty free shops is so exhorbitant that you can pay as much as 20% on top of the cost price of the goods. Again if you have to buy from the duty free, only buy in pounds or euros or stick to the plane.

Dalaman Airport review by S Deas

28 July 2005

The worst airport I have experienced for many years - you have to queue outside in the blistering heat for anything up to an hour just to get into the building. The problem is exacerbated by vast numbers of charter flights all departing at pretty much the same time, meaning that the lounges are like refugee camps, with people all over the floors. Refreshments are outrageously priced, eg 5 YTLs for a cup of tea, in Turkey remember! And the organisation of actually getting people on to their aircraft is chaotic, with gates constantly being changed and petty bureaucrat types charging about actually shouting instructions to passengers in very poor English - while I was there there were confused groups of Dutch and English passengers walking back and forth behind officials like rats after the Pied Piper! The whole experience has put me off returning to this part of Turkey.

Dalaman Airport review by J Stringfellow

29 June 2005

Dalaman airport has to be one of the most chaotic airports I've ever used. Friends cannot come into the airport with you to say goodbye. You queue to get in as there are very few scanners on the doors. Once inside it is even worse. Checkin is a nightmare in the holiday season. Too small an area to queue at the checkins which means queues snake round and you can end up in the wrong queue, also it is all done by hand at checkin which makes it even slower. Once airside it gets worse, food and drinks are a total rip=off 14YTL for one beer (£6). My advice take your own food and drink in a coolbag and move to the departure gate as quickly as possible. There is a little more room there. A cd player is also helpful to drown out the sound of exhausted children who have had to queue with their parents for so long after what is for most a long coach transfer. Staff try to be helpful but resources are limited.

Dalaman Airport review by Herbert Frotzler

29 May 2005

I departed yesterday from Dalaman Airport back to Vienna. €6 for one Coffee in dalaman, €2,10 in Vienna. Dalaman is a relict of piratery. An abnormal way of saying Good By to a tourist. Authorities of the airport should do something.

Dalaman Airport review by John Davies

8 February 2005

I have just flown back to the UK from Dalaman (via Istanbul) - I was expecting the worst, I think things may have changed for the better! I actually had coffee both in the International and domestic departures, both were 5 YTL each (less than £2.00) and in international departures actually got a small cake for free!

Dalaman Airport review by Tony Emmerson

6 January 2005

I agree with most people in that Dalaman is becoming one of the most expensive airports in Europe it seems as though the shops have cottoned on to the fact that most people have a long distance to get to the airport so their drinks are by then warm but to charge nearly £4 for a bottle of water Wow my advice is to get a cool bag and take your own, also it would be nice to be able to use the gardens they have there to wait for your flights.

Dalaman Airport  by Philip Duff

30 August 2004

Check-in area and departure lounge always very busy, we normally go straight to the gate where seats and smoking area always quiet. Take your own drinks £4 for coke & £6 beer

Dalaman Airport  by Marie Mitchell

12 July 2004

Only negative comment I have is the chaos at the entry point to the airport due to too few scanners. This makes it a nightmare to enter with luggage and children. There's no organisation for people going through various doors. The airport staff are invariably friendly and helpful once through the doors!

Dalaman Airport  by Ray Barrow

18 June 2004

Going into Dalaman again for the 20th time. Airport security ok, but not as good as it used to be. At one time, passports were checked before entry from the perimeter at the guard-house, even the tourist buses were checked, and you had to show your passport, even the one tourist (there's always one) who had packed their passport in the suitcase & everyone had to wait - surely it should be like that again. Prices have gone up a lot but there is a really good choice between the duty free shops and all the shops are enterprising selling at different prices (a couple of years ago they were set Government prices). The more you buy, the cheaper it is. On the whole, airport conditions have improved, but in the current climate, security needs to get back to the old days.

Dalaman Airport  by Ronald Donders

22 April 2004

A lot of security and no security. Tourists are thoroughly checked but locals are walking in and out of the terminal without being checked. I have seen a local taxi driver walking to a gate without being checked! Furthermore the most expensive restaurants and bars of all airports. US$8 for a Coca Cola.

Dalaman Airport  by G Doyle

2 March 2004

Dalaman Airport is one of the more chaotic airports out there. Again, it doesn't help as there are long queues to get in to the terminal because of the very few scanners on the door. This makes it unbearable in the daytime heat. Lack of seating and Air Conditioning in the final departure lounge is a real problem. I believe further development is under way which can only help. Also prices inside for coffee / burgers are extortionate.

Dalaman Airport  by D Hargreaves

27 February 2004

Reasonable tourist type airport. Queuing can be chaotic outside, as security checks are made on entry to a/port building. Comment below regarding pricey coffee etc is surprising as I have always found refreshments there reasonable. Duty free very fair, worth haggling between different shops.

Dalaman Airport  by N C Prince

27 October 2003

One of the most expensive coffee-shops I've ever been in! Over £9.00 for a 1 coffee, 1 coke and a muffin. Quite a rip-off when compared to the rest of Turkey. Eat and drink before you get there!

Dalaman Airport  by John Frewen-Lord

29 July 2003

Not a bad airport - lots of duty free shops, plus a large Burger King. Try haggling - we got a 40% discount on some Turkish Delight when we said that we had no more Turkish money left. Security very tight - full screening on entering the terminal building, and further screening on getting airside. Too many passport/boarding card checks - even our (now defunct) tickets were checked as we entered the airbridge. Well air-conditioned (needed in the 40+ C heat), but toilets not the cleanest. There are better airports, but for a busy holiday airport, acceptable.

Dalaman Airport  by D Cartridge

28 July 2003

Dalaman airport is really nice. Sure it only has four gates but its nice and friendly. Its also great to see such tight security at an airport!! it looks really good from the outside as well, especially lit up at night. The people are really friendly.