Antalya Airport

Flew to Gatwick from Antalya last week. Being off season it was fairly quiet and so no queuing to get in. The place was reasonably clean and looked after but not sure how it would have coped when really busy. Can only agree about the extortionate price of food and drinks. What made it worse is that you weren't told when handing over large chunks of cash for a bottle of water that the security guards would take it from you when you tried to board the plane - you can't take drinks bought in the airport onto the plane unlike at UK airports. Wouldn't be surprised if the bottles went straight back on the shelves! Can't see why the authorities are happy to let you leave their country on such a sour note - they'll get more money from a happy customer making a return visit than they will ripping you off at the airport.

The security arrangements at Antalya airport seem a little strange. OK you are screened on the way in and again when you go upstairs to lounge and duty free area. BUT having bought a bottle of water in duty free you are then not allowed to take it on the 'plane because you cannot take more than 100mls beyond the final screening point leading to departures. At Gatwick you are able to take what you have bought in duty free onto the 'plane. Much more sensible I think. Queuing to check in to a flight is also a long winded process.

I regularly fly to and from Antalya airport (10 times+ per year). The arrival facilities are fine. Baggage arrives fast - even during busy periods. The stairwell from arrivals to baggage reclaim is steep - hold on to the rail tightly! Howeverdepartures is another story. I cannot fathom any justification for the outrageous prices charged by those with airport food and drinks franchises at this airport. It is the most expensive airport. I was charged 27 euros for 2 coffees and an inedible sub. This not only left a nasty taste in my mouth but in my wallet too. My advice - take a doggy bag. Do not buy from these airport licensed criminals. The authorities in Turkey should act to protect their own reputation which is compromised by encouraging these bandits.

We were also shocked to have to pay about 4 Euro for a miserable small cup of coffee inside terminal 1 served in a plastic cup. This was our last impression of Turkey and we wonder whether the Tourist Authorities should not do something about this image harming practise.

Airport in itself okay. However prices asked at the airport restaurants are a pure chuzpe. 8 Euros for a cup of coffee and a dry tiny something-like-croissant. If you are picked up from your hotel at 1:30am to catch a 6:50am flight you will be stranded at the airport for long enough to end up buying at these ridiculous prices. It seems they are counting on this. If you ever have to go through that airport make sure to bring a doggie bag! Don't support this greedy attitude.

Antalya airport is modern and clean the need to scan bags at the main doors is a pain especially in hot or bad weather as you wait outside the terminal otherwise it is like any other airport. But by far the biggest downer is the prices inside nothing short of extortion on a grand scale expect to pay 3 times the normal price for everything including the so called duty free goods.

We arrived at Antalya airport 5am over the Christmas period the airport was empty - the only flights coming in were from UK. Airport was nice We went threw customs in two ticks. The baggage followed and we were out in half an hour. Departing from Antalya was also very quick but I put this down to the fact we were travelling of season and of peak times. Airport was okayish. I was very disappointed by the food and beverage franchises. £3.50 for a cup of filter coffee. I dared not ask the price of a burger at Burger King.

As at other Turkish airports one must undergo security screening at the entrance to the terminal at AYT. In fact there are two terminals: the Domestic and International Terminals are separate buildings. For my flight to IST continuing to LHR I presented myself at the THY check-in in the Domestic Terminal but was told that if I wanted to check my luggage all the way to LHR I would have to go to the International Terminal some 500-600m away. To this inconvenience was added the simultaneous arrival of six tourist coaches which began to disgorge their passengers and hefty luggage. This prompted me to accelerate and get to the screening point ahead of the crowds - any dithering would have left me at the end of long lines that would snake out of the terminal as described in previous postings. A close call that. Check-in proved quick and friendly and a pleasant place to relax once within was the Zum Strammen Bar which clearly caters for AYT International's mainly German clientele.

Antalya airport is the worst I have departed from in recent years. With huge queues and sweltering heat the government owned refreshment outlets were charging positively extortionate prices for bottles of water. The one good side was that despite all the threats and warnings about excess baggage charges by the holiday company the actual check in staff couldn't care less about the few extra kilos as they had several hundred passengers to deal with and knew it was silly anyway.

The airport seems completely overwhelmed by the growth in tourism to this part of Turkey. We in November 2003 had to wait outside the building for some time just to get in since even with all entry doors open the baggage scanning and x-raying stations could not cope with the influx of passengers. There were no queues rather a mass of people jostling to get inside as swiftly as circumstances would permit with the result that people were trying to block each other with bags carts etc. An ugly first impression. Once inside it was the familiar situation of many mostly charter airports: only two to three counters open to check in more than two hundred people for a flight. Result: more standing in queues. Finally it is necessary at this airport to have hand baggage x-rayed and another body scan when entering the gate holdroom. There is just one bag scanner and one body scan gate per holdroom - and the security staff decided to open these about 25 minutes before scheduled departure. Result: more standing in queues and a departure delay due completely to slow passenger processing of 35 minutes. All in all two hours of standing in various queues just to be processed do not leave the impression of an airport that works well. This is the first privatized terminal in Turkey a joint venture with Frankfurt Airport and their own publicity claims they have the goal of making the passenger experience as pleasant a possible. Well unless they liaise better with security forces and handling companies to loosen bottlenecks they will not achieve that goal.