Istanbul Airport

✅ Trip Verified | First time in the new big Istanbul airport so I was curious to see how it was. On the positive side everything looks nice and clean, and there are lots of shops. On the negative side, distances between gates may be really long and tiring. On the main body of the terminal there are no tapis roulant so you have to walk a lot. Beyond that, WiFi is only available after a complex registration process and limited to 1 hour! I could hardly believe this, since I've been into very small airports in Asia or Europe were Wi Fi is fully open and with no time limits. This looks like a jurassic service.

✅ Trip Verified | To return tax, I had to get to another desk and only one employee was serving to approximately 40 passengers. For Turkish airlines passengers there is no need to go to another desk, this is only for non-Turkish airlines passengers, which is a discrimination against passenger profile. I could not get my tax because I could not wait until my turn comes (I waited for more than an hour), otherwise I would have missed my flight. This is very bad customer service I had ever seen.

Not Verified | Worst customer service, very rude and charge you even if you don't have to pay the amount. The only airport that I have ever seen you have to pay for internet, ridiculous, and disappointing. I'll never ever use IST as the hub.

Not Verified | The staff was incredibly unfriendly and unhelpful. Laughed at me when I asked for directions. Refused to give me food vouchers even though I had a 10 hour layover with connecting flight. That was when I was lucky enough to find staff, though. They don't have info desks, only these big orange video boxes that are supposed to help you find stuff, but in reality I found maybe one working in the whole airport. Even with a 10h layover I was unable to visit the city because I couldn't find anyone to ask directions to find out how to get to the shuttles, and the orange boxes were useless, and by the time 5h of my layover time had gone by I gave up trying to go out. The food is so expensive you want to cry just looking at the price tags (6€ for a single macaron??). So, difficult to get out, impossible to buy food (or anything else); at least you can relax and watch a movie, right? No, because you only get 1 hour of free WiFi. After which it's 6€ for an additional 2 hours. If you're going to deprive me of food and a visit to the city, the least you can do is leave me an internet connection. The queue for Security Check is ridiculously long for such a big (and supposedly "the world's best") airport. Most of the aisles are closed, and the check itself if very slow and old-fashioned. Staff will yell at you for following the signs that very clearly indicate to go in one direction or other (i.e. "Security Check this way" but then for some reason you're wrong if you go the way that's indicated, and are actually meant to completely disregard the signs and go somewhere else). Once again, I've never seen such rude and unhelpful staff. They showed no empathy whatsoever for people who had been denied boarding, and made no move to help them solve the situation, which is what they should be there for. Most of them also don't have very good command of English, which is a bit of a problem when they work at help desks because they need to deal with passengers from all over the world. Not impressed at all with this airport.

Not Verified |   The airport is made large, maybe to beat Dubai, but it doesn't benefit passengers. There are about 13 exits from the airport but when you come from metro (10mins far without reason for new construction), there's NO sign of entrance and you spend 10 mins to test the closed entrances (entrance no.10 is only open!) exit to metro also not straight, you have to walk a lot. Meals are extremely expensive. I've seen only one free water fountain near toilet of a distant terminal, and couldn't find it again next trip. There's one hot water point for Chinese tourists, which I couldn't find. Shops are too expensive. Ways to terminals are not straight and long.

✅ Trip Verified | The airport doesn’t offer free unlimited internet access, they should be ashamed. Staff is often rude and unhelpful. Prices for food are unreasonably high which contributes to make this one of the worst airports to transit. It is unbelievable how this airport even gets awards as it is always one of the worst experiences. Avoid at all Costs.

Not Verified | One of the worst airport with impolite airport personnel. None of them spoke English. The customer service was more interred in her makeup than helping the customer. You could hardly communicate with the people working there. One of the worst airport where you pay for your luggage carrier trolley. This airport is just to rob the passengers as much as possible.

Not Verified | Absolute rip off. Had a 5 hour lay over and got Turkish kebab plate. $71usd. $22usd for two small Starbucks. Istanbul is the only airport that charges for internet. Total scam. Food was awful too. Learned my lesson not to use Istanbul or Turkish again

✅ Trip Verified | After flying from Hanover, Germany, we had a layover at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul. My daughter fell ill with a fever, and we had to take her to the hospital. We ended up staying one night at the hospital and another night at a hotel. When my daughter felt better, I contacted the airport to retrieve our luggage. After completing the necessary procedures and collecting the luggage, I needed to return to our hotel. I hailed a taxi that was waiting for passengers outside the airport. I gave the driver the hotel address since we couldn't communicate in English. Once inside the taxi, with my daughter on my lap, I noticed the driver had a camera and kept turning it towards me. When I asked him about it, he claimed that Turkish police require taxi drivers to have cameras. Suddenly, the driver stopped in an isolated area resembling a parking garage or loading dock. Alarmed, I questioned him, and he replied that he needed to drop off some goods. Fearing for our safety, I made an international call to my partner in Germany, explaining our location and situation, and asked him to call the police. I also threatened the driver, saying that the police were on their way. The driver, who appeared very threatening, started shouting but eventually agreed to drive us to the hotel. Ladies and girls, please take the following precautions when traveling alone: Get the driver's information: Note the taxi's number, driver's name, and any other identifying details. Stay connected: Keep your phone charged and stay in contact with someone who knows your whereabouts. Use official transportation: Whenever possible, use official airport transportation services or pre-booked rides. By sharing my experience, I hope to help others avoid similar situations. Stay safe and vigilant.

Not Verified | €6 for water! 500ml. €13 euro for a sandwich! Wow! Basic human rights is water and you guys allow shops to charge it. The airport itself is amazing but we all not paying LV or Gucci prices for basic food as you have the top designer brands there.