Istanbul Airport

Not Verified | Upon arrival from London I looked for the gate for my connecting flight to Cairo. The connection was tight and there was no connecting gate listed. In the end I had to ask a random airport employee and she said that it was Gate D 8. This was incorrect. I had to flag down a first aid wheelchair lady who very kindly pushed me in the wheelchair a vast distance to the gate- she didn't have to do this but for her I would have missed my connection. Signage is appalling and distances are vast, not helped by no gate being on the boards. It would seem that my flight had been shoved into this remote gate and nobody had added it to the departures board. This is not a 5 star airport- any gate not close your arrival gate in a long way away if it is announced.

✅ Trip Verified | Been through the airport several times of late but the free Wifi from Turk Telekom never works. A SMS code is sent to your cell number but never arrives, so I looked up their customer service number (444 1 444) but that doesn’t exist. An international airport should do a lot better than this. Food prices are double what you pay outside the airport but this seems to be the case at a lot of international airports. Facilities are clean.

✅ Trip Verified | Transited through this gorgeous airport to and from TLV. What's not to like about this airport. Signage is excellent and the terminal is brightly lit clean and gleaming. Given the vastness of this terminal, walks to and from the gates to the central terminal can be long. I chose to walk from the Business Class lounge to the B gates. It took about 15 minutes at a leisurely pace. The one thing IST could improve on is having more English speakers to help those who needed wheelchairs and/or passenger carts. We had a long walk from our gate to the international transfer security check in. This is one of my favorite airports.

✅ Trip Verified | Such a huge and pretty airport terminal, but there is not enough seating, restrooms/toilets, and it's a long walk to your gate. It's hard to find your check-in counter for your airline. The same people who checked me in at the counter were also there at the gate. The staff are the most rude, surly, people who don't know (or pretend to not know) English and are very unhelpful and useless. The customs agent was on her phone texting on WhatsApp and was annoyed that I interrupted her to do her job of checking my passport and visa. The WiFi, which is very slow, only lasts one hour, and they ask for your phone number and/or your passport number for some bizarre reason. Food is expensive and overpriced. No public transit into the city at all. They keep saying it's under construction, but why wasn't it built and included in the first place?

One of the best airports that I have been through. Signage is very good. Terminal is super clean. Shopping is amazing. The food is fantastic. This airport has a quality which has not been seen by me anywhere else. Staff are very professional. Wifi service is not good. But I have not seen any airport with good wifi. I think western passengers travelling through this airport should compare it with something like Atlanta or Heathrow both of which are pretty much living in the past. The tall ceilings and Ottoman architecture that's been used in a subtle fashion adds to the uniqueness of this airport terminal. I believe 2 women architect's designed this airport terminal.

✅ Trip Verified | Large airport that has directory maps throughout. Very hard to find anyone that spoke English as well as could help us around. Too many security points. Bags and passports checked numerous, numerous times. Reluctantly had to pay visa fee in order to claim my pet for the several hours while in transit. Between the heavy security, and Turkish flags draped at many retail stores, I didn’t feel comfortable, and would do my best to avoid this airport if at all possible.

✅ Trip Verified | Wifi is limited to one hour. Not enough places to eat. Rude airport staff. Cumbersome evisa process, and have to go through multiple security.

Not Verified | Architecturally interesting with light, airy spaces, very good shopping if you're in the mood, clean public areas and restrooms, and a huge variety of dining choices. There was even a Shake Shack there, which I couldn't believe. This is a fine airport, much better than what we have in the US, and I have to wonder what it is that makes our airports inferior to that of our European counterparts. Money? Lack of interest? Who knows, but I'd give Istanbul 4-5 stars.

✅ Trip Verified | Arrived on 5/12/2022 at IST and departed on 5/21/2022. This gleaming bright airport merits its 5 Star rating that is prominently displayed in the concourse. On arrival, there was a long walk to passport control. The lighting and signs directing passengers are very clear. The baggage claim area is massive and resembles that of LAS airport. No wait for our luggage as they were already on the carousel. It took no more than 10 minutes to get through passport control. Departed on 5/21/2022. There is heavy security screening. On entering the terminal, one has to pass the luggage through scanners before proceeding to check in counters. IST has a special entrance for Business Class and Star Alliance Gold passengers. Another security check followed before proceeding to check our bags and proceeding to the Business Lounge. Directions were easy to follow to the lounge. The concourse is brightly lit and there are shops from various designer labels throughout. At the departure gate, there is another security check i.e. handheld baggage is inspected and body is hand scanned.

✅ Trip Verified | The worst airport experience I’ve had. Approaching staff to ask for help, I received a very short and unhelpful answer. I finally had help from a police officer who was stationed outside the airport door, when i realised i couldn’t go back in, he explained how to get to where i wanted. Plus i got scammed by the Global Exchange in the airport. I saw the passport control officer going over people’s passport with magnifying glasses - don't they have machines for that? And they provide only 1hr of free wifi? I’m never traveling through that airport again.