Istanbul Airport

Crowded, hot, dirty and disorganized. Staff as careless as possible with service. The only thing staff at Ataturk are skilled at is saying "no". You can buy WiFi but most staff will say it doesn't exist or they don't know. Good luck finding a seat anywhere, especially at your gate. We'll pay more to avoid Ataturk, avoid Turkish Airlines and therefore avoid Turkey from now on. I think their "pack the bus" strategy is likely to backfire but of course, the staff won't notice as they'll still be on break.

Had a six hour layover at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on outbound flight and the airport was very busy. Airport signage, especially to lounges was poor and the staff members we asked for directions sent us in different directions; still the exercise did us good. Seating was in short supply at the gates and boarding was chaotic. Air conditioning was not up to job, the terminal was extremely hot. On the return journey it was worse, absolute chaos in the terminal with passengers wandering aimlessly looking for the right gates.

Has to be the most crowded airport terminal in the world. First off, one is bussed off to the terminal (very few aerobridges), then crowds merge on to a central holding area, made smaller by the work going on. There is an overcrowded food court and the usual duty free shopping. Crowds also mill around the gate boards, with gates being changed last moment as well.

We were transit travellers as a family - 2 small children. Since we bought a cheaper ticket and did not know that the airlines did not have a code share agreement, we needed to collect our baggage, change the terminal from international to domestic and check in for another flight. That was very challenging with two small children and with 2 hours between the flights. The walking distance from international terminal to domestic with two 4 year olds took us 40 minutes (dragging our luggage with us, since it di d not go directly). We barely managed to catch the next flight. The Istanbul airport is quite big and the lines to get to the luggage area are very long. Expect to wait quite a lot before you exit the terminal. There are 15 luggage belts, I think. International terminal is huge, there are plenty of shops, restaurants. The domestic terminal is smaller, more manageable, but the downside if you are travelling with children are stairs. And all over the airport there is not enough seating area at the gates, neither at the domestic terminal or international. Nevertheless I would use this airport again, since it has great connections from Europe to East and Asia, but would plan for more time between flights to everything be more easy and relaxed.

This was my second time transiting through Ataturk, and I regret to say that most of the recent reviews posted here are sadly accurate: Ataturk is overheated, under-ventilated and chaotic. Overhead signs report that the flight you are trying to transfer to is "Boarding Now", but do not report at which gate. Since there are many more flights at IST (a victim of Turkish Airlines' success) thEn there are gates, arrivals and departures seem to entail riding buses to and from remote stands, only increasing the chances that you will miss your connecting flight. Navigation between the international and domestic terminals is convoluted, archaic and burdensome. Bottom line: avoid IST at all cost unless your destination is Istanbul or some transfer destination served only through IST. It is not worth the aggravation and irritation. Instead, consider flying to and from Esenboga in Ankara, which is served by nonstops from Munich, and which serves a fair number of Turkish domestic destinations. In comparison to Ataturk, Esenboga is serene, organized and on-time.

I think every one is correct that Istanbul Ataturk Airport needs an attitude change and many improvements. I like it because I can sit and have a meal and a few drinks. I agree they are being very stingy by not providing Wi-Fi. As for the attitude, what do you expect.

This was my first time travelling via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Almost all of my 4 flights had some sort of delay and they sent my luggage on a later flight to Vienna. The airport staff are very unfriendly to say the least, they have no care for visitors and are disrespectful to travellers. The same goes for employees at the duty free and restaurants. There is no free wifi that lasts (it works for 15 minutes - if you're lucky) and the rest is you have to pay. The terminal wasn't well ventilated and wasn't very clean. I understand it's peak season but it's as if no one cares. A major airport like this reflects on its country and I I will not fly Turkish Airlines nor go to Turkey anytime soon.

What a horrible experience at the Istanbul airport. Every staff I encountered was rude and had no interest to help (airport information booth, Turkish airlines lounge). No wifi at this airport, except Starbucks. Delays of at least 1 hour of every Turkish Airlines flight I took. Very little duty free shops, nothing to do. What a nightmare!

Worst airport lines and management experienced in 20 plus years of flying. Be sure to arrive with at least an extra hour on top of standard times at Istanbul airport where two passport officers process a snaking lines of hundreds of non Turkish passport holders. With queues snaking into the check in desks, it is clear that neither Turkey nor this airport care for foreigners, tourists or visitors. Hands down this experience at 4am in the morning is enough not to visit Turkey again.

The cafes and restaurants are well organised and had delicious food. We had some problem with my father's visa and the airport police were kind and cooperative and the problem solved in minutes. The Duty Free area is outstanding and I enjoyed it.