Istanbul Airport

I have had cause to transit through this airport thrice in this year and on each occasion my plane experienced at least 15 minutes delay in landing. This is usually spent circling around over the Marmara sea. A waste of time. On every journey through this airport my plane spent an additional 10-15 mins on the tarmac at a standstill waiting for a parking spot before passengers disembarked. Taking off for my connecting flight was always an uncomfortable bus journey to a plane located somewhere way off the main terminal building in the heat. This airport has no free wifi. There is insufficient seating for those waiting for flights and the crowd is always huge. The toilets are always occupied even for use of the urinals. 2 urinals per restroom is just too inadequate for the human traffic at this airport. I have not enjoyed transiting through this airport at any time and I rate the airport low.

Dreadful Airport! Crowded small place with absolutely no seating facility no free wifi and always delays! Keep avoiding this airport - no flight out of IST has been on time!

Istanbul airport is a mosh pit its always crowded staff are really rude and there seemed to be no space to sit no free wifi and not many airbridges which can cause delays. Aircraft boarding usually takes with a bus to a very remote stand which is exhausting there just seemed to be a very unwelcoming environment in that airport.

Arrived at 2am exhausted after a delayed flight and delayed landing with air traffic. Unfortunately there were very long queues awaiting us for visa and passport control. There were people everywhere it was like a zoo or cattle mart! Also flying back home from Istanbul there were a lot of long queues through security and passport. However I did feel that there was a good security presence there. The lack of wifi free zones was terrible as well.

I traveled through IST after two years and the airport is still bursting at the seams. But IST is very functional with excellent shopping and eating options efficient lines at the security check and a size which is not too large that one gets lost in the airport. My only complaints are a lack of free wifi not enough places to sit and a lack of luggage trolleys (probably due to the number of passengers at the airport) and the need for a security check while arriving from an Asian destination if in transit (a security check is not needed if arriving from the U.S. and in transit). The third airport currently under construction will relieve a lot of the passenger constraints but a wait of 3 to 4 years is needed before it opens.

The overall impression - a polished mess. Ataturk is far too small for the number of passengers it handles and the lack of discipline doesn't help either what's noticeable even at low-peak times. The day of our flight a general black-out happened in Turkey meaning the trams and the trains weren't working for a certain amount of time. Allow at least two hours to arrive to the airport and one more to go through the customs and security control. Turkish Airlines check-in staff are not English speaking. Enough food options although overpriced and with a service leaving a lot to be desired. No A/C sockets in the entire terminal but there are machines where you can insert coins in order to charge your mobile - derisory if to remain polite. Toilets clean although the terminal is not especially the more remote gates such as 50X. Travel only if you have no other option than via Istanbul not a pleasant experience.

Had to transit in Istanbul Ataturk flying from Paris to Samsun and back. Compared to some others I was quite lucky to arrive at a time where the queues at passport control were limited. Going from International to Domestic is a bit long but if you carefully follow the signs you manage. Had a long wait in domestic airport and the only solution is to take a drink at one of the bars / coffee shops. At least it is quite cheap and they don't push you out but you need Turkish Liras and it's not very comfortable. The safety control is not too well organized it's better to have time ahead. Then the boarding room is small with not enough seats (as in most airports). Boarding by Bus. It was worth on the way back. For some reason Turkish Airlines site would not allow me to print my second (international) boarding card and time was short. There is a "quick way" from domestic to international but you need the boarding card! Luckily could find an automate that worked. Safety control was not too bad. But on the international side boarding rooms are much smaller than on domestic with a pitiful number of seats. Plane was delayed with very little information. The queue was "Turkish'" the transfer was by bus with the usual mess associated to this solution. When at least they opened the door of the bus it was "free for all" with people boarding from both ends of the plane and trying to reach their seats at the other end. I have seen worse but also much better.

We were on a connecting flight from Izmir to Istanbul to Uk 18/02/15. We had to circle a few times as it was snowing in Istanbul we landed on a runway not cleared of snow! Waited for the flight to UK they called us and bussed us to the aircraft. No snow clearance was evident at all it was only ankle deep and fresh snow not compacted ice so fairly easy for snow ploughs shovels etc. We boarded but unfortunately could not take off because of poor weather (not the airports fault). We got back into departures which was absolutely heaving we were not given any information and were left to fend for ourselves. The problem for us is the system stated we were flying because we boarded without cancelled flight status you cannot re book another flight. This took about 5 hours! We then had to question in essentially what was a scrum at Turkish airlines desk. There were the queuing lanes which most people adhered to but lots pushed in at the side by the desk and the 5 staff who were helping allowed this to happen and assisted the people cutting in. We eventually got re booked for the next morning. We figured out (again no information) that for the airline to put us up in a hotel we needed to go to the hotel desk. The desk was situated outside the airport beyond passport control but you could not go through passport control until you got a photocopy of your passport. There was total lack of order system or control at the area identified for photocopying. We eventually got a copy of passport so could go through passport control to hotel desk. So far we had been 7 hours trying to ticket transferred and out of the airport to the hotel desk. Back into the chaos in departures to try and bed down for the night hard marble floor and metal seats no blankets very limited water and dry sand which supplied-the lack of information and any care was frankly astonishing. In the main the staff were incredibly rude and did not really want to help. When we finally found an area of floor to sit we expected to see a hive of activity fritters snow ploughs etc-after all there was less than a foot of snow. In the 36 hours I was there I saw 1 gritter and 2 snow ploughs. From beginning to end it was utter chaos. Very poor organisation and information so poor that it was totally unacceptable.

I have to agree with the previous post. This is one of the worst airports to transit through. Not only are staff rude but also dishonest. I have been short-changed both times I used the airport. First time the waiter gave me no change. Second time different place the waitress passed off 1 lira coins for 2 euro coins. Beware!

My third visit to this airport and this will definitely be the last time. The facilities seem to be getting worse more over crowding more expensive and a very negative customer service throughout. It reflects the attitude shown by Turkish Airlines too. Shall be transiting via Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International. An oasis of calm and friendliness compared to the chaos of Istanbul.