Istanbul Airport

This has to be one of the worst airports I have had to transit through: Extremely overpriced Duty Free. No free wifi. Restroom cleaning staff rude. Airport information staff vague and rude.

Flew here from Brussels and back again. There are very long and tedious lines at passport control on arrival made even more long and tedious if you also choose to buy a visa on landing rather than buy one online in advance. My advice is buy a visa online before you land. Unless you hold a Turkish passport you will have a long wait at passport control. The metro transport from the airport to Sultan Ahmet is cheap and only involves one change/connection. Cafes are ok and reasonable choice in duty free. The signage was a little unclear at times. On the outward flight ridiculous procedures mean you are screened through security gates at the terminal entrance pass through passport control then pass through the main security again just minutes later. There are very long and tedious lines at each stage of this process three step process with some pushing and shoving common at the passport control with little organisation as to where people should line up. Only pass through this airport if you have plenty of time on your hands or don't mind long and tedious lines.

I often change flights here flying Turkish Airlines between Beijing and Manchester. It's not the friendliest of places for sure almost intimidating. Unusually even after going through passport control additional checks are often made at the gates. To do this they empty the gate seating area of waiting passengers and force them to queue (again) outside it. They give some people a very hard time and often keep passports 'for further checks' handing them back out later. It can be squirm-inducing to watch the guys doing this are really 'cold' and matter- of-fact. As a British guy I guess I look 'no risk' and have never had any trouble I guess one shouldn't complain about the tight checking of documents etc. The queues at security checkpoints are typical - depending on your journey time it can take anything from a just a couple of minutes much longer when busy but the queues often look worse than they really are. The TA lounge is definitely worth getting into if your ticket (or frequent flyers card) allows. I never look forward to this airport (although I get excited about that lounge) mainly because of the messing around at the gate and the grim faces of the staff. Hardly a good advertisement for Turkey. Just keep your fingers crossed you can get through in and out quickly.

I travel a lot and have passed through many airports over the years. This is the first time I feel so disgusted that I want to post a complaint. Istanbul Ataturk airport is very noisy and dirty in many places. I found some of the toilets so smelly that I walked out looking for another. My Turkish Airlines journey to England had an 8 hour transit but when I tried to access the complimentary meal the information staff were discourteous and the restaurant so mean. They will only give me a very basic meal and refused to let me have a little extra water! I was so disgusted with their lack of good manners and mean spirit.

We have flown in and out of IST-Ataturk many times over the past decade. The airport has improved in some ways and declined in others. Business Class check in lines were chaotic with economy pax frequently queue jumping and little attention from staff. Now Bus Class check in is really smooth with the convenience of entering the lounge directly after Passport Control. Unfortunately. though we had been through security we were obliged to do it again in the sweltering heat of the gate two times. Landing at IST has got progressively more stressful as the airport gets more traffic. It took over an hour and half to get through Passport Control and get our luggage. Turkish airlines flights have been almost always tardy and our flight from Toronto departed 2.5 hours late so we were three hours late arriving. Our friends waited to pick us up. The food and drink in the Business Class lounge is great but it is frequently overcrowded. Both arriving and leaving have become longer more annoying processes. The Duty Free is expensive even compared to some on the Canada/US border. We are travelling elsewhere next year.

I travel through here frequently. It is noisy and dirty. It's easy enough to get around it's true. But unless you have access to the lounges it is uncomfortable and worn. The prices for even the most basic commodities are exploitative.

Transited this airport en route to Athens early this month where the number of passengers queuing at international transfers was simply overwhelming. Returned this week (1am) en route to Johannesburg where there were very few people going through security but the number of people in the International departure area was unbelievable. It appears that this airport simply cannot cope with the size if it's own airline fleet never mind all the other airlines that utilise Ataturk.

I have read several reviews and I think they are not fair: 1) The airport is almost spotless according to its traffic load. 2) Security is double when compared to EU airports. 3) Facilities are more than double compared to EU airports. 4) Duty Free prices are uncomparable especially for Spirits and Tobacco. 5) Airside areas for public use excluding lounges are enormous. 6) Prices in public areas are high according to Turkey but lower than EU airports except for alcoholic drinks. 7) Queues are long and chaotic but staff are more efficient (we waited 30 minutes for 10 people in FRA). 8) Visa at the airport takes less than 1/2 hour which is not available anywhere else. 9) Few public seating spaces but traffic has grown more than twice in the last 20 years. 10) If you have Access to a lounge they are the best considering free offerings and IT infrastructure. So instead of complaining: 11) Get your visa online before arrival. 12) Prefer less crowded dates (except Monday morning and Friday evening) and times (05-07 22-00 for example). 13) Use on-line or kiosk check-in hand luggage to Baggage Drop-Off counters. 14) Read instructions on security carefully and eliminate all needs for staff to intervene. 15) Prepare your documents and passport beforehand and be ready for questions of the immigration officer. 16) Officers at pass control speak some English do not expect more than that. 17) Visa queue is the leftmost. On its right come foreigner pass control. Then starts Turkish citizen counters after which Fast Track the last and leftmost counter comes. 18) Do not forget Ataturk is the busiest airport in Europe ME Africa and West Asia in terms of no of flights and human traffic / m2 area! 19) Keep in mind that people coming from countries other than where there is a strict code regarding queues may not obey rules the way you do. Do not feel reluctant to warn them out loud and call officers if necessary.

Used this airport two times over the last 7 weeks. Arriving is okay. Our luggage was quick on the belt and we were lucky that it was not too busy at the immigration desks. Leaving from this aiport is not so good. Too many flights are leaving from here so there are not enough seats for the passengers who are waiting for this flight. Staff working in the bars and restaurants are rude to customers and have a bad attitude.

I use SABIHA GOKCHEN airport airport as I work in TUZLA nearby and pass through it 2 or 3 times per month from UK. Be warned the arrival immigration arrangements are a total shambles. I have plenty of experience of this facility and it's getting worse. By the month. I agree with previous reviewer - The queues are chaotic and the airport staff are disinterested and a total disgrace and they don't care. Things have got so chaotic in both ISTANBUL AIRPORTS that I have now resorted to flying via IZMIR.