Istanbul Airport

Being a seasoned business traveler through Istanbul airport yes it is a very busy central hub so be warned get there in plenty of time and check in on the internet. I travel from London and use it mainly for the excellent connections to CIS regions plus the airport offers good flexibility on flights to these countries. However in order to get around the hassle and stress of queues I invested in the TAV Passport card which offers many benefits with priority security and passport control which beats all the lines of people plus you get good discounts at the restaurants and duty free; also you get access to their airport lounge! All in all excellent service. Hence my review is based on a business user using a TAV passport card!

This was my first time in IST. My wife and I had 3 hours transit time in IST. We found many difficulties finding the smoking lounge because there were no signs. The airport is very small to fit all the passengers coming from so many different destinations. The toilets were not clean at all. In an airport like IST it has no wifi connection for passengers which disappointed me a lot. Staff hardly spoke English and the food shop were too expensive. We had to pay 5$ for a 500ml bottle of water. Lastly you should consider yourself lucky if you find a seat.

After reading all the negative comments I opted to pay for the Prime-class service. Although ridiculously expensive the service was fantastic. On arrival we were met at the plane with a buggy escorted quickly and efficiently through passport control luggage collection and customs. When departing Prime-class have their own security entrance to the airport where they meet you and once again escort you quickly and efficiently through check-in security passport control (all with their own counters) to the lounge. When time to board they take you to the gate in a buggy. Use the service if you want to avoid the long queues and headaches.

I am not talking here about shops or restaurants in the airport but rather about the staff on the ground. The majority of staff - except for a few - are rude indifferent and disorganized. I was shocked to find that out of the ten people I had to communicate with 5 were rude 3 indifferent and 2 were nice. I have passed through Istanbul airport twice - the second time saying I will give it a chance - and have vowed never again to take Turkish airlines. It is such a shame since thousands of people pass the airport and the manners reflects bad on the rest of the country.

It is possible to find at an airport has to be everything in Istanbul. Staff friendly Campos and reliability are confirmed as important considerations for passengers travel. Duty free is cheaper. Full of fresh and delicious dishes in restaurants.

Inefficient. Clogged with people. If you are traveling from Istanbul to a location in the US UK or Canada you have to go to a special passport control line but none of the signs tell you that. So we went to one line only to be told to go to another then to another then to a fourth until we were finally in the right line. Then we had to go back to the second line. Long lines many people cutting in line inefficient staff very few places to sit very crowded few restaurants and airport staff are not friendly. Bathrooms are few and far between. In general the airport is simply not equipped to handle the volume of passengers going through it.

The most unprofessional and impolite ground staff. Was on a business trip and my family was accompanying me from Cairo to Sofia with a stop over in Istanbul. Our flight from Cairo departed an hour late with no apparent reason even though all passengers were onboard. We missed our connection to Sofia that day. When we arrived at Istanbul there was no one to speak to. We finally figured out that we had to go to the Transfer Desk to get New boarding passes and get our hotel vouchers. It took 4 hours from the time we landed until we reached our hotel room. On our way back from Sofia our plane was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes again for no apparent reason. We arrived at the airport 20 minutes before the departure of our connecting flight to Cairo. We rushed through security check and we arrived at the gate only to be told that the gate had closed. To our dismay we had to go back to Transfer Desk and get new boarding passes to take the flight back to Cairo in 7 hours. The person at the desk was kind enough to offer us access to the millennium lounge. We had to wait for 2 hours to get our boarding pass stamped. I thought that I was done finally to my surprise when I got to the millennium lounge the lady would not let us in since we did not have any vouchers. I gave up! Now my kids and wife are sleeping on the chairs. Really frustrated by the way we were treated and by the unfortunate events we had to encounter during our two day trip. As advice to any passenger thinking of taking Turkish Airlines and transiting in Istanbul never think about it. It's a messy airport with totally unprofessional and rude staff. Avoid by all means.

Not a pleasant experience. Flew from IAH-IST and back. Going through immigration when arriving was no problem most likely due to the fact that our flight arrived at a later time. But departing from Istanbul's airport is quite the hassle. Security checkpoint number one is right as you enter the airport. There were long lines for all stops. Everything is true about the crowded airport. If you're a nervous flyer like me you'll get no comfort here. Bathrooms are small and often dirty. Passageways are totally packed. Gates have limited seating which is taken early (or by people at nearby gates). Food courts are a total mess there was limited seating and it was very cramped. It's a great city. Hope they get that 3rd airport worked out quickly.

This has to be the worst airport I have come across. It is absolutely chaotic. The signage and staff are utterly useless. The queues are astonishing and when you get to the front you are turned away to get a further check (for UK & US travelers anyway) only to have to rejoin the end of the queue. I would not travel with Turkish Airlines again because of this airport - if you have anything less than a three hour stopover you are likely to miss your connecting flight. The airport duty free and shops are the most expensive I have ever come across.

Quite chaotic long lines staff could be more helpful very loud and un-organized. But as a hub Istanbul is just a perfect place. So if you only spend 2 or 3 hours at the airport waiting for your next flight it is OK. But for a longer period I would not recommend it.