Istanbul Airport

I read a lot of horror stories about this airport but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Upon arrival we were at a remote stand and had to take a bus to the terminal. The immigration line was about one hour but most stands were manned so we figured that this was a result of multiple international flights arriving at the primary entry point to Turkey. While it wasn't fun we understood why the line was that long. A couple of days later we returned to depart for Bucharest early morning arrival. Security to enter the terminal was not long at all and the check-in for the airline was about a 10 minute wait. Same for outbound immigration and security. We had breakfast at the food court it was more expensive than downtown Istanbul but comparable to Western airports. Boarding was not a problem but no seating at the departure gate (again by bus). Returning home we were transiting from Bucharest through IST to Boston and we didn't have connecting boarding passes (although our luggage was checked through). No line at the transit desk to get the connecting boarding pass friendly staff. No line at the international transfer security checkpoint. Although our transfer time was only 1 hr 20 mins we had plenty of time to go through duty free between flights. Boarding for BOS the departure gate had the enhanced USA security which meant standing in line about 20 minutes but it moved along quickly. All in all IST was a good airport. There are plenty of signs to direct you wherever you need to go as long as you pay attention to where you're supposed to go next you won't have any problems.

This incredibly badly designed airport has one major flaw - there is nowhere to sit! If you are waiting for your gate to be called you are forced to stay in the chaotic and crowded main departure hall. There are no seating areas other than very expensive bars and restaurants. When I asked at an information desk where I could go to just sit down I was directed to a lounge that was going to cost around $40 to enter. My theory is that they deliberately do not give you seating areas so that you are forced to end up wandering the shopping areas or buying ridiculously overpriced food and drink.

I have used Ataturk for the past 4 years and the wait times at immigration in and out have got worse and worse. In the past month I have been through the airport 4 times. The shortest wait at immigration was 20 minutes the longest 1.5 hours. Even at 1 am you can wait an hour. On all occasions less than half the immigration desks were occupied and several staff were standing around talking laughing and generally doing anything but their job. One night section two was completely closed and the line at section one stretched out of the waiting area and more than 50 m down the arrival corridor. That night I sat next to an American lady who had to buy new tickets because she missed her plane after waiting more than an hour in immigration. The line for Turkish passport holders is fast. But International passports wait up to 10 times longer. Again poor organisation. Turkish Airlines are good but I suggest they transfer a couple of Managers over to the Immigration Department and teach them how to run an efficient operation. Im sorry but I have a choice of airports to transfer out of Europe and Istanbul has gone to the bottom of my list. Turkish Airlines - if you want this customer back fix your home airport. (PS I have flown with you at least 25 times in the past three years - business and pleasure but last weekend was the last time unless I have no other choice) .

Travelled through several times on Turkish Airlines but this airport is now so terrible I may stop flying with Turkish. Queues at immigration are so slow the staff here are rude and portray a very poor image of Turkey. Once you finally get to the departure lounge area it is overcrowded so badly you may not find a seat and restaurants are nearly always full. The airport ground staff are generally not well trained the word "smile" does not exist in their minds. Terrible and to be avoided if you can.

Arrived 29 April from UK only 2 passport control people working although possible 16 stations available. Staff not interested in relieving the problem or apologetic. Took 1hr to get through the queues of people. Welcome to Istanbul!

We had read all the horror stories so left plenty of time before travelling from Istanbul to Venice on 15 April but we experienced no delays whatsoever. We were through security passport control and check-in/bag drop with Turkish Airlines all in under 15 minutes. We then found a near empty departure lounge (no more than 6 others and approx 120 seats) near to our own and read quietly until boarding on time and departing early. Overall a seamless experience.

Terrible unguided queuing just after entrance and not enough security checking points. Several queuing points: security check baggage drop passport check another security check. Several hundreds of people were unguided in entrance hall queues. 2.5 hrs is not enough to get on plane in time.

On Monday 28 April we arrived at Istanbul Ataturk to fly to London Heathrow. We entered at 6.55 am. The security check was 14 minutes. The passport check was 34 minutes. We counted 982 people in the passport queue. Of the 14 passport points only 5 were in use. We spoke to the passport supervisor who simply shrugged his shoulders. This is very poor service.

We just spent almost 2 hours going through passport control at IST today. That's 2 hours! The line was horrendous and airport personnel did nothing to ease the situation for hundreds of people. More and more flights kept arriving and the line was barely moving. They seriously need more agents checking passports and visas. Only half the booths had agents. Certainly they know how many flights are arriving. Turkish Airlines runs a great operation in the air however the Istanbul Airport creates the worst airport experience ever.

As a seasoned traveller this was the first time I have travelled via Istanbul and will probably be the last. Chaos is the only way I can describe the International transfers. After standing in a queue for nearly 40 minutes I was then told I had to join a different queue as I was travelling on a British Passport and had to go through two security checks. Despite the fact that flights were being called and final boarding was being called there was no system in place to get people through quickly to make connecting flights. I had a 2½ hour stay over in Istanbul and after clearing security on an International Transfer my flight was being called. The ground staff were unhelpful.