Istanbul Airport

Arrival process remarkably smooth on Jan 1 trip with no lines at immigration. Selling visas to passengers is just a plain scam in my eyes though. Departure 2 days later a whole other story. Security at the entrance extremely slow and tedious with rude staff. Another 30 minutes to pass immigration. You really have to factor these time consuming hurdles in or you may actually miss your flight. What boggles the mind is why this immigration has to take so long despite the fact that everyone seems to get in (or out) anyway and why it is necessary to have the process done by such rude staff. The Turkish are not the most cheerful people in this world and the airport staff is solely responsible for ruining your travel experience through IST which is otherwise a fine terminal. This also happens to be one of the most expensive airports in the world for shopping and f&b and what is up with the pricing in Euro's for certain articles another misleading scam I assume.

Had strange set of experiences at the airport on my way to Chicago. Check in at front door had the staff person wanting a long conversation with me on what I did and saw in Istanbul while line behind me kept getting longer. Was asked repeatedly if I packed bags myself - thought answering once would be enough. Got asked again by security staff at airline counter - weird. Once we got to gate area the usual second scanning went fine but then more security staff processing very slowly. Stamped my wife's boarding pass but not mine and I did not notice. Then right at jet door was told to wait with no explanation then the staff with stamp shows up some minutes later but took his sweet time processing. Overall a very disruptive process. Inside of airport shops restaurants etc nice though. Security is out of control at this airport which is too bad as the rest of the airport is nice.

Big clean modern airport. But it could be better. As many reviewers have said the cafes and bars are expensive - even by international standards and by Turkish standards are crazy: 17.5 TL for a coffee and a small sandwich. At busy periods the queues on arrival and departure can be lengthy and its not always clear if you're in the right queue - for example many people join the passport control queue without realising that they need to queue for an buy a visa first - better signage would help. The increased traffic also seems to be generating delays with too many planes scheduled to depart at the same time and the runway just can't cope. Recently sat on the apron for 45 minutes having pushed back from the terminal because of the volume of planes waiting to take-off before we even got into the queue at the end of the runway.

A nice airport to look at but be warned very very expensive! Wanted nearly 34YTL for a glass of Turkish wine! Check in areas and arrival area's very nice and clean as where the washroom facility's just don't expect to leave with any money if you go in the Duty Free shops or restaurants!

Flying from the middle East to Istanbul airport is always annoying as through-tickets are never issued. This means the usual long queue booking the seat for the next segment of the journey. Free newspapers in the main hall are a nice touch though and it is nice to be in one of the airports of the region (bordering on the Middle East) where no-one smokes.

I am a Singaporean and took Turkish Airlines from Singapore to London with an overnight stay in Istanbul. Ataturk airport is quite clean and organized signs are placed nicely. It is strange police with guns are assigned for immigration purposes both in and out of country. They do not speak english and do not welcome at all. Airport facilities are nice Turkish Airlines has a perfect lounge for Business class passengers and it is one of the best in Europe. Duty free prices are very acceptable when compare to europe though my favorite is always Dubai.

Late evening arrival for transfer to internal flight to ADB. Very short queue for entry visa (note only English notes accepted no Scottish or Irish sterling). Passport control very prompt. Long walk to domestic terminal some travelators otherwise follow signs for route. Banks for currency exchange all open plenty of taxis for pax if required booked either in the airport or from right outside the doors and car hire and tourist services all operating in evening. Good range of eating options but prices are high. Small number of shops at domestic terminal. Main information board provides depture info. plus small screens at gates. Security quick - new rules for 100ml of liquid containers now in place. Plenty of seating at gates and toilets and waiting areas all nice and clean. An efficient and good service.

I use IST about fifty times a year (I live in Istanbul but am not a Turkish citizen) and find it generally good. Nine times out of ten I have a minimal wait at passport control and my bags are often on the belt when I get to it. I agree that on departure it is much better to go through passport control opposite check-in zones G-H rather than at the other location near A- B. Also agree that better to eat elsewhere if possible: food is expensive and ordinary and you can do so much better in Istanbul. The departure info screens can be misleading for a first-timer: 'wait in lounge' actually means 'go to gate' - the next thing to come up will be 'boarding'!. Beware gates 301+ - the secondary X-ray there can be a zoo when all the Central Asia flights leave at around the same time (late evening). Get there early.

Use Istanbul for connections and meetings in Turkey quite often. The passport control lines coming in could be a disaster sometimes. Flying out the airport now offers a business/cip entrance to the airport with its own security and again a private passport control counter after check-in. Lounge options are numerous with lot's of good food/refreshments. I find the duty free prices to be really good compared to EU airports. The whole airport is smoke-free; absolutely amazed considering you can smoke virtually everywhere in Turkey. Apart from the second security check at the gates I would say this is one of the finest airports I've been to.

Very clean. when 3-4 flights arrive at the same time you have to wait at least 20 minutes in immigration queue. Entering the departure hall sometimes takes 15 minutes in security queue. Immigration officers in departure area most impolite.