Istanbul Airport

An unimpressive airport. No Wi-Fi working. Over-priced shops and hygiene leaving a lot to be desired. Boarding passes made of extremely cheap paper I've never seen something like that before. Can't omit to mention the lack of English language skills of many members of staff at the airport which is simply appalling for what should be a major world airport. If you're just transiting from Europe or elsewhere to Asia I would advise you avoid Turkish airports at any cost. Waiting lounges were the only decent place at the airport.

Transited through IST Atatürk in March and had mixed feelings. Whilst it is a large and roomy airport it still seemed cramped. Staff were at times rather surly and the lack of English language skills a bit shocking. Immigration can take a while with the visa process not well laid out. It's a bit frustrating that there are so many security checks: to enter the terminal from outside prior to passport control at times prior to nearing the gates and most strange: when transiting from one international flight to another. You need quite a bit of time between flights even when your trip commences in IST. Facilities are nice; plenty on offer and prices are comparable to other airports. Good catering at food courts. Non-airline lounges are very nice especially the CP Premier lounge.

Organised chaos thanks to placement of visa desk which was on the far side of long immigration lines. Not helped by the fact that many EU and US pax failed to read the signs saying they needed a visa and just lined up at immigration anyway! Immigration itself is painfully slow and of BKK standards. On the outward journey be prepared for three security checks - outside the terminal post immigration and finally prior to arriving at the departure gate. Easy public transport system into the centre of town even with 18kgs suitcase. Avoid changing money at airport on arrival as better rates offered in town.

I have been through many times. The passport/visa control is so bad that it brings my rating down from an 8 to a 0. That area is poorly manned confusing extremely slow with bored rude uncaring personnel: a poor introduction to Turkey for first time visitors. Obviously the airport authority doesn't read these ratings or more likely doesn't care. Another problem is knowing which baggage claim to go to after both domestic and international flights and there is a large number of belts to search for your flight.

Organised chaos thanks to placement of visa desk which was on the far side of long immigration lines. Not helped by the fact that many EU and US pax failed to read the signs saying they needed a visa and just lined up at immigration anyway! Immigration itself is painfully slow and of BKK standards. On the outward journey be prepared for three security checks - outside the terminal post immigration and finally prior to arriving at the departure gate. Easy public transport system into the centre of town even with 18kgs suitcase. Avoid changing money at airport on arrival as better rates offered in town.

The buildings are fine with plentiful seating an airy aspect and a fair range of shops cafes etc (though expensive by Turkish standards). The main problem is queuing on arrival one queues for visa (if necessary) and then to have it checked for immigration (an hour in my case). On departure you queue for security before you enter the building (a few minutes) for check-in (about 15 mins in my case but by the time I got to the desk the queue was about 4-5 times longer than when I joined it) and then for emigration and a second security check. Fortunately a friend had advised me to arrive at least 2 hours before departure I endorse that. I recommend the metro and tram to get to the city centre the price is a tenth or less of a taxi or the shuttle bus and the time is about the same given Istanbul's traffic. Be aware it does require a change if you have a lot of luggage and also there is not a metro/tram stop near all hotels but if there is one it is a reliable and cheap alternative.

I flew to Istanbul on business in Sept 2011. Flight over from Ireland was good and Turkish Airlines were good. Returned to the airport on a Saturday morning at 6.05 for a 7.45 departure and then the nightmare began. I lined up along with hundreds of others in a common queue to check-in until I was eventually called out of the queue with the rest of my flight because time was getting short. I have never seen such chaos at a check-in desk. Staff did not seem to care and there was no sense of urgency. Next step was to go to the passport control line and this was another disaster with really long queues. I have never in all my time flying witnessed airport police so obviously arguing with ground staff in front of passengers in an airport but saw this happen twice in this airport. I then made my way directly to the departure gate only to be faced with another series of horrendous queues to get through the x-ray machines it was organised chaos. I heard my name being called with other passengers for our flight. I pleaded with an official to let me through to get to the plane but he refused point blank saying that I had time. I missed the flight and had to go back out into departures and fight my case with Turkish Airlines. Eventually they flew me to London and I had to buy a ticket myself to get back to Dublin.

My transit at Istanbul for connection flight to Copenhagen was extremely painful. I was in the line for clearing immigration more or less 1 hr and 45 mins. Pity to those families travelling with babies. The airport authority should have provide a special counter/lane for families the same as most other airports do. However the immigration and check-in counter staff were good and able to smile or responded nicely although having such a busy and long morning.

Airport is well designed but queues can be long both at immigration and security. Departure is established with a number of shops and restaurants. I used the Star Alliance CIPS Lounge in the international terminal while flying Swiss and must say that this is one of the best business lounges I have been to. I am a frequent flyer and generally do around 100000 miles a year.

Landed from Kuala Lumpur early morning the immigration area was extremely busy. However almost all counters were manned. The luggage handling was efficient. Upon check-in for my next flight on the same morning I was surprised with the huge crowd of people at both island A and B. I was in the line for more than an hour. After clearing immigration and security check point I was bussed to the aircraft. It was at gate 308. Overall I was pleased with those airport's staff I have encountered. They were friendly and helpful.