Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport

Sabiha Gökçen is the smaller of the two airports in Istanbul, still handling more than 25 Mio passengers per year. If you do like the B737-800, SAW is the place to be. Sometimes you spot a lonely A320 or Embraer on the apron, but nearly all aircraft movements at SAW are 737-800s. The airport layout is quite compact with only one terminal resulting in short ways to the check-in desks and the gates. Even if the aircraft is parked on an outside position, the bus transfer to the terminal doesn't take long - if there are stairs and busses avaliable. Things at SAW seem a bit more organised and less stressful than at Atatürk airport, but when more international flights arrive at the same time, queues at the immigration can be quite long. Also, ground service is pretty slow and sometimes you have to wait for your luggage for more than half an hour. With that in mind, allow youself some extra time if you need to change planes at SAW. Airport staff is not that helpful so you better know yourself where to go and what to do. As at Atatürk Airport, free WiFi doesn't exist. There's no train connection but several bus lines call at the airport with the frequent and resonable priced Havataş-busses being the most comfortable connection to Kadıköy or Taksim. Although SAW is not amongst my favourite airports, I still prefer it over Atatürk Airport when travelling to and from Istanbul.

There were nice basic amenities at this airport like the typical Starbucks and fast food and such but other than that it was not a go to spot. There was wifi there but you had to pay for it. I feel this should be a necessity in an airport. There was only one person working at the passport control for non-Turkish citizens. The common excuse was that they were understaffed but here is my argument. If you are an airline sending so many international flights, it is your responsibility and obligation to be able to fulfill the needs of the services you provide. Had these occurrences not happened to me I might not have realized how unhelpful the staff was, both airline and general airport staff. Only one out of every six staff members did I witness actually give advice to people and keep in mind I ended up being at this airport for about 12 hours. Not a good time. If everything was down to under staffing, even that is not a good enough excuse. Overall I was very displeased with this airport although most of that distaste may come from the anger I have with the airline I took. Objectively, I am sure their are worst airports but this one definitely has room for improvement.

I arrived at Sabiha on a cheap flight from Budapest. Almost at the same time with our landing, two other planes landed. Naturally it got crowded, given that rather small airport. Everybody stood in the line for the passport control. There were 8 stands inside each an officer was sitting. To our astonishment, only two of those officers were working and the rest were just looking at travelers! So it took us about an hour and a half to pass the immigration. To travel to the city, you need to take a bus which takes you between 1 and 2 hours to the city center. Like Istanbul's main airport, staff at Sabiha are also not friendly or smiling at all. The last strange point was that when we were exiting the airport (exactly before the last exit door) we were asked to put our luggage through a scanner. I got surprised! I asked the security guy "why? We're leaving the airport!" "Customs" he replied.

Much quieter than IST Atatürk but closing in fast. Food options about the same, with expensive prices for local standards but decent selection. Less waiting time to take-off, which is one of the main reasons, along with it being less busy, that I prefer flying to this airport than Ataturk. Transport options decent, but the traffic to/from the airport can be horrendous as is the case with Istanbul Ataturk. This is an Istanbul-wide problem.

Overcrowded. Had to wait 1hours and 40 minutes before the flight + 15 minutes before landing because of the air traffic. This airport has only 1 landing field and it is currently under maintenance (during summer). Majority of the staff do not speak English. Long passport queues, only 5 of the available 10 counters were opened. No subway connection to the airport, you must either take the bus or use your own car. Carpark is expensive (approx. 5 euros/hour). My luggage was in the luggage band when I passed through the passport control, so I didn't have to wait.

Expansion in numbers of flights not yet matched by expansion of passenger processing facilities. Slightly chaotic, not always clearly signed internally, allow plenty of time. We travelled through SAW 3 times in the last week. First departure was via the domestic terminal - actually the same as the international one - into the domestic departure entrance and then walked to the opposite end of the terminal for our domestic bag drop. Shorter/no queues in domestic security. This was an easy process, not much airside but you can get a drink and the gate waiting area is clean and comfortable. Our later domestic arrival was also straightforward. Prior to our second departure we stayed at the Airport Hotel for an early flight, got to the airport 2 hours early having seen the international side of things in action previously and it took 1.25hrs to bag drop (well organised by Pegasus), clear passport control and security - pretty standard as the organisation leaves a lot to be desired. Queueing snake is now in place - in the past it was a free for all - but leads to delay. 2 sets of passport control booths 1 for Turkish citizens and 1 for all others. 2 queues for these but not clearly signed. Result is lots of wrong people in wrong queues. SAW will sell you a fast track route though - nice earner. Once airside decent shopping opportunities if you want them and food/drink available at the usual premium prices. Gate areas large and comfortable. Allow plenty of time and go with the flow to avoid stress, and remember it can take up to 2 hours to get to the airport from Istanbul - our 3 trips were 45 minutes, 1 hour and 1 hour 45 minutes.

Change of flight from Dalaman to London LGW via SAW. Flight arrived late and had 40 mins to catch the next. You need to leave the airport and re-enter via security, two people working so 2 hour wait so had to push to the front (thank you strangers) and run. Do not use as unless you have at least a 2-3 hour layover at least.

2 hour queue at passport control upon arrival. When departing had a 90 minute queue at check-in desk (Pegasus Airline - hopelessly under-staffed check-in desks = do not use them if you can avoid it) followed by 2 hour queue at passport control which meant that I missed my flight. This is supposed to be an international airport but they had 1 person working at passport control which is a joke.

An airport which is still being developed. No railway connection to the airport. You must either take the bus or go with a car to arrive. Parking is very expensive. (11.5TRY/1 hour) I recommend you to park your car at the near parking spots. Majority of security staff doesn't speak English, they use hand gestures to communicate with non-Turkish speakers. No free wi-fi No power outlets/charging spots. As the traffic is not as heavy as the IST airport, delays are not often seen.

This airport was brutal. After disembarking I needed a visa to enter Turkey. Foolishly, I had converted my money to Turkish Lira before arriving in Istanbul. Foolishly I say because you cannot pay in Turkish Lira!. The dumbest thing I have ever seen in an international airport. They have a sign (which was printed up in the back office - no official airport look/feel to it) which they will point to and just shake their heads if you try to illustrate just how insane this is. There are two ATMS around the corner, neither of which worked and no place to exchange money until you have passed through passport control - for which you need a visa. Insane. I had to give the woman behind the counter my lira; she then had to go and change it for me and then I could pay for the visa. The stupidest arrangement I could imagine. This is I think, a scam to collect on the difference of the exchange rates. No free airport wifi - not even the poorest kind that will boot you every five minutes. You have to pay for WiFi. The departures sign had plenty of delays of over 30 minutes posted and the PA was extremely active with gate changes. This was a light night, past peak hours and on a crystal clear day. No reason for the delays other than disorganization. You probably already knew this but Sabiha is on the Asian side out near the shipyards. There is nothing here, so unless you're transiting as I was, you will be sorely disappointed with your 2 hour trip into Istanbul across the straits just to get into town. My flight ended up being delayed 40 minutes officially, but in reality, because we sat on the runway for twenty minutes after boarding so, an hour - no reason given in any language.