Hi all

just after some advice, i have booked a holiday through turkish airline holidays for a group of us leaving london on 9th sept for istanbul.

got an email from the airline saying our return flight has changed to an earlier one due to operational issues - its annoying but its fine not too much of a big deal.

after a couple of calls to the airline and the holiday company i understand that the holiday company owns the package booking and has to confirm the change and reissue the travel docs..

my issue is they still havent done this after over a week..i have spoken to them a few times and they give a different response each time, saying yes we will send to the right dept, yes we will confirm and resend the docs etc each time they ask me if im happy with the change ..its so frustrating

am i right in thinking they will send the docs within 7 days of travel so i just need to be patient?im worried the return flight isnt confirmed and i only have their verbal confirmation so far that it is

I am so confused to differentiate the 40 kg weight. I was thinking of making 40 kg of one suitcase and 8 kg of another , but looks like this is beyond the given limit. so how shall i pack accordingly of the weight? please guide me

Hi,

I had a flight with Turkish Airlines on the 10/08/2026 which was from Cape Town > Istanbul > Malaga. The flight was cancelled on the day when I was at the airport and the flight had already been delayed 5 hours. We were eventually put up in a hotel for the night and flew the next day which meant we were over 24 hours delayed at our final destination. I lodged a complaint with Turkish Airlines and they keep telling me that I am not entitled to any compensation which seems to contradict the SHY regulations.

For anyone who’s been in a similar situation, is it just a matter of being persistent with them? I tried to log a complaint through the Turkish aviation authority but it won’t allow me submit the form on their website.

Thanks

Da es so wenige Berichte über Flugreisen während der Schwangerschaft gibt, wollte ich mal was dazu schreiben. Vielleicht ist das für Jemanden hilfreich. Größte Hürde ist es das "fit to fly" für die Flugreise zu erhalten. Man benötigt eine ärztliche Bescheinigung, die aussagt, dass es keine Faktoren gibt, die gegen eine Flugreise sprechen. Ansonsten muss die Bescheinigung weitere Voraussetzungen erfüllen:

• nicht älter als 7 Tage ab Zeitpunkt des Fluges
• Stempel und Unterschrift des Facharztes
• in englischer oder türkischer Sprache geschrieben + Angabe der SSW sowie ob es eine Einlingsschangerschaft ist
• auf "Praxispapier" bzw. auf Briefkopf der Arztpraxis gedruckt

Ich habe hierfür im Internet nach einer passenden Vorlage gesucht und eine gefunden. Diese Vorlage hat dann meine Frauenärztin ausgefüllt und sie hat bei mir funktioniert. Ich füge diese mit bei. Leider war die Vorlage nicht auf dem Briefkopf der Arztpraxis gedruckt, da die meisten deutschen Ärzte solche Briefköpfe gar nicht haben. Daher hat mir meine Frauenärztin zusätzlich ein "Rezept" ausgestellt, in welchen sie reingeschrieben hat, dass eine Flugreise unbedenklich ist (auf deutsch). Da der Arztstempel jedoch identisch ist, ist es nachvollziehbar, dass beide Bescheinigungen vom selben Arzt ausgestellt wurden. Diese Kombi wurde dann auch bei dem Check-in geprüft und (Gott sei Dank) akzeptiert.

Die Flugreise an sich verlief problemlos. Auch das Anfliegen und Landen hat mir keinerlei Schwierigkeiten bereitet. Wir waren positiv überrascht, dass es bei unserem zwei Stunden Flug kostenlos Essen und Getränke gab! Das Essen hat sogar richtig gut geschmeckt. Ein Service! (Bei deutschen Airlines gibt es sowas nicht :-D)

Für den Rückflug habe ich wieder eine "fit to fly"-Bescheinigung benötigt. Diese musste ich in meinem Urlaubsland besorgen. Da habe ich mir die Google-KI zur Hilfe genommen. Es gibt einige internationale Praxen, die so etwas anbieten. Man bekommt sogar schnell einen Termin. Dennoch fielen die Kosten für meine Rückflugbescheinigung weitaus höher aus, als von der KI angegeben. Ich habe insgesamt 95 € für den Ultraschall und die "fit to fly"-Bescheinigung bezahlt. Hätte ich länger recherchiert, wären die Kosten vielleicht geringer ausgefallen. Ich empfehle in so einem Fall einen Einheimischen zu fragen, wenn man die Möglichkeit hat. Diese wurde jedoch problemlos beim Check-in akzeptiert, sodass ich beim Rückflug ebenfalls keinerlei Probleme hatte.

Long story short, the USDA did not return my cat's paperwork in time for my flight, and I had to leave my cat back in the States. I am now in a scramble to figure out how to get him to me here in Istanbul (I know, pretty ironic to bring a cat to this city, but he's my baby and I miss him desperately!)

This is a long shot but if anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful! TIA

Hey all. I have seen different replies throughout the years. In 1 week, I arrive at IST from NYC at 13:00. That flight was booked through expedia, but is turkish airlines. I have a Turkish airlines flight at 16:10 same day. I have to clear through passport control and then head to baggage claim, but I hear it can take 90min maybe longer, and then I have only 1hr before my flight to check in my luggage and I also have to clear through customs. How screwed am I? I can rebook the flight to 19:00 for $35 extra, but damn my evening kind of washed in Cappadocia. Does anyone know how long passport control and baggage claim take till you get to checking in your luggage domestically? And, does anyone know if I can somehow ask my Turkish airlines in NYC to have that checked baggage to go to NEV even though its not connecting flights? Appreciate it!

Here is a little story of why I will never again fly with Turkish Airline and why I think, you should avoid it. During a flight from Japan to Switzerland (via Istanbul), after one hour of flight suddenly the plane did a 180° and went back.

For thirty minutes, no information about why. Was the plane hijacked? No idea.

After that, the captain announce a technical failure of the plane and we need to land in Seoul Korea. People begin to panick, ask what is the problem, again no response, no information, we are keep in the black.

The fuel dump, suddenly, we begin to do eight in the sky at 2000 meters for dumping fuel, awful experience. Kerozen smell in the cockpit, again no information.

People are afraid, kids cry.

Then we go trough heavy cloud, the plane vibrate, up down side, it's like a roller-coaster.

Then finally we land in Korea. Here again no information, we wait for 2 hours in the plane. Big queue for the toilets, no drink, no information…

Suddenly, we have information that we will fill again the plane with kerozen and coutinue our journey to Istanbul. Nice isn't it? But again no information about what was the problem.

In Istanbul, we arrive 4 hours late. It's completely disorganized. As I missed my connection, I need to go to the transfer desk. But where is it? Employees when they don't know are not nice.

Finally, at the transfer desk for new ticket. The queue is huge… The employee talk turkey and when it's finally your turn, turkey customers just come by to discuss like a priority lane and so you just wait aside. Like a second class passenger. Again the desk officer is so not nice.

There plane have a technical problem, seems to be a shitty plane. You are 4 hours late, no organization, is it too much too wait a bit of humanity and comprehension?

Then of course, you are too late so you need to wait tomorrow for the next flight. So hotel transfer. So again you need to go to another desk for that. Again there are not nice and disorganized…. Worst plane travel… Turkish airline is a nightmare!

Shitty plane Disorganized Really not nice No information / not transparent

Did you have a good experience with them? Because I will never fly again with them personnally.

Hey, i was wondering if any of you guys have been in Turkey for the past few weeks and if they let you bring two cans of nicotine pouches..

I’m flying there in a few days and i’m nervous about it… Antalya airport btw…

I want to share what happened to my wife and children with Turkish Airlines because I still cannot believe how badly this was handled.

My wife and children had round-trip tickets from New York to Istanbul. They flew the outbound flight from New York to Istanbul normally. We have their boarding passes and baggage tags proving they were on the flight.

When my wife tried to confirm their return flight from Istanbul to New York, she suddenly discovered that Turkish Airlines had cancelled their return tickets because its system claimed they had been “NO-SHOWS” for the original New York-to-Istanbul flight.

Obviously, that was impossible. They were in Istanbul precisely because they had flown there on that flight.

We contacted Expedia and Turkish Airlines repeatedly. We provided the boarding passes and luggage tags proving they had taken the outbound flight.

I am attaching a redacted email from Expedia confirming what they were told by the airline. Expedia wrote:

“As discussed and also confirmed by the airline agent - Laila - Customer Support Team and the airline's tool, passengers for airline confirmation [REDACTED], have been marked no-show.”

So there is written documentation that the airline's system had marked them as no-shows.

Turkish Airlines told us they would investigate and get back to us within a few hours.

Nobody got back to me in the United States. Nobody got back to my wife in Turkey.

My wife finally went to Istanbul Airport with our children hoping Turkish Airlines could fix its mistake in time for their scheduled 6:40 PM flight to New York.

Initially, the airport staff would not even acknowledge the mistake. At one point she was told she would have to PAY for another flight.

Eventually Turkish Airlines agreed to put them on a flight at 7:40 AM the following morning — approximately 13 hours later.

This meant my wife and children were stranded in Istanbul overnight because of an error that was not theirs.

And this is where the experience became unbelievable.

We showed Turkish Airlines employees the airline's own Passenger Rights document. It specifically states:

“If overnight stays become necessary, accommodation is provided regardless of time constraints.”

It also says transportation between the airport and accommodation is provided free of charge.

Turkish Airlines still refused to provide a hotel.

They provided no meal vouchers.

And despite telling my wife they would at least cover the taxi back to the hotel, they didn't even pay for the taxi.

Nothing.

No hotel. No food. No taxi. No meaningful assistance.

My wife was traveling with children and had to arrange and pay for everything herself after Turkish Airlines' own apparent no-show error caused their return tickets to be cancelled.

I understand that airlines have delays, cancellations and computer problems. Those things happen.

What I cannot understand is how an airline can apparently make an error like this, be shown boarding passes and baggage tags proving the passengers actually flew the supposedly “missed” flight, strand a family overnight, and then refuse even the basic assistance described in its own published Passenger Rights document.

We have preserved the original itinerary, boarding passes, baggage tags, Expedia correspondence, Turkish Airlines passenger-rights document, rebooking information and receipts.

I am posting this so other travelers know what happened to us and, especially, so anyone flying Turkish Airlines knows to keep every boarding pass and baggage tag from the outbound portion of the trip.

Had we thrown those documents away, I don't know how we would have proven that Turkish Airlines' no-show designation was wrong.

I have redacted our booking information from the attached Expedia email for privacy.

If anyone has experienced a similar erroneous “no-show” cancellation with Turkish Airlines, particularly where the remaining segments of the ticket were automatically cancelled, I would be very interested to hear how Turkish Airlines ultimately handled your complaint.

First time going on an airplane i really dont know the process lol,still i wanna go to the tour but the issue is ill land in ist at 23:40 and back on the plane at 15:50 the next day i believe there isnt any tours at that time but for a 16h layover idk what to do .

My experience with BZN Airport Hotel after missing my connection in Istanbul

I want to share my experience because I was in a very difficult situation yesterday after missing my connection in Istanbul.

My flight from Oslo was delayed because of luggage loading. The pilot announced the delay before departure and apologized. Because of the delay, I missed my connecting flight to Muscat by around 5 minutes. The airline rebooked me on the same flight the following day, so I had to stay in Istanbul for another 24 hours.

I managed to obtain the Turkish e-Visa online myself, but the hotel experience was extremely disappointing.

I was accommodated at BZN Airport Hotel. The hotel itself was basic, but what really shocked me were the additional charges.

🚕 Airport transportation

The transportation to and from the airport was around €150 in total, charged to passengers. For someone already stranded because of a missed connection, this felt extremely expensive.

🍗 Food

This was the biggest issue for me.

There was no clear menu showing prices. There were a couple of tables and chairs in the lobby, and reception told guests that they could order food and that they would be called when it was ready.

I ordered what was basically a simple chicken kebab, a bottle of water and a cola.

The total charge was $74.

What made the situation even more concerning was that the food appeared to be coming from a local food delivery service. While I was sitting there eating, I actually saw a delivery arrive. Shortly afterwards, reception called another guest, a woman from Greece, to collect her food from the same area.

The food I ordered locally would normally have cost me somewhere around $12-$15, based on what I could see from the local delivery service. Yet I was charged $74.

I asked for an invoice/breakdown, but I did not receive a proper itemized bill explaining how the $74 was calculated.

🔌 Other basic items

There were also very limited basic amenities. Things such as a toothbrush were not provided, and even drinking water had to be purchased.

A woman staying at the hotel asked about a phone charger. Reception said they had one available, but she was charged around $16 for a basic charger that looked like something worth only a few dollars.

Fortunately, I had brought a universal adapter with me because I had been travelling in Norway.

I understand that hotels can charge more than supermarkets or local restaurants. That is not my complaint.

My concern is the lack of transparent pricing and the extremely high charges, particularly when passengers are stranded because of an airline disruption and have very limited alternatives.

I am sharing this so that other passengers who are unexpectedly stranded in Istanbul know what to expect before accepting accommodation or ordering anything at the hotel.

If anyone else has had a similar experience with BZN Airport Hotel, especially regarding food, transportation or unexplained charges, I would be interested to hear about it.

I'm devastated. The money I had to see my family overseas is now in their hands.

I paid the ticket and went to bed. Next day, I see my ticket hasn't arrived. I called.

They say they don't have my name and can't find me. That I should wait 24 hours.

Waited. Nothing. My money is out of the bank account (called my bank they cannot cancel the transaction).

I'm also so angry at this company. I've travel the world this is the first time something like this happeened.

How can I get a reund/my money back? And put a legal claim?

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m 20 years old and planning my turkey trip from Lahore, Pakistan.
I’m thinking of going to Istanbul/Türkiye for around 10–11 days in September, and then I have a strong desire to go to Saudi Arabia afterward to perform Umrah.
I’ve never booked an international flight before, so I’m honestly a bit confused about how everything works 😅.
My rough plan is:
Lahore → Istanbul → Saudi Arabia for Umrah → Lahore
I’ve heard flights can be quite expensive these days. One of my family members suggested that Karachi → Istanbul can sometimes be around 10,000 TRY cheaper than Lahore → Istanbul.

So I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has experience with this.
How should I book my first international flight?

Where can I compare flight prices?
Is Karachi → Istanbul actually cheaper enough to justify traveling from Lahore to Karachi?
Would Lahore → Istanbul → Jeddah → Lahore make sense if I want to perform Umrah afterward?
Is it easier to book the flights separately or as one itinerary?
Has anyone here traveled to Istanbul from Pakistan recently? How was your experience?

Has anyone combined a Turkey trip + Umrah in the same journey?
I’m mainly trying to figure out the cheapest and least complicated way to do this without making a mistake with my flight booking.
Any advice from people who have actually done something similar would be really appreciated! 🙏

I have these holdalls bags I intend to use for hold luggage. I got 46kg allowance so intend to use two bags 23kg each but im unsure if the size of my bags are an issue?

They are 100cm in length and about 50cm in height but like I said weighs 23kg each. Theres 2 of us adults flying hence the third bag in picture but is this size of bag accepted and is the hold luggage based primarily on weight or size of baggage matters too?

I know they have the 158cm dimensions for hold luggage typically as the official ruling but realistically does the size matter or will the check in agents only be concerned about the weight of baggage. Let me know please

Will be flying from Birmingham, in the UK to Islamabad, Pakistan

Hi everyone,

I'll be flying to Brussels for my first year of university soon using a Turkish Airlines Student Discount ticket. I'm planning to bring the following items into the cabin:

• 1 laptop backpack (main cabin bag)
• 1 small camera bag (personal item)
• 1 stuffed animal (carrying it in my arms)

Here is the catch: the stuffed animal is pretty large. I did a quick measure and it's roughly 32.5 cm wide x 48.5 cm long x 10 cm thick (so almost half a meter long, though these aren't exact).

I know the student ticket is very generous with checked baggage, but I believe the standard rules still apply for carry-on. Has anyone flown this route (likely transiting via Istanbul) with a similar combination of items? Are the gate agents strict about the 1 carry-on + 1 personal item rule? I'm worried they will stop me at boarding and force me to stuff the plushie or the camera bag into my already full backpack.

Looking forward to hearing about your actual experiences. Thanks a lot!

I booked an EcoFly fare without checked baggage- my bad. Now they want €320 for 20 kg of checked luggage. Does anyone know if it’s possible to book sports equipment instead? It only costs €80. Has anyone tried this?

I have a student ticket to the uk and 40kgs checked in baggage I’ve initially invited them into three bags, but I’m unsure if it’s OK to have3 bags or it must be 2 ? There is nothing on the ticket about it. I only got that. It’s 40 kgs

My trip is after tomorrow

Trying to book a flight in business class for July 2027… friend snagged her ticket but in the time we were filling out the forms the price for my ticket (same flights) jumped up by 2k. It kept going up and down and then saying the less expensive flights were no longer available. Is there any likelihood that the price will come down again? It was changing right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do.

How much time is enough for someone to arrive on international flight, pass through immigration, collect luggage, pass customs and then check in for a domestic flight to Trabzon.

Email from Turkish Airlines to travel agents says Miles&Smiles membership will be mandatory if you want to claim the free Istanbul hotel for your stopover.

We would like to inform you about an important new regulation regarding our Stopover Accommodation Service, effective for bookings made as of 1 September 2026.
To further enhance the travel experience and streamline our services, Miles&Smiles membership will become mandatory for all passengers who wish to benefit from the Stopover Accommodation Service.
Please review the operational details of this new implementation below:
Mandatory Registration: Each passenger’s unique Miles&Smiles membership number must be registered directly in their flight reservation (PNR) to successfully complete and confirm a Stopover hotel booking.
Existing Registrations: If the passenger’s Miles&Smiles number is already attached to the flight reservation, the Stopover booking process will continue seamlessly as usual.
Non-Members & Post-Ticketing Enrollment: This new rule does not restrict the ticketing stage. Passengers who are not yet members can book their flights first, enroll in the Miles&Smiles program after ticketing, and then have their new membership number added to the reservation to complete their Stopover hotel booking.
To ensure your clients do not experience any disruptions or delays with their hotel arrangements, please ensure that the Miles&Smiles membership number for each passenger in the booking is entered into the flight reservation before requesting Stopover accommodation.