Arrival at Istanbul Airport

[Eager2Travel]

Can any of the recent travelers to Istanbul tell me if there was any difficulty going through Immigration in Istanbul. I have heard that the lines can be very bad. Is an expedited meeting service warranted?

 

We would appreciate any info.

[Caroldoll]

I am going again Thursday and we got the expedited services, and they are well worth it. My opinion.

[Mr Rumor]

We went through Istanbul Airport Pasaport Kontrol yesterday at about 6 p.m. There were hundreds in front of us, but the line moved fast with many officers procsssing. I think we spent about 20 minutes in line. A good experience for us.

[RachelG]

We went through at 5 pm yesterday as well. Huge lines, but there is a special line for Turkish airlines business class and there was no one at all in it. So we zipped right through. Had to wait quite a while for our luggage since we got through customs so fast.

 

Btw, there are kiosks to get your electronic visa right there in the airport if someone has failed to get it in advance. I had already gotten ours online, but there is a possibility to get it at the airport. I really think they just want the $, as they customs guy just glanced at the visa forms I had printed off. Of course, you do have to have it to get in the country.

[flossie009]

Following our cruise earlier this month we found long lines departing Turkey via Istanbul airport - security, airline check-in, passport control then another security check

 

However, although the lines looked daunting they had plenty of staff and the lines kept moving at a reasonable pace. It was reassuring to see the level of security checking carried out

[Travelcat2]

We went through at 1:00 a.m.. - no big deal if you are traveling Business Class as you are put in a separate line. Not sure how it was for others.

 

Do not know what "expedited services" are as we saw nothing to indicate that (except for the "fast track" that is used for "Business" and "First" Class.

 

Note: Although I cannot use the word on CC, all the the hype about Istanbul is bull.......

[Eager2Travel]

Thank you everyone for the replies. It is greatly appreciated.

 

As we are flying Biz class on Turkish air I guess we are all set.

 

Also appreciated Rachel's comments about their flight on Turkish Air

[Jay23]

It wasn't the Immigration lines that caused us problems in Istanbul, that flowed along quite well. It was the one hour and a half wait for the baggage to appear on the carousel that created the difficulty. Our booked taxi had left the airport without us, assuming, erroneously, that we weren't coming!!! There were literally hundreds of meeters and greeters and taxi companies waiting in the arrivals hall, but no taxi for us. If you are so delayed, phone the taxi people and tell them of the problem.

[Eager2Travel]

Thanks for the info Jay. I will make sure to have the phone number with me.