Having recently transited through Istanbul’s airport on one of our group tours, I can say with confidence that once the minor teething issues with signage with the new airport are worked out. It will be a great airport IF you like walking. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this sparkling new building is the fact that there is no inter-terminal train or even an integrated system of people walkers to move passengers quickly from A to B.
The new building is one huge terminal – the largest in the world. While there are advantages to keeping everything together, it took me 20 minutes to walk from gate B13 to F12. I both arrived and departed on Turkish Airlines so don’t assume your on-going flight will depart close-by. We raced across the airport determined to make our one-hour connection. Breathless, we did, in fact, make it but were amongst the last to board the flight. We only had carry-on luggage so I can’t confirm if luggage would have made it. Presumably the luggage would have been on a mechanized vehicle and might well have arrived before us.
Buggy service
There is a little publicized opportunity to sail through the airport on a golf cart at a reasonable rate. They exist but with a catch – you have to, at least right now, prepay for them and no-one seems to know how they work. In addition, if the address on your credit card is not an address in Turkey, you will not be able to complete your transaction, making using them right now, a challenge. I reported the problem to Turkish and am hopeful that they can fix this rather important stumbling block.
The way that golf carts work is complicated. If in transit, go to the departures level where there are fixed golf cart stations. You then drive it to the fixed station that is closest to your departure gate. Why there is a charge for this service, I don’t know but here is the link to how you book it. They call the golf cart service, the “Buggy Service”
On our return, we had a bit more time to explore Istanbul’s airport. The glistening terminal feels light and lovely with none of those odd gates that seem to involve multiple ups and downs along narrow corridors that were part of the old airport.
Business class lounge
I made a point of stopping at the business class lounge. I had expected to be blown away with the lounge and was not. In honesty though, I had come to love the old lounge and had my secret, quiet places to hang out. The new lounge is lovely though and has incredible food areas. Overall , the lounge is incredible and I am sure, over time, I will find my own spots to hang out in!
Overall I give Istanbul’s airport an 8.5 out of 10 with the understanding that you should have at least 90 minutes to make a connection and, unless you pre-book the buggy, you might get your daily exercise just changing gates.