Snow "chaos" at IST
Jan 3, 2016, 7:58 am
#1
Moderator, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles & Accor ALL
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BRU
Programs: TK*G, Accor ALL Platinum
Posts: 7,589
Snow "chaos" at IST
On the 30th December I was supposed to fly DUB-IST-CGK. What was supposed to be a straightforward journey turned into a complete nightmare. The first flight was delayed initially by an hour due to a slot time for IST. Then just as we hit Turkish airspace we circled and circled for another 45 minutes. So instead of 11.25pm we arrived finally at 2am. 
Not only that, we parked at one of the remotest stands possible, forced to exit over snow covered stairs (very dangerous) and no direct transfer to the next plane for any connecting passengers. My connecting plane was running late too (it took off at 3.36am) and I could have made it had they provided direct plane to plane transfers but of course TK could not care one bit.
A delightful "scenic" night time bus tour of IST later (no extra bus for business of course) and we were thrown into the terminal where chaos was ensuing. Endless missed connections and the lounge staff rebooked me on the following day, hotel was provided (Grand Cevahir, avoid that dump). The bus was picking me up at 10pm on the 31st when the real fun started. Of course as there was still snow TK56 was delayed, and delayed and then delayed some more. No information was provided, the monitors were incorrect and the lounge staff less than useful. They failed to deal with customers one at a time and could not separate information (gates etc.) from rebooking. Rebooking onto other airlines was also steadfastly refused , TK only.
After 8 miserable hours through the night (New Years in the lounge
) I was ready to kiss CGK good bye and go straight to SIN, my next stop. The staff kept telling me that there was no availability on the SQ flight to SIN (which was running on time) in C. They lied as I had friends checking the GDS and SQ were even still selling seats.
Eventually at about 8am TK56 went from no gate info or departure time to "closing". As there were no announcements in the lounge I was lucky to spot it on a monitor outside the lounge. A dash to the gate and they were indeed closing. Madness.
Once onboard the TK incompetence continued. As we were parked on the apron and nobody had bothered to clear the snow but plenty of support vehicles had driven over the snow it had turned into ice and the tug could not get a grip to push us back. Another hour of pushing the aircraft back and forth while some of the ground staff were throwing snow balls at each other and we finally moved, only to get stuck again. At this stage you really could not make up the sheer incompetence of TK. When we finally got moving there was more waiting for de-icing (of course I don't mind that) and we finally arrived at CGK at 3am on 2 January. 34 hours later than booked. (oh and my luggage arrived soaking wet )
The moral of the story. TK can be good when everything goes right. Anything goes wrong they are an utter shambles. Their staff are rude and incompetent and at worse lie.
Having said that none of this surprises me as many have come before me and have told similar stories, including on FT.
Not only that, we parked at one of the remotest stands possible, forced to exit over snow covered stairs (very dangerous) and no direct transfer to the next plane for any connecting passengers. My connecting plane was running late too (it took off at 3.36am) and I could have made it had they provided direct plane to plane transfers but of course TK could not care one bit. A delightful "scenic" night time bus tour of IST later (no extra bus for business of course) and we were thrown into the terminal where chaos was ensuing. Endless missed connections and the lounge staff rebooked me on the following day, hotel was provided (Grand Cevahir, avoid that dump). The bus was picking me up at 10pm on the 31st when the real fun started. Of course as there was still snow TK56 was delayed, and delayed and then delayed some more. No information was provided, the monitors were incorrect and the lounge staff less than useful. They failed to deal with customers one at a time and could not separate information (gates etc.) from rebooking. Rebooking onto other airlines was also steadfastly refused , TK only.
After 8 miserable hours through the night (New Years in the lounge
) I was ready to kiss CGK good bye and go straight to SIN, my next stop. The staff kept telling me that there was no availability on the SQ flight to SIN (which was running on time) in C. They lied as I had friends checking the GDS and SQ were even still selling seats. Eventually at about 8am TK56 went from no gate info or departure time to "closing". As there were no announcements in the lounge I was lucky to spot it on a monitor outside the lounge. A dash to the gate and they were indeed closing. Madness.
Once onboard the TK incompetence continued. As we were parked on the apron and nobody had bothered to clear the snow but plenty of support vehicles had driven over the snow it had turned into ice and the tug could not get a grip to push us back. Another hour of pushing the aircraft back and forth while some of the ground staff were throwing snow balls at each other and we finally moved, only to get stuck again
. At this stage you really could not make up the sheer incompetence of TK. When we finally got moving there was more waiting for de-icing (of course I don't mind that) and we finally arrived at CGK at 3am on 2 January. 34 hours later than booked. (oh and my luggage arrived soaking wet )The moral of the story. TK can be good when everything goes right. Anything goes wrong they are an utter shambles. Their staff are rude and incompetent and at worse lie.
Having said that none of this surprises me as many have come before me and have told similar stories, including on FT.
Jan 3, 2016, 10:53 am
#2
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,100
Seems we were there more or less at the same time... even if my New Year's Eve was sleeping at the TAV hotel 
Got stuck arriving on 31th from MIA and going to BRU. Connecting flight, originally at 19:10, was first delayed 9hrs then pushed and pushed till 8:40 AM. We boarded at 9 and waited till 11.30 to get to de-icing, finally taking off at 12. Arrived at destination at 14:30, 16hrs late.
I never got a sms or e-mail from TK warning for the delay. No personnel was waiting for "connecting" passengers. Nothing, everyone was by him/herself.
And I got too bus + snow/ice covered stairs, and I was wearing ballerina shoes
IST airport was full of stranded people, and the queue for TK "customer care" desk was dramatic. At 18:00 on 31th or 4.30 am on 1st, the length was the same. In the early morning, basically every corner and wall in the main departure area had people sleeping there. I don't know gate situation, but I don't think was very different.
Instead of relying on TK, I arranged through my husband my own accommodation at the TAV airport hotel airside. When checked in at 19:00 there was few people, with no reservation, waiting to see if some room was becoming available...
TK lounge front desk staff didn't have complete information (also because the computer system didn't have them neither). The standard line was "wait and see monitor for gate assignment" (yeah, right!). No re-routing because A) the flight was not cancelled and B) who knows when the other flights are going to depart...
Airport monitor where useless at best, with outdated departure time for a lot of flight. There was a delayed TK flight to FRA, ought to depart at 3.30. Around 5, monitors were showing "go to gate". Same thing at 7:00. At 8:00 status changed to "Delayed". I don't know at what time effectively departed.
CDG flight showed delayed departure time at 5:30 ca. Around 6.30/7 finally got an assigned gate. 5 min later the monitor showed " Go to gate". Other 5 min, and the status got reverted to "Delayed". Again 5/10 min and suddenly the flight was "Boarding now".
BRU flight got a gate assignment finally at 8:00, quickly followed by "Go to Gate" (302). Time to go from the lounge to the first monitor after "terrace area", and status reverted to "Delayed". Since I saw what happened with the CDG one, I went anyway to the gate to find a long queue and an unmanned desk. Boarding began then at 8:30, and I'm not sure but there were good possibilities that was not shown on monitors...
This was my first experience with TK, but thanks to FT I had some hints about how things could go and managed also expectations accordingly.
Now IST is on my no-fly list from end of November to begin of March, and TK is labeled with good on board, unreliable on ground.
Got stuck arriving on 31th from MIA and going to BRU. Connecting flight, originally at 19:10, was first delayed 9hrs then pushed and pushed till 8:40 AM. We boarded at 9 and waited till 11.30 to get to de-icing, finally taking off at 12. Arrived at destination at 14:30, 16hrs late.
I never got a sms or e-mail from TK warning for the delay. No personnel was waiting for "connecting" passengers. Nothing, everyone was by him/herself.
And I got too bus + snow/ice covered stairs, and I was wearing ballerina shoes
IST airport was full of stranded people, and the queue for TK "customer care" desk was dramatic. At 18:00 on 31th or 4.30 am on 1st, the length was the same. In the early morning, basically every corner and wall in the main departure area had people sleeping there. I don't know gate situation, but I don't think was very different.
Instead of relying on TK, I arranged through my husband my own accommodation at the TAV airport hotel airside. When checked in at 19:00 there was few people, with no reservation, waiting to see if some room was becoming available...
TK lounge front desk staff didn't have complete information (also because the computer system didn't have them neither). The standard line was "wait and see monitor for gate assignment" (yeah, right!). No re-routing because A) the flight was not cancelled and B) who knows when the other flights are going to depart...
Airport monitor where useless at best, with outdated departure time for a lot of flight. There was a delayed TK flight to FRA, ought to depart at 3.30. Around 5, monitors were showing "go to gate". Same thing at 7:00. At 8:00 status changed to "Delayed". I don't know at what time effectively departed.
CDG flight showed delayed departure time at 5:30 ca. Around 6.30/7 finally got an assigned gate. 5 min later the monitor showed " Go to gate". Other 5 min, and the status got reverted to "Delayed". Again 5/10 min and suddenly the flight was "Boarding now".
BRU flight got a gate assignment finally at 8:00, quickly followed by "Go to Gate" (302). Time to go from the lounge to the first monitor after "terrace area", and status reverted to "Delayed". Since I saw what happened with the CDG one, I went anyway to the gate to find a long queue and an unmanned desk. Boarding began then at 8:30, and I'm not sure but there were good possibilities that was not shown on monitors...
This was my first experience with TK, but thanks to FT I had some hints about how things could go and managed also expectations accordingly.
Now IST is on my no-fly list from end of November to begin of March, and TK is labeled with good on board, unreliable on ground.
Jan 3, 2016, 3:27 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: SNA/DFW/IST
Programs: TK *G Elite | Marriott Platinum | Southwest A-List Preferred | AA Gold
Posts: 85
On the 30th December I was supposed to fly DUB-IST-CGK. What was supposed to be a straightforward journey turned into a complete nightmare. The first flight was delayed initially by an hour due to a slot time for IST. Then just as we hit Turkish airspace we circled and circled for another 45 minutes. So instead of 11.25pm we arrived finally at 2am. Not only that, we parked at one of the remotest stands possible, forced to exit over snow covered stairs (very dangerous) and no direct transfer to the next plane for any connecting passengers. My connecting plane was running late too (it took off at 3.36am) and I could have made it had they provided direct plane to plane transfers but of course TK could not care one bit.
A delightful "scenic" night time bus tour of IST later (no extra bus for business of course) and we were thrown into the terminal where chaos was ensuing. Endless missed connections and the lounge staff rebooked me on the following day, hotel was provided (Grand Cevahir, avoid that dump). The bus was picking me up at 10pm on the 31st when the real fun started. Of course as there was still snow TK56 was delayed, and delayed and then delayed some more. No information was provided, the monitors were incorrect and the lounge staff less than useful. They failed to deal with customers one at a time and could not separate information (gates etc.) from rebooking. Rebooking onto other airlines was also steadfastly refused , TK only.
After 8 miserable hours through the night (New Years in the lounge) I was ready to kiss CGK good bye and go straight to SIN, my next stop. The staff kept telling me that there was no availability on the SQ flight to SIN (which was running on time) in C. They lied as I had friends checking the GDS and SQ were even still selling seats.
Eventually at about 8am TK56 went from no gate info or departure time to "closing". As there were no announcements in the lounge I was lucky to spot it on a monitor outside the lounge. A dash to the gate and they were indeed closing. Madness.
Once onboard the TK incompetence continued. As we were parked on the apron and nobody had bothered to clear the snow but plenty of support vehicles had driven over the snow it had turned into ice and the tug could not get a grip to push us back. Another hour of pushing the aircraft back and forth while some of the ground staff were throwing snow balls at each other and we finally moved, only to get stuck again. At this stage you really could not make up the sheer incompetence of TK. When we finally got moving there was more waiting for de-icing (of course I don't mind that) and we finally arrived at CGK at 3am on 2 January. 34 hours later than booked. (oh and my luggage arrived soaking wet )
The moral of the story. TK can be good when everything goes right. Anything goes wrong they are an utter shambles. Their staff are rude and incompetent and at worse lie.
Having said that none of this surprises me as many have come before me and have told similar stories, including on FT.
Not only that, we parked at one of the remotest stands possible, forced to exit over snow covered stairs (very dangerous) and no direct transfer to the next plane for any connecting passengers. My connecting plane was running late too (it took off at 3.36am) and I could have made it had they provided direct plane to plane transfers but of course TK could not care one bit. A delightful "scenic" night time bus tour of IST later (no extra bus for business of course) and we were thrown into the terminal where chaos was ensuing. Endless missed connections and the lounge staff rebooked me on the following day, hotel was provided (Grand Cevahir, avoid that dump). The bus was picking me up at 10pm on the 31st when the real fun started. Of course as there was still snow TK56 was delayed, and delayed and then delayed some more. No information was provided, the monitors were incorrect and the lounge staff less than useful. They failed to deal with customers one at a time and could not separate information (gates etc.) from rebooking. Rebooking onto other airlines was also steadfastly refused , TK only.
After 8 miserable hours through the night (New Years in the lounge
) I was ready to kiss CGK good bye and go straight to SIN, my next stop. The staff kept telling me that there was no availability on the SQ flight to SIN (which was running on time) in C. They lied as I had friends checking the GDS and SQ were even still selling seats. Eventually at about 8am TK56 went from no gate info or departure time to "closing". As there were no announcements in the lounge I was lucky to spot it on a monitor outside the lounge. A dash to the gate and they were indeed closing. Madness.
Once onboard the TK incompetence continued. As we were parked on the apron and nobody had bothered to clear the snow but plenty of support vehicles had driven over the snow it had turned into ice and the tug could not get a grip to push us back. Another hour of pushing the aircraft back and forth while some of the ground staff were throwing snow balls at each other and we finally moved, only to get stuck again
. At this stage you really could not make up the sheer incompetence of TK. When we finally got moving there was more waiting for de-icing (of course I don't mind that) and we finally arrived at CGK at 3am on 2 January. 34 hours later than booked. (oh and my luggage arrived soaking wet )The moral of the story. TK can be good when everything goes right. Anything goes wrong they are an utter shambles. Their staff are rude and incompetent and at worse lie.
Having said that none of this surprises me as many have come before me and have told similar stories, including on FT.
Jan 3, 2016, 4:59 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: トロント
Programs: IHG Gold
Posts: 4,820
Jan 4, 2016, 2:10 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: MLA
Programs: A3*G, BA Silver, HHonors Diamond, SPG Gold, CC Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 63
If you're planning on staying overnight or have a short connection then beware though as TK are still fighting with the backlog caused by the cancellations a few days ago - a lot of flights are somewhat delayed and the hotel desk queue can be several hundred people (took us 3 hours last night to get a hotel assigned and no separate queue / separate shuttles for J pax).
Personally, I'm happy to fly TK when I travel for leisure or don't have strict deadlines to meet, but for anything remotely important avoid them at all costs as once things start going wrong, they will often go terribly, terribly wrong.
Last edited by bryanoneil; Jan 4, 2016 at 2:15 am
Jan 4, 2016, 7:00 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Heraklion, Greece
Posts: 7,567
Flightradar presently indicates 40 minutes average delay and 85% delayed flights for departures, while almost normal conditions for arrivals, i.e. 5 minutes and 12% respectively.
Jan 4, 2016, 9:03 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: ZRH / YUL
Programs: UA, TK, Starwood > Marriott, Hilton, Accor
Posts: 7,295
Flew through IST yesterday on my way to YUL. the IST-YUL flight was delayed by 3h15min in light snow flurries, although other flights left more or less on time. No reason for the delay was ever given (it wasn't even acknowledged).
On the bright side, the delay was posted accurately on the monitors along with reliable gate information.
I think I got off lucky compared to some others here a few days earlier.
And I can only confirm the comments about TK's ground staff being "bleh" on a good day and completely overwhelmed / incompetent / rude / inconsiderate on a bad day.
On the bright side, the delay was posted accurately on the monitors along with reliable gate information.
I think I got off lucky compared to some others here a few days earlier.
And I can only confirm the comments about TK's ground staff being "bleh" on a good day and completely overwhelmed / incompetent / rude / inconsiderate on a bad day.
Jan 4, 2016, 9:44 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
Comment spot on, I usually stay in IST between 24 - 48 hours to pad/hedge against any delays. If I am flying for work then there's no way I'd rely on TK. Today it looks like there are still many (and lengthy) delays. Arriving YYZ tonight with LO and surprised to see TK just landed (usually 5-6 pm rather than 8-9 pm) and looks like many other NA flights have the same delays.
Jan 5, 2016, 2:30 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: CND
Posts: 2
Had my return flight IST-CND on 01.01.2016. Made in time to the airport, got the boarding passes, droped-off the baggage and went through passport and security. I had installed the TAV Istanbul application on my mobile, and suddenly while trying to do some duty-free shopping my phone starts vibrating only to let my know that my flight was cancelled. And then all hell broke loose. Suddenly nobody spoke english anymore, nobody knew nothing. Had to literally fight my way through a huge crowd to get a photocopy of our passports and boarding passes just so we can have our exist Turkey stamps cancelled. Just when I thought it wasn't really that bad we found out that we have to wait in line in order to get redirected on to another flight. It "only" lasted 8 and a half hours and we only managed to get a flight to OTP, the next morning. OTP to CND is almost 3 hours drive but the guy working at the desk didn't seem to care too much. The other alternative was a flight to CND but 2 days latter, and my GF was supposed to fly to FRA exactly ob that same date. Asked for hotel, they said no, had to pay myself. Ask if I need to pick-up the hold baggage and re check-it, he said no, everything is "otomatik". Well, it wasn't. 4 days later still haven't received my baggage and THY call center keeps telling me that they are looking for it. Also they refuse to reimburse my hotel expenses and my travel expenses from OTP to CND, around 120 eur. THY is great in the air but on the ground things aren't so shiny.
Jan 6, 2016, 7:33 am
#13
Moderator, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles & Accor ALL
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BRU
Programs: TK*G, Accor ALL Platinum
Posts: 7,589
Apparently some TK customers had an even worse time http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/in...#axzz3...VFhGd
Jan 6, 2016, 9:02 am
#14
Join Date: Dec 2015
Programs: miles&smiles
Posts: 122
Had my return flight IST-CND on 01.01.2016. Made in time to the airport, got the boarding passes, droped-off the baggage and went through passport and security. I had installed the TAV Istanbul application on my mobile, and suddenly while trying to do some duty-free shopping my phone starts vibrating only to let my know that my flight was cancelled. And then all hell broke loose. Suddenly nobody spoke english anymore, nobody knew nothing. Had to literally fight my way through a huge crowd to get a photocopy of our passports and boarding passes just so we can have our exist Turkey stamps cancelled. Just when I thought it wasn't really that bad we found out that we have to wait in line in order to get redirected on to another flight. It "only" lasted 8 and a half hours and we only managed to get a flight to OTP, the next morning. OTP to CND is almost 3 hours drive but the guy working at the desk didn't seem to care too much. The other alternative was a flight to CND but 2 days latter, and my GF was supposed to fly to FRA exactly ob that same date. Asked for hotel, they said no, had to pay myself. Ask if I need to pick-up the hold baggage and re check-it, he said no, everything is "otomatik". Well, it wasn't. 4 days later still haven't received my baggage and THY call center keeps telling me that they are looking for it. Also they refuse to reimburse my hotel expenses and my travel expenses from OTP to CND, around 120 eur. THY is great in the air but on the ground things aren't so shiny.
http://www.turkishairlines.com/downl..._passenger.pdf
Jan 6, 2016, 9:26 am
#15
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: CND
Posts: 2
I don't know who is in charge of their customer care dept but he or she should quit. Really. Today I called the lost baggage hotline for the third time only to hear again that they were still searching for my missing bag. And after only one hour I get a call from CND airport telling me that my bag arrived yesterday from Istanbul and after another hour I finally got hold of it and it was intact. Needless to say that both worldtracer and TK website were still showing that their were indeed still looking for my bag. I thought I'd end their misery and called Menzies Handling at OTP to let them know they can close the file. Certainly never flying TK again.