shuly

Having a boarding pass and having to go through security at IST are two different things. You will most likely be able to have a BP for your next flight. Whether or not you will have to go through security depends on the origin of your incoming flight, as airoli said, but also on luck and some built-in randomness. Sometimes you arrive directly to the departure level, meaning no security; and sometimes you arrive to the arrivals level, from which, if you intend to transit, you have to go through security and then one level up.

Shuly

PVDtoDEL

US arrivals are considered clean.

hfly

For arrivals, the process (and problem) is this. From right to left (facing PPT control),

1. TK Business and Elites
2. Crew
3. TAV Passport (and Biz passengers with Fast Track from airlines like BA, AF, KL, EK, QR, etc)

As noted above, when one or two of the other lanes are empty, the PPT officers generally take people from the line that is not empty. This is all well and good, but the problem is often:

A) The relatively newly installed electronic passport gates (For Turkish passport holders)are also at the end of the rows and beyond the TAV gate, which means that those who want to use them have to go there. Although few use them, many of those are unable to use them and they are finicky, which generally means that those pax instead of going back to the TK line, will instead break into the other lines.

B) There is not a real line minder for the Crew/Diplomatic line. and if the TK and TAV minder are otherwise occupied or simply do not care it would seem that often hapless people will wander into that line (and they are generally the most problematic) and often times the passport police will not notice at first and they will gum up the line. Also, as the office/window for people with problems is ALSO at that end of the lines, you often have people with problems trying to cut into the line after having dealt with the police - which causes more problems as they in fact should have gone back to their original windows, as cutting into another line slows everything for everyone as they often relive their original problem again!

A third factor which often comes into play is that Turks love their status, often to their detriment. Many a time I will be in the TK line, and it is 40 or 50 people deep, and 85% of them will be Turkish, with the Turkish lines almost non-existent and the foreign lines 1000 people deep.

I will then suggest to the Turkish people in front of me that they should in fact use the Turkish lines as it will be much faster, explaining that they are currently behind 40 people (or whatever), but if they go in the Turkish lines that they are currently only 2 or 3 deep (as there are let's say 10 or whatever) open Turkish citizen counters. Half the Pax get it, and immediately move. 25% become adamant and say something like, "BUT I AM FLYING BUSINESS CLASS" and waive me off, 10% react angrily and say something stupid like, "This is my country and I can stand where I want", 15% say, "Why don't you go to the other line (at which point I may explain that the Foreign line is slammed, but theirs isn't) and then sheepishly move to the other line after 5 or 10 minutes as the watch the normal Turkish citizens whizz through.

zap7

A lot has been said here about priority IMMIGRATION / PASSPORT CONTROL,
but back to the original question:
Is there actually a priority TRANSIT security line?

Usually I try to visit the city = add >8 hour layover and use immigration even if I have a transit, but I remember 5 or 7 times using the transit security, usually as an elite+ on a TK business class ticket, and I can't remember ever seeing a priority transit security line. Three times everything went very fast with short lines so I wasn't even looking for one, but I remember at least two times where I was looking for a priority transit security and didn't see one, and at least one time where I saw the long lines at transit, saw that there was no line at immigration, went through passport control and then back inside the lounge from outside (took 5 minutes total).

So is there actually a priority TRANSIT security line, where is it and is it actually open all the time (or might it have been closed so I missed it)?

Thanks!

craigthemif

Yes, IIRC it is sort of squeezed in between the regular immigration queue and the transit security queue. Essentially it is just a short-cut on the main transit security.

My memory is a bit hazy, but depending on which gate you arrive into, you also have different security transit areas.

airoli

The main transit security check-point (next to the immigration line in the center of the terminal) has a priority line for TK Business Class passengers and Elite / Elite+ members flying TK. I have never seen it closed.

There are now new transit security check-points further down towards the end of the terminal, which you will see when your plane docks at a jetbridge at the far end of the terminal. Those transit security checkpoints are typically less crowded, but do not have priority lanes.

Last week, I once used this decentralized transit security, and once walked on the arrival level all the way to the central check-point.

tcmb99

Absolutely right. The Turkish Passport lines, even when there is a wait, almost always take shorter than the priority line. I can't remember the last time I used priority lane at Ataturk entry.

siberslava

Same here. I use the Turkish Passport lines with my US passport and residency card. Never an issue, and it beats having to stand 30 deep or 1000 deep

docbert

You've got that backwards, right? TK business is on the left, TAV on the right.

hfly

Depends which way you are facing

egokcen

Just flew JFK-IST-NBO last week. JFK flight parked away from the terminal and required a bus to get to the terminal. Once there, I was able to take the escalator straight up to the departures level without going through any security. I did have my boarding pass for the NBO flight given to me when I checked in at JFK. No further security to board the plane to NBO.
I'm returning in a few days, so we'll see if it's different heading towards the US from Africa.

Amame

Is there transit security fast track for Business Class passenger of other airline?

docbert

There is a TAV line. Depending on the airline they may or may not give you a card to access it. (eg, Emirates definitely do)

Amame

Thank you. I am flying in with QR and transit to TK. I hope one of them can give me the card!

docbert

If you are connecting to TK in business class then that boarding pass should be enough to get you into the TK business class line (which is different to the TAV line so check and see which is shorter).

You WILL need a boarding pass to go through transit security - if QR don't give you one you can get it at the TK transfer desk before transit security.