When specifically last weekend? I was there twice in fact, as I was this past Weds and Fri/Sat, and as I will be again in the next 24 hours. I am there A LOT in fact.

The video that I reference has a group of South East Asian passengers walking around seemingly AIRSIDE, and in the gate and duty free areas. I am not quite sure here those specific passengers were supposed to have been getting their hotel(s) from, as it would not have been in any of the places that they were video'd.

I stand by my statement(s) regarding what I was speaking of, which in fact may have nothing whatsoever to do with what you are speaking of.

So which is your issue exactly. The slowness in TK in putting people in hotels, or the fact that it was snowing like crazy and people could not get to hotels? As really only one of those is fully under TK's control, isn't it?

But really I thank you for reinforcing my point. Yes the lounge looked like a refugee center, as does EVERY lounge in the World when there is such a snowstorm. I have seen LHR and FRA in worse situations. TK sees something like 25,000 plus transfer passengers a day through IST, this situation persisted for 4 days, and while some flights did get off, and after the first day many were not flying into IST, you are still talking about a number in excess of 20,000 passengers that were delayed, needed hotels, etc. I am amazed that they were able to keep up with that amount od delays and people with only a 3 hour lag and could get 200 people off at a time. Bravo to TK. The penultimate time this happened at LHR with only a 3 days snowstorm and about one tenth of the snow, there was a total meltdown and almost no one got hotels from BA.

Personally if I were you I would have done the following:

1) Checked the weather report on my own, all reports from the Thursday had said that the snow was going to persist until at least Monday, if not Wednesday.

2) When it became apparent that you were going to be stuck, which although you did not post the details I would assume was by Saturday morning at the latest, I would have immediately asked for a hotel etc FROM THE LOUNGE.

3) If this was not forthcoming, I would have gotten on a SUBWAY, and gone towards Aksaray or Sultanahmet or connected through to Taksim and just have camped out at any hotel for two days, and claimed it back from TK later.

But that is what I would have done. But obviously I have never been to IST, and I obviously know nothing.

Afterall, just milling about in a large crowd and shouting slogans through a terminal, mostly in my own language that no one understands and demanding to be immediately flown back to my country, when the airport is closed and everyone else is stuck is the logical thing to do................