Originally Posted by
SFOTraveler1984
Some very "interesting" approach patterns again at IST the other day. My question to the more knowledgeable people on this topic: Is that normal? I even saw some planes doing a holding pattern quite low and shortly before the runway.
For some reason I only see these crazy patterns at IST...
Seems pretty normal to me. Coming often from the North, there are also similar holding patterns above the Black Sea.
On one of my latest flights into IST (a Saudia flight from JED) I had a very similar holding pattern above Koceali as seen as on the picture above, making a turn around the Eastern (Asian) boroughs of Istanbul only to head south again flying basically over the Bosphorus towards the Sea of Marmara, only to do another 180 degree there to the right to align for a southerly runway approach.