k374

Thanks for the detailed report. It's just amazing how many rude and inconsiderate people there are. I feel sorry for these staff that they have to enforce such nonsensical rules but they are doing their best and it should be appreciated. Passengers behaving badly just adds to the general frustration of having to deal with this mess

Reu

Hi, I figured this is the place to ask, but if not, apologies.

We'll soon be flying from Amman (Jordan) to Manchester (UK), transiting through Istanbul. I don't suppose anyone could answer my questions?

1) I see TA staff are taking electronics at the gate, and giving ID tags for them. Does this mean we have to pick them-up from Turkish Airlines staff once we arrive in Istanbul, and then give them over again for the flight to the UK? This seems a silly question, but I can't for the life of me find a direct answer.

2) I've read conflicting reports about how pick-ups are done - some articles saying that a table is laid out and it's chaos, others saying that it's just a couple of staff shouting numbers, and people waiting patiently. Is it both, depending upon airport? Or did it start one way and ended up the other?

3) People are reporting that the staff are taking laptops etc in their cases and wrapping them. Is this true? We have a couple of laptops, a couple of Kindles, and a couple of iPads, so if we could pack everything into two laptop bags it might be easier?

Thanks very much.

edit:

4) We've got a lot of electronics that are important. Enough to fill a standard hand-luggage carry-on. does anything think we could just pass over the entire hand-luggage to TA staff, rather just emptying it and having them bubble-wrap it all?

Stewie Mac

I came through IST back to LHR last week, so this is my understanding of the situation based on that:

1. There is no ban on electronics on flights INTO IST, so you can take everything on the AMM-IST leg; you'd then need to gatecheck electronics in IST before the IST-MAN leg.

2.At LHR last week there was a separate table by the luggage reclaim belt; we formed an orderly queue, the 5 cases of electronics arrived, they checked tag numbers in order and found the electronics, returned them and we countersigned the manifest. It wasn't fantastic, but it worked okay.

3. They have bubblewrap bags ready, and were encouraging people to take items out of sleeves etc to reduce the space each item took in the cases. They are using hardsided foamlined cases, with everything in thick bubblewrap; I think probably the items are safer in there (from impact damage) than getting bashed around in the overheads. I would imagine they would suggest/request that both ipads and both Kindles go into single bubblewrap bags, but don't think that they'd want to take stuff in laptop bags.

4. Almost certainly not. The bubble-wrap etc gives them some process-driven security against damage, and I'm sure that their liability insurance would insist on it... Put it this way, would you be happy to check that carry-on full of electronics into the hold? Because that's what you'd effectively be doing. And if you are happy to do that, then I'd suggest just checking it in, and then walking around the queue of people sitting by the gate in IST waiting to give up their electronics.

Reu

Ahhh, fantastic. I was really stressing about the potential layover hassle with electronics - it never occurred to me that we wouldn't need to hand them over for the first leg. Thanks for the answers, they really help.

tcm

Lovingly placed by TGS ground staff in to the hold



While you can enjoy your replacement device handed out by TK (announced on twitter)

Phenomenon

so it turns out the electronics ban is being expanded to all flights from Europe to USA

probably starting next week

TK and the ME airlines will probably gain back the passengers that preferred other european airlines because of the ban

PerStockholm

Being someone who flies at lot between the US and Europe, I must say that I'm puzzled and very annoyed over the (expected) expansion of this hard-to-explain electronics ban.

On TK flights, the ban doesn't annoy me that much considering the high quality Denon headphones they give out and the new offer to loan a laptop in the air, but I have a bunch of booked EU-US business class flights with SAS, LOT, Austrian and Swiss and I have a hard time believing these carriers will offer better headphones and loaner laptops...

I have purchased my Bose noice cancelling headphones specifically for these long haul flights, many of which 12+ hours, now I guess I might as well put them away.

Fingers crossed that they will get rid of the ban in a not too distant future...

hfly

and why would you assume that there is a problem with your headphones. ONE poster on all of FT had an issue at the beginning of the ban. DOZENS of people including myself have reported that there is NO ISSUE WHATSOEVER, yet you are coming in and going on about NC headphones again??

Also, update from a few days ago regarding Powerbanks.............They now have a "gauge" which is basically a piece of stiff foam, that they hold your powerbank up to. If it fits through, its ok, if not, you can "check it" for retrieval in IST in the next 15 days. It is BS, as the "gauge" was meant for mobile phones. They could still not produce any written anything when pertaining to powerbanks.

IAN-UK

I solved it 🙂!! Leaving the laptop at home won't be a possibility for many, but for me it was a blessed relief. Less hassle at security, lighter bags, fewer cables - and I discovered my smartphone is much more useful than I thought.

I've been able to use lounge (hotel and airport) hardware.

​​​​​​though I'm not sure I'll follow this plan when NOT transiting a middle-east airport.

pandablood

anyone know if the electronics ban also applies to camera lenses?

I am traveling with very fragile, large and heavy gear. No problem detaching cameras but the lenses I would like to keep, if possible at all.

Lens in question:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...I_USM_lens.jpg

gr8pirate

you won't have a problem with lenses, they aren't electronic.

nacho

Thanks for the update!

I bring powerbanks everywhere - we need it to charge phones since we'll be using them as GPS.

Now I'm really wondering if I should avoid flying TK to the US.

Hope this ridiculous ban will be lifted soon.

gaume

We used Turkish to go from SFO to Athens via Istanbul the past 2 weeks... 4 flights total. We just had iPads, Kindles and medium priced cameras. We hadn't checked bags of any sort for years, but did on this trip and checked these electronics on the return. All flights were on time and as easy as could be.

We did fly business class, but observed the people in economy were happy, too.
We are uncertain of how good this situation would be for work trips, but for holidays it was perfect. Lovely service; the air temperatures on board were average to chilly.

ASUDan130

Flying ATH-IST-JFK in J class and trying to figure out what is the easiest thing to do? I would like to have my laptop in ATH and at the lounge in IST but it isn't a big deal and I don't need it for the IST-JFK flight as I am a big IFE fan. Would you all recommend I check the laptop at ATH or still take it with me to IST? I just want the easiest solution considering my circumstances. I don't want to be in a situation at IST where I have to queue for a long time at the gate and get there super early to have to tag the laptop. Although I won't have a ton of room in my checked bag for a computer. What should I do?

gr8pirate

The simplest solution is to just check it in, but since you're flying in J: get to the gate early, you won't have to wait in line long to gate-check it. Same thing at arrival: as you will be one of the first at the baggage belt, you'll be among the first to pick it up.