I had a very pleasant flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, but I’m not pleased with them now…
My flight from Los Angeles to Istanbul was delayed by over two hours (mechanical), causing me to miss my connection to Frankfurt:
With the current diplomatic issues plaguing the USA and Turkey, I am unable to enter Turkey. Unfortunately, the airside TAV Transit hotel is full tonight…so Turkish has told me they cannot help me with a hotel. I’m stuck in the airport until tomorrow morning.
> Read More: Turkey Eliminates U.S. Tourist Visas, Barring Entry for Most U.S. Citizens
Here’s the thing, The Turkish Airlines’ CIP Lounge has sleeping rooms…and several are available. But I have been denied access to them because my layover is longer than seven hours.
An incredibly rude agent glared and me and said, “These are the rules.”
For the record, I was very courteous to her from the start.
> Read More: Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge Istanbul Review
But I’m not going to play victim here…it won’t be the first time I have spent the night in the lounge and there are far worse places to be. Even so, it felt like that agent took great pleasure in denying me a room for holding an American passport. Such unnecessary vitriol…
It seems to me that if several rooms are available and I am in the lounge involuntarily with no place to sleep, an exception is called for. What do you think?
Seven hours seems so arbitrary. Agree they are just being rude. You make me apprehensive about a similar trip I have coming up in May.
If you’re alone, not a big deal. It will be quite fun actually. If wife and kiddo are with you, try getting some help with Twitter or with another agent. Or better yet, let your German wife take the lead. That will help.
My experience is that Turkish reps and other employees become rude as soon as they see US passport. It is quite widespread.
It happened to my wife and I a few years ago. The layover was longer than seven hours. I don’t think it’s limited to just Americans. A busy place with limited rooms. Fortunately we were able to leave the airport and secure the free hotel they offer for business passengers in transit. However, we did have to pay a visa fee to exit…
“…it felt like that agent took great pleasure in denying me a room for holding an American passport. ” Not the least bit surprised if in fact she did relish her power trip over an American. With all the nasty things said in the Middle East and Turkey media about the US, this is no surprise at all to me.
Agreed completely that they are being rude, and I don’t doubt for one second that you were being as courteous as you can be, but this is not that big of a deal. Its a dumb rule, but they have to do what they have to do, and they had every right to deny you access. You don’t have a right to complain to them about that. Wishing you a pleasant night, and a safe trip to Germany! I hope you get your Swiss situation resolved so you can make up the night you have to spend right now in a first class bed!
Well it’s only the same thing as wearing Ugg boots to a qantas lounge….
i think you should avoid Turkish.
It’s a great onboard experience though with no fuel surcharges and excellent award space. A difficult dilemma to be sure.
Everybody knows not to fly through Istanbul now because of the visa issue. I was asked why not transit through Istanbul and I gave exactly your case as an example: if you’re delayed you can’t enter the country and you will be stuck at the airport. As a travel “expert” you should have known better, it’s your problem.
@John,
Matt actually purchased his ticket before the issues with Turkey. He even booked or reserved a hotel in Istanbul, which he later cancelled due to the political situation…
& away from politics and back to travel reports…
That is correct. This was booked months ago. Thanks Stu.
I bet if you had any other passport than US, no problem. Thanks to Trump, it’s an embarrassment travelling abroad with a US passport. He’s made it OK to be an asshole and regardless if you like him or not the rest of the world puts you in the same gutter as him. Resentment against US citizens shouldn’t be surprising – it’s kinda deserved.
Most other passports would have been no problem.
Many other passports wouldn’t have required you to get stuck in the airport. If I was there I would just hang out in the lounge until the staff changes that you spoke with. Then go ask again. Just a thought. Could be worse, you could be stuck without lounge access. BTW the Air France lounge there is small but isn’t too bad if you need a change in scenery. Or maybe you could so some live social media feeds 🙂
I have found Turkish Airlines’ employees to be quite sticklers for their rules. As I was in line waiting to check in, a person came back to the counter thrice trying to shuffle his carry-on’s weight limit. The guy was desperate to get that stupid carry-on luggage tag that OKs its boarding. Not only did the person behind the counter seem rude, but he also implied that the guy could get in trouble later. Ultimately, he did get his carry on tag
What if you wait until less than 6 hours until departure — would they grant access then?
Why not threaten to sue them? It’s your usual approach. The rules are what they are – why should you be an exception?
What is so rude about stating “those are the rules”?
I’ve noticed a lot of stories where you recount the company rep being rude to you and that you were supposedly so polite. Maybe so but you have a lot more “rude” encounters it seems, than most people who travel similarly.
Try to relax a bit – you’ll live longer! 🙂
Why do you feel you were denied b/c of your american passport? They have a 7 hour rule and she enforced it. I agree she should have made an exception due the extenuating circumstances, but didn’t see from your description that she was treating you differently b/c of your american passport. Rather, she was treating you the same as everyone else and you would have liked to be treated differently (i.e. an exception should have been made). Maybe i’m missing something, but that’s how i ready our description.
Because she frowned at me the moment she saw my U.S passport (when I handed her my boarding pass, it exposed the passport).
Ah–fair enough. The government has certainly whipped up plenty of anti-US sentiment due to the Fetullah Gulen issue. I travel to turkey on a US passport all the time and haven’t noticed anything. But I also speak turkish and have a turkish name, so maybe i get a pass!
You travel with a U.S. passport and no Turkish ID card or second passport?
Correct. I’m not a Turkish citizen. But i haven’t been since the travel ban. So, maybe things will feel different these days. Also, FYI, that you can now get a visa if you visit a turkish embassy or consulate:
“On November 7, 2017 the Government of Turkey announced the resumption of limited visa services. U.S. citizens may request in–person appointments for visas at Turkish Embassies and Consulates in the United States and abroad. U.S. citizens cannot obtain new e-visas, and most airport visa options for U.S. citizens remain suspended.”
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Turkey.html
You’re being ridiculous. Stop being an ugly American. When I was there a month ago, didn’t feel the slightest resentment – quite the contrary – they were happy to see Americans because so many were cancelling.
While I am happy you had a different experience traveling under your German passport, please don’t disparage the experience I had without being there.
Because Americans are now regarded as assholes. I keep my passport hidden until I have to present it and in meantime pretend I’m Canadian.
Considering the problem was their’s in the making they should make an exception!
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/entering-turkey-during-visa-ban/
“On November 7, 2017 the Government of Turkey announced the resumption of limited visa services. U.S. citizens may request in–person appointments for visas at Turkish Embassies and Consulates in the United States and abroad. U.S. citizens cannot obtain new e-visas, and most airport visa options for U.S. citizens remain suspended.”
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Turkey.html
One option would be to go after the airline. Alexander Bachuwa might be a good option. For that matter, he could go after Aeroplan for you.
You can get a VOA to enter Turkey with a US passport but not if you fly on Turkish Air from the US. Sucks for you. If you booked a round trip to OTP and back you could probably get in fine.
I had similar experience before. It was in 2015 when I flew Turkish from Moscow to Seoul on a paid ticket. My flight from Vnukovo got delayed for more than three hours due to late arrival, which made me miss my connecting flight to Seoul. When I arrived in IST at about 10pm, Turkish ground staff rudely refused to provide me any compensation or accommodation, and they also refused my request to be transferred onto the later Asiana flight the same day. Neither did they helped me with a Turkish e-visa, nor allow me to stay in one of the sleeping rooms in the lounge. So I had to pay 60 USD to get a e-visa to enter the country at 5am the next morning after vainly looking for solutions the whole night. Luckily, the free transit tour people right across from the CIP arrival lounge were nice enough to accommodate me to the airport Renaissance.
I had flown Turkish three more times since that, and I found their ground service at IST to be indifferent at best. Besides their rude and ignorant staff at checkin desks and the main CIP lounge, another thing especially enrages me was their unwillingness to acknowledge the Star Alliance perks granted to the passengers. Although several Star Alliance airlines only allow passengers to be transferred to their own next available flights in an IRROP situation, Turkish is the only airline I have encountered so far that refuses to tag your baggages onto the final destination when you have a Star Alliance connection on a separated reservation. Airlines you would think incapable of doing so like Air China, Egypt and Ethiopian had all granted my requests, but Turkish never did so.
BTW I’m not American but I still got rude replies. I think their staff are just rude in general, rather than having a problem with only Americans
@Z: Air NZ won’t tag to final destination on separate tickets either.
One reason I won’t fly Turkish on the sandpit A/Ls is what happens when things get delayed or go sideways.
Having a EU passport is becoming extremely helpful nowadays.
Guess it’s time to change into your worst pyjamas and get comfortable pushing two lounge chairs together to make a bed. LOL. Wonder how quick they would open up a room for you…
I have both an argentine and an italian (EU) passport and they have always been rude to me when asking for anything at the TK lounge. I guess it is more like a cultural thing they have…but they need to change it.
If it was me flying in the other direction I would sue them. If the flight would have taken off from Frankfurt it would be bound to EU261, meaning that they need to give you an hotel for the night, and having an available bed in the lounge would not let them argue that they had no available options for you.
I’m not sure if I would sue, but I would certainly go after them. Too bad Turkey is not bound by EU261 for my journey…
why you didn’t use your German passport
I don’t have one.
I love Turkish Airlines and have flown them for all three overseas trips I have taken. Thank you for sharing this information as I will be connecting at Ataturk and visiting the lounge for the first time in March. I also found your detailed blog post during the electronics ban to be very helpful. Keep up the good work on Turkish Airlines coverage.
Americans now get to experience what so many people from other countries experience with not being able to enter the connecting country if something goes wrong. I am thankful while United States passports may not be the best in the world they still get you access to most countries. This is a good reminder to not take access for granted and to be thankful for it. As you said though there are worse places to be stuck.
Sorry to heard that happen in Turkey. That s problem of politics. Presidents decided or cant compramised, public pays off or punished. Stupidity.
You can imagine how rude they are to Israeli like me, and I’m elite plus status. Still, they yell at me or even do not answer me after checking my passport.
A customer service focused company would recognize that there are times rules should be waived. A customer trapped in a terminal as a result of the failing of that company to do what they were supposed to do certainly seems like a good time for an exception. But based on all the comments people have made reagarding rude agents it’s probably a waste of time.
Side note I remain somewhat surprised by some of the vitriol that gets directed at you in these comment threads. It’s like some of these people just run around the internet attacking people for fun. But then I shouldn’t be surprised. The anonymous chat board for our airline is a seething pile of hate and anger from the same small group who shout down any and all attempts to be reasonable.
Anyone know if TK has any 5th Freedom routes?
GRU-EZE, FRU-ULN
Thank you, Matt!
Just today the US and Turkey lifted the visa restrictions. Americans should be able to purchase their e-visas online now without any issues, per the notification on the Turkish Embassy’s website from earlier today.
Were you in the lounge on the 16th?
No, 18th/19th.