Turkish Airlines Reviews 5,821

Turkish Airlines damaged my almost-new suitcase on a London → Istanbul → Islamabad trip and then refused compensation because their airport staff failed to create a damage report after I reported it in person.

At Islamabad Airport, I went to the baggage complaint counter immediately after arrival and was told to submit the claim online. Later, Turkish Airlines denied the claim saying “no airport report exists.”

I provided baggage tags, boarding passes, photos, and proof of purchase. Their customer relations team simply redirected me in circles, including to a broken baggage claims webpage that does not function properly.

Terrible customer service, zero accountability, and an extremely frustrating experience. Be careful if your baggage gets damaged — you may be left completely on your own.

Awful, awful customer service.

I tried to help Turkish Airlines by changing my flight home from Hong Kong. Because they have overbooked the flight.

I was promised 600 euros and would be contacted if something went wrong, but after three weeks, I haven't heard from you. No contact. No refund. Nothing. I have filled out 4 refund forms and have now been told via email that they are closing the case because they don't mean I've responded to their requests. I feel overlooked and undervalued as a customer.

I emailed the last refund form on the 12th of May. The next day, I got an email saying there was a failure that needed to be changed, and I had 5 days.

Within 48 hours, they closed the case and told me I could make a new request on their website. The sudden closure without a clear explanation has left me feeling uncertain and distrustful of the process.

I'm very disappointed with the customer service. I'm excited to see how many forms I'll need to fill out and how long it will take to receive my compensation for changing my trip home. I hope my concerns are acknowledged and addressed appropriately.

I spent days researching flights for my family (4 tickets) to Istanbul and finally booked through the Turkish Airlines app.

Right after payment, I realized I accidentally selected 29.08.2026 instead of 29.07.2026. Within less than 10 minutes, I corrected the mistake.

For this simple correction, Turkish Airlines charged me an additional 313 EUR — even though the new tickets were cheaper.

Charging a family over 300 EUR for fixing a booking mistake within minutes feels completely unfair and unacceptable. Policies are one thing, but this is not customer-friendly service.

Very disappointed with this experience.

I spent 2 weeks going back and forth via email trying to get my entitled refund - each time Turkish Airlines would ask for an extra document they didn’t originally request.
After finally saying they did not need any further documents they are now completely ignoring me and not issuing the refund.

My experience with Turkish Airlines was one of the worst travel experiences I have ever had.

I was scheduled to fly from Houston to Cameroon on Flight TK34 on April, 2026. After successfully checking in and preparing to board the plane, I was suddenly stopped by an airline attendant who claimed my carry-on bag was too large and demanded nearly $1,000 before allowing me to board.
I was wrongly marked as a “no-show”
I was forced to purchase another one-way ticket for over $2,000 just to keep my return flight from being canceled
I was later charged an additional $870 for baggage fees after being told my new ticket included luggage allowance

My friend and I booked flights round trip to Athens with a layover in instanbul and have never regretted it more. We had to split our ticket reservation due to unforeseen circumstances, and they subsequently cancelled my friend’s connecting flight to Athens. After 14 hours of fighting with customer service and her being stranded alone in Istanbul, she eventually had to buy an entirely new flight. Despite this, her return flight should never have been touched. However, as we were checking in for our return flight, we found that I could download my boarding pass but she could not even check in. After many calls between Turkish airlines and capital one (whom we booked through), they told us that: 1) we couldn’t get the pass online but had to do so in person (we didn’t trust that for a second) 2) thy had gotten her name wrong on the reservation and combined my first with her surname 3) there was no one higher up than the call center we could speak with and were quite rude and unhelpful about it 4) we could submit a “feedback form” and wait up to 2 hours to see if anyone responded. When we still hadn’t heard anything after 2 hours, we called them again and were told they had no idea what was going on and would send an email to try to get it figured out. They would not call directly and would not give us a number to call. Then they said we would have to wait until the end of the day or up to 6 hours to hear back… Despite the fact that we had a flight to catch and a very tight window in which to do so. So we are currently stranded in a foreign country with no assurance that my friend can leave or that we will even here back from the airline. We will never be booking with Turkish airlines again. We are down at least 1k and still now guaranteed way home. I would recommend anyone considering booking with Turkish airlines proceed with caution.

I would like to leave a review regarding my recent experience during boarding on a Turkish Airlines flight that appeared to be overbooked.
* Flight number: TK344
* Date: 10 May 2026, 00:30
* Route: Istanbul -Bishkek
During boarding, passengers were asked to volunteer to take a later flight in exchange for compensation/rewards. I volunteered immediately and was the first passenger to do so. Later, several other passengers also volunteered.
After boarding was nearly completed, I was instructed by the gate employee (male) to board the airplane, while other volunteers were selected to remain behind and receive the offered compensation. The employee spoke to me in a very rude and dismissive manner. I specifically remember being addressed with words such as “lady, come here,” without any professionalism, courtesy, or apology. I found the tone disrespectful and inappropriate for customer service.
When I asked for clarification, I was told that the selected passengers were traveling together. However, while the employee was checking their passports before making his decision, I saw that they were nationals of Kyrgyzstan, as I am, which indicated that this was also their final destination. Because of this, the explanation did not make sense to me, and the selection process appeared inconsistent and unclear.
I would fully understand the importance of keeping passengers together if they were visitors from another country or in a situation where separating them could create genuine travel difficulties. However, in this case, the passengers appeared to be returning to their own country, just as I was.
I also learned that these passengers were teachers from an educational institution in Kyrgyzstan and wanted to avoid returning to work on Monday by using the overbooking situation as an excuse. In contrast, I was on approved leave and did not have any urgent obligation to return to work. For this reason, I believe my situation should have been considered equally, if not more reasonably, during the volunteer selection process.
I understand that airlines may have operational discretion in selecting volunteers. However, I found the process unfair, especially because I volunteered before the other passengers and the explanation provided did not clearly distinguish my situation from theirs.

Very bad experience with this airline. The service at their desk at Hamburg airport was horrible. Had to pay 600$ for a new flight because of them being unable to help me.

1 star – absolutely terrible experience.

I booked my flight through Booking.com, but Turkish Airlines changed my flight schedule THREE TIMES, making it impossible to keep my travel plans.

Because of these constant changes, I was forced to cancel my trip in August 2025. The cancellation was only processed in October 2025, and until today I still have not received my refund.

Months of waiting, no clear answers, terrible customer service, and nobody taking responsibility. Turkish Airlines and the booking process have been an absolute nightmare.

Keeping a customer’s money for months after repeatedly changing the flight schedule is completely unacceptable. I will never fly with Turkish Airlines again and I strongly advise others to avoid this airline.
Booking Reference S7BH7I

Our family recently traveled round trip between Houston, USA and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with Turkish Airlines under Booking #93610267 (PNR: S8PNRK), and this became one of the worst airline experiences we have ever had.

Flight details:

- IAH → IST → ADD on April 8–9, 2026
- Turkish Airlines Flight 34
- Turkish Airlines Flight 676

Return:

- ADD → IST → IAH on May 7, 2026
- Turkish Airlines Flight 677
- Turkish Airlines Flight 33

My wife traveled with our child who has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). During the flight, our child stood up to get snacks, something passengers are generally allowed to do during long international flights. Instead of showing patience, professionalism, or basic compassion, one female flight attendant treated him harshly and disrespectfully, even after being informed that he has ASD and may not respond interactively to instructions in the same way other children do.

As parents, it was extremely painful and humiliating to know our child was treated this way during an already difficult international journey.

Another female flight attendant repeatedly ignored requests for water and basic assistance. My wife had to ask multiple times before receiving help. No mother traveling alone with a special-needs child should ever be treated with such disregard and lack of empathy.

The problems became even worse with baggage handling.

On the first trip to Ethiopia, all four of our checked bags were delayed for three days. Instead of proper customer support or delivery coordination, we were forced to personally go to airport lost-and-found services to recover our luggage ourselves.

Then, on our return flight to Houston, the same unacceptable situation happened again. All four bags were delayed for an additional four days.

When the luggage finally arrived, several personal items were damaged, including:

- Medical-related items
- Herbal medicines
- Spices and food items
- Personal belongings

This caused our family financial loss, emotional distress, inconvenience, and unnecessary suffering after a long international trip.

The most disturbing part is that this experience involved a child with ASD who deserved understanding, patience, and respectful treatment — not judgment and mistreatment.

We are deeply disappointed by Turkish Airlines’ handling of both passenger care and baggage operations. Families traveling with children, especially children with disabilities or special needs, deserve dignity, compassion, and professional support.

We strongly encourage Turkish Airlines to improve disability awareness training for flight attendants, improve customer service standards, and seriously address ongoing baggage handling failures before more families go through experiences like ours.

New luggage regulation, enforced by inqualified stsff.

Lets look for alternative service providers

I am writing to express my extreme frustration with Turkish Airlines. Upon arriving at my destination, I was informed that my luggage was never even loaded onto the plane in Istanbul.
What makes this situation critical is that my bags contain traditional sweets and perishable food items. These items have a very short shelf life and are highly sensitive to temperature changes. Every day of delay means these goods are deteriorating; even if the bags are recovered later, the contents will be spoiled and lose their value entirely, causing me a significant financial loss.
It is completely unacceptable for an international airline to be this negligent. I demand an immediate update on the status of my luggage and a swift delivery before my belongings are completely ruined. I also expect full compensation for any items that are damaged due to this delay.
Flight Details:
• Flight Date: 06 May 2026
• Route: Istanbul to [Constantine]
• Tk1411

I am not surprised of the 1.4 star rating.
Does no one in their company ever read & try to RECTIFY customer complaints ?
Today is the 3rd time, in maybe 5 years, I have looked for a ticket to Moscow via Istanbul.
What a shocking state of affairs when a ticket is £450 YET an additional suitcase costs £470 !
I have looked for an alternative airline, but Pegasus has no better rating than this company.
How do they justify these rip off charges?
Let's hope when things are "normalised " again, customers remember these shocking services & prices.
Certainly their airline is no way on a par with other carriers we have used:- Air France, Aeroflot, Swissair, B.A.,KLM, Lufthansa, Finnair, Sabena.
I would be ashamed to work for them & wear their uniform.
NOT a world carrier!
Bandits & masks comes to mind.

Cancelled my paid ticket but flew my checked bag without me – a TSA violation.I booked a round-trip ticket from Dallas to Moscow through Turkish Airlines. One ticket, one itinerary.

My connection at Chicago O'Hare was only 112 minutes. The airport's own website warns that transferring from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5 can take over two hours. The airside shuttle wasn't running yet, so I had to take the train and re-clear TSA. I missed the gate by 12 minutes.

Instead of rebooking me for free, Turkish Airlines cancelled my ticket, called me a "no-show", and left me and my 9-year-old son stranded overnight with no hotel, no food, no help.

But here's the key fact: my checked bag flew to Istanbul without me. I tracked it. That violates TSA positive passenger-bag matching rules. If I were truly a "no-show", my bag would have been removed.

Turkish Airlines then forced me to buy a new one-way ticket for
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I filed complaints, went to small claims court (their lawyers from Clyde & Co US LLP won on technicalities), and now I'm sharing my story so others know the truth.Do not trust Turkish Airlines with your money or your family. If you have a connection in the US, they will use any delay as an excuse to cancel your ticket and make you pay twice.

I have been trying to change a flight and make the payment with Turkish Airlines for more than three days. I’m trying to change the date of a flight and pay the required fee, but nothing is working. The website does not work properly, the payment links do not work, and customer service is not being helpful.

Calling Turkish Airlines is a nightmare. The phone system responds in Turkish, nobody speaks English, nobody speaks Spanish, and nobody understands you. When they send a payment link, the payment link does not work. Then you call back and speak to another representative, explain again that the payment link is not working, and they tell you the flight change price is now different. Every time I call, the price increases.

But I cannot make the payment because the payment link does not work. When I try to manage the reservation online, that also does not work properly. When I go into “Manage Booking,” I can still see the original payment amount you first gave me, but that is no longer the amount I am supposed to pay. The new payment is much higher. I can see the pending payment, but the system does not allow me to complete it.

Turkish Airlines needs to improve its customer interface and customer experience on its website. Other airlines make it very easy to change flights and make payments. Everything is managed on the same page for the customer, without needing to call anyone.

Why is this so difficult? Why doesn’t Turkish Airlines have an international or 1-800 support number? Why do customers have to spend money calling Turkey internationally?

I paid 2,340 dollars, and now I want to make a change, but I cannot do it, I cannot pay, and I cannot get any solution. At this point, it feels like the only option is to give up and lose the money I already paid.

We booked business class with Turkish Airways and it was a terrible experience. Our flight from New York to Athens was fine but coming back was the worse experience I’ve ever had in 40-years of flying. We arrived in Athens the day before our flight was departing. And because we were already at the airport we decided to see if we could be moved to an earlier flight versus staying at the airport for 16-20 or so hours. The agents at the airport couldn’t help us so they told us to inquire online. We called them 8 times over a 4-hour period of time. The 1st agent said she would call us back in an hour to confirm - she never did, we had to call back. The 2nd did the same-thing. The 3rd was able to make the change to an earlier flight and quoted us $900 per person. We agreed to the up charge. Not long after, my wife gets a text message stating that our credit card was charged $9,000 for the earlier flight. The agent argued with her basically calling my wife a liar. I was right next to my wife listening. The agent went on to say that if we didn’t want to pay $9,000 than she would cancel our earlier flight and we would not be charged. But we were. She went on to tell us that she also canceled our original tickets that we paid $7,009 for and ultimately we had no way home. CRAZY! We had to purchase tickets from Delta to get home. This airlines customer service is terrible! NEVER USE THEM!

The flight was fine, but the customer service was diabolical. We changed a flight and paid the fare difference and change fee but getting the refund of the original fare has been impossible. Their system is designed to either send you in circles or to dead ends. No response whatsoever. They obviously want to hang onto your money once they have it.

I spent hours trying to get help from customer service and getting bounced from the AI chat to a live agent to a Feedback Form… my issue has not been resolved. It appears their online customer service is ran by unintelligent bots.

So bad experince, canceled flight, lost bagage, lower or compensation rights, dont answer properly, send same freaking mail over and over again anad avoid to pay back.

I hope they will close down the business. such headache for almost a year now

THE WORST AIRLINE
PLEASE AVOID THEM