Turkish Airlines Reviews 5,815

Our initial flight was delayed by a couple of hours (fair enough, these things happen). As a result we missed our connecting flight and eventually arrived at our destination 16 hours behind schedule (highly frustrating but it was dealt with in a reasonable manner, i.e. taken to a hotel and food and beverage provided). If our “journey” with Turkish Airlines has ended at this point I probably would have rated 3/5.

Unfortunately what followed was a 4 month battle to receive the financial compensation that we were entitled to as per both the airline’s own policies and wider industry standards.

During this period I experienced the absolute worst customer service I have ever received:
- initial “fob off” for air miles (no thanks)
- non response to emails
- multiple requests for information/documents previously provided
- request for duplicated information (e.g fill in this online form, and then also fill in this paper form and scan back to us)
- internal procedures changing mid-claim (so 2 passengers were compensated about a month before the other 2)
- excessive documents requested (passports, birth certificates, bank statements, letters of authority)
- “lost” information and documents

I could go on and on but I’m boring myself now! It essentially boiled down to unbelievable levels of bureaucracy for 4 months and about 50 emails… I got there in the end and received my money back.

Outcome - would never travel with the airline again and would others to do the same.

Turkish air line is a joke they are just a ripoff and money grabber
as i paid £37 to hold the price for 15 days on June 11th and chose a certain time to fly off from London Gatwick airport.
now they sent an email saying flight is cancelled
i called customer service ask for refund my £37 as the flight cancelled they said
no refund you can choose any other time on the same day if that's available any more
I said I don't wanna change my time as that's not what I chose so i want my money back they said no you have to book a ticket if you want your £37 back
meaning no matter what I have to book a flight or buy a ticket in order to get my £37 back even though I don't wanna go on any other time apart from my chosen time lol
what a joke is Turkish airline
they should not allowed to do this at all.
worst experience
disgusting

This airline is pathetic with poor customer experience and customer service having no knowledge at all. I was travelling with my kids to United States and were denied boarding having valid US passports. The customer service did not pay much attention to our request and our trip was ruined

I have travelled with this airline 3 times they are the worst, in each case i was getting a connecting flight from istanbul.
On 2 occasions I noticed female attendants go funny in the face as i boarded the plane, they could barely bring themselves to say hello.
The food is not great either, used to be okay a few years back, this time they served Smoked meats, sour cherry jam, sour yoghurt and apple, tasteless beef patty.
They used to do really good beef kebab with rice, pastry with spinach and cheese.
Pls treat all your passengers the same.
i prefer emirates but flights were not available due to the war, turkish is never my first choice.

Terrible customer service, absolutely the worst we have ever experienced. Would not recommend flying with this company, as they cost us hundreds of dollars when issues arised, contradictory of what the different people at the check in desk and call center told us. The feedback center ignored all information, and made conclusions without reading the facts sent them. Horrible. Will never fly with them again. And recommend everyone to stay away.

I was due to fly with turkish airlines from birmingham uk to izmir via istanbul upon recommendation from turkish friends. The flights i booked along with a package hotel were confirm through a 3rd party agent. I was due to travel with friends who had booked flight only through TA. The flight was cancelled or as turkish airlines say rescheduled and was asked to go on later flight. This flight was not rescheduled it was cancelled. It meant me loising one day of my meeting and holiday and my colleagues missing a meeting. All travellers do not accept their pitiful Sms saying plans are changed

Avoid Turkish Airlines if you value your time and peace of mind.

My reservation was removed from my PNR without any proper notification. I only discovered this by coincidence through their hotel department. From that point on, the experience was a complete nightmare.

Customer support was inconsistent and unhelpful. Phone agents had no information and kept redirecting me to submit feedback. I sent multiple emails and received delayed or no responses.

At one point, a flight was available and I immediately requested it. After that, the agent stopped responding, and by the time they got back to me, the flight was full.

This entire situation was caused by their error, yet I was the one chasing them for days with no resolution. I save all year to travel and see my family for one month, and this experience completely disrupted my plans.

Although I eventually received a refund, after 2 weeks, the stress, uncertainty, and lack of professionalism made this one of the worst travel experiences I’ve had.

You only get to know whether your flight is entirely operated by Turkish Airlines after the booking. They use this trick to shove responsibilities to other carriers. The first leg of my 2-Stop flight was cancelled a week before which was operated by a different airline. Which left me to book a different and very expensive flight. No help, nor compensation because they just say it‘s the fault of the other airline. And I chose Turkish Airline because of their good reputation 🙄

We were charged 500 euro for extra legroom seats but were given regular seats instead. Getting a refund seems impossible, and actually receiving the extra legroom seats we paid for feels out of reach.

We’ve been in the queue for 3 hours trying to reach an agent, and we’re still waiting.

I was not satisfied with the customer service I received. They were unhelpful and did not resolve my issue.

Had to call their helpline for what should have been a simple assisted travel arrangement. Nope, they turned it into a nightmare. Four calls with four different agents, and then charged over £50 for the calls...when it should have taken one call and a couple of minutes (which is my experience with other airlines).
Their call handlers lied and invented changes to rules, which the final call handler admitted was wrong.
So £50 out of pocket. I will not be flying with them again.

As I was boarding my flight to India in Istanbul this April when a Turkish Airlines rep pulled me out of line and denied me entry to the plane. I entered my birthdate on my Visa - 3/11/XXXX instead of 11/3/XXXX - a simple software fix on the Visa application could remedy the problem. The Turkish agents were indifferent, offered no solutions or alternatives.
They confiscated my boarding pass, so I was unable to book any Airport hotel, lounges and some food venues. After sleeping on the airport's floor for a few days, I gave up and came home. Only after I complained to s Turkish Airline telephone support did I receive any help. There were some helpful people - Lemon (ticketing agent) Sameer (TK airline support) and one night manager who handed me a bottle of water, but most staff couldn't be bothered. Granted, I was angry with little sleep, and little food. Turkish Airlines may be cheap, but it costs more in the long run.

Turkish Airlines left us stranded overnight in an airport with ZERO support.

Flight TK416 (Moscow–Istanbul, April 2026):

delayed for hours
then boarded us
kept us on the plane for 2 hours (no water!)
then cancelled the flight late at night

After that:

no staff
no instructions
no food or water
no hotel for a 24-hour delay

I was traveling with my 87-year-old mother. Because of visa restrictions, we couldn’t leave the transit area. We were stuck overnight, exhausted, with nowhere to sleep. I hadn’t slept for over 40 hours and literally collapsed on the floor.

Customer service later refused any compensation, even for the food we bought there. I provided invoices - they rejected them.

This is not just bad service — this is a complete failure to take care of passengers.

I had a very disappointing experience with Turkish Airlines. The customer service and overall organisation were far below expectations.
During boarding, there was a complete lack of structure. Passengers were left waiting with no clear instructions, and shockingly, there were no proper barriers set up to manage the queue. This resulted in chaos, confusion, and unnecessary stress for everyone involved.

It felt like the staff had little control over the situation and lacked basic coordination and communication skills. For an airline of this reputation, I expected a much higher standard of professionalism and management.

This experience has significantly impacted my perception of Turkish Airlines, and I hope they take steps to improve their ground operations and customer service.

I'm an Elite passenger trying to book a Star Alliance award ticket on Air Canada through Turkish Airlines. The system consistently fails to ticket Air Canada flights at last step, regardless of route or booking class.

This is an obvious systemic issue, not an isolated case. Despite multiple complaints, Turkish Airlines has not conducted a proper technical investigation or provided a resolution.

Worst experience ever. We had a confirmed booking for wheelchair assistance for my mother, yet no one showed up. My mother cannot walk properly, and we nearly missed our flight because of this negligence. Completely unreliable service—I will never fly Turkish Airlines again

Ah yes, Turkish Airlines. Truly an experience I will never forget, no matter how hard I try.
We were flying Istanbul → Zurich with a layover, two tired passengers from Uzbekistan, minding our own business, passports in hand, having already survived: a Schengen visa interview, our own country’s customs AND Turkey’s border control. We thought the hard part was over.
Because just as we were about to board, you know, the part where you just hand someone your ticket and walk onto a plane, the staff kindly decided to pull us out of the line. No explanation. Just a cheerful “step aside” and then, my personal favorite moment of the trip: the staff members looking at each other and loudly announcing “Uzbeks” like we were some rare species that had wandered into the wrong habitat.
While we stood there, invisible and confused, they happily waved everyone else through with smiles and good energy. Then, one by one, they turned to us with a full interrogation and loudly started asking like I had to prove that I’m innocent: Where are you going? What’s the purpose of your trip? How many days you’re staying? When are you returning? Show me your return ticket.
At a BOARDING GATE. Not customs. Not immigration. The gate. Where a man checks tickets.
Naturally, I asked if something was wrong with my documents, he looked me and said “No, it’s a regular customs check.”
Sir. You work at a boarding gate. You are not customs. You are the last guy before the bus! How it possible help you to do your job knowing that I have a return ticket, you didn’t even look at my ticket! You just asked questions in arrogant way and took my words as fact!
I genuinely don’t know what we did to deserve this little theatrical performance. We had every document, every stamp, every visa. Maybe we looked suspicious. Maybe it was our passports or nationality. Maybe we killed some turk’s cat in a past life. Who knows.
What I do know is that being loudly labeled, pulled aside, and interrogated for no reason while the entire line watches is not “regular.” It’s exhausting, humiliating, and frankly not something any traveler should have to deal with after clearing every single checkpoint a country throws at you.
0/10 Would not recommend unless you enjoy impromptu one-man customs shows at boarding gates.

Recently we flew between Madina to Istanbul and Istanbul to London Gatwick and both time the plane was small and food quality was very poor. They dont even provide water bottles but sachet

First and last time with Turkish Air
Flew round trip business class LA to Istanbul.
Food was bad. Service bad. Seat broken would not recline with no solution. Out of water! offer to refill your plastic bottle.
Even if i have to pay more I will book with another airline.

Please do yourselves a favor by avoiding this airline specialy for a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All our luggages (19 in number) were left behind (apparently a customary issue) and still calling with no one attending to our calls. Please save yourself from pain.