Turkish Airlines Reviews 

Misleading & Unreliable Award Ticket Booking System

On June 26, 2026, I transferred a total of 158,200 miles into my Miles & Smiles account from my Capital One Venture card and my Citi card. I made this transfer specifically to book three one-way Economy Class award tickets from
Washington Dulles (IAD) to Istanbul (IST). At the time of transfer, my desired travel dates of July 2 and July 3, 2026 were clearly displayed as "AVAILABLE." By contrast, July 4 was shown as unavailable, and Business Class availability on July 2–3 was distinctly marked by the number of seats remaining. I took screenshots documenting this availability.

However, once I proceeded several steps into the booking process, the system repeatedly returned an error stating the "chosen flight is not available." On June 27, I contacted Turkish Airlines Call Center, where a representative acknowledged that the system experiences occasional "glitches" and attempted to book the flights manually. After an extended hold, she was unable to complete any booking, as the flights were in fact sold out for award tickets. The Call Center could not explain why Economy award seats appeared as AVAILABLE when they were not, nor how a passenger can reliably identify genuinely available dates when the system displays inaccurate information.

As a result, I am now holding 158,200 miles in my Miles & Smiles account that I cannot use for their intended purpose — miles I could otherwise have transferred to and redeemed with another airline. Compounding this, Miles & Smiles miles are subject to expiration, an issue I would not face had I not transferred them based on their website's inaccurate availability display.

Given that the error originated with Turkish Airlines' booking system, I initiated a feedback/complaint on Turkish Airlines website and requested that these miles be reversed and returned to the originating credit card accounts, or an equivalent resolution. Turkish Airlines CS did NOTHING to resolve the problem in a satisfactory way, and pretty much just said something along the lines of “shit happens, flights get sold out”. I will report this issue to whichever Aviation Regulatory Organization, as appropriate.

We contacted Turkish Airlines to ask for assistance with a wheelchair and a standard seat for the elderly and disabled, but they did not help. They are very bad. Never choose Turkish Airlines again.

Everything went wrong. Turkish Airlines staff is SUPER unhelpful. My flights got cancelled 2 times, and they were in disarray when everyone started trying to re-book. For a big company it took way too long (2 DAYS) for them to re-book my flights and get me home.😡🤬 And this didn't just happen on the way home, but on the way to India as well. DO NOT book with this airline we need to put them out of business or make them change things.

I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Turkish Airlines.
I used the "Change Flight" option on their website, expecting to pay the applicable change fee and any fare difference. Instead, my credit card was charged the full price of a new ticket, with no clear warning that this would happen. The unexpected charge significantly reduced my available credit.
I called Customer Service immediately, but they were unable to explain the charge or resolve the issue. Since then, I have exchanged multiple emails with Customer Relations and received different explanations each time—higher booking class, fare difference, incorrect service fees—but no clear fare breakdown or confirmation of when my refund will be processed.
My original ticket is refundable, yet I am still waiting for confirmation of the refund after being charged twice for the same trip.
Mistakes can happen, but what matters is how a company resolves them. Unfortunately, the lack of transparency, inconsistent communication, and poor customer service have made this an extremely frustrating experience.
I sincerely hope Turkish Airlines improves the transparency of its online booking process and trains its customer service teams to provide accurate, consistent information and timely resolutions.

Absolutely terrible boarding experience. The whole process was incredibly disorganized from start to finish. We were made to go through three separate passport security checks in a very short space of time, which took an unreasonable amount of time because the staff were working very slowly.

After that, we were randomly selected for additional searches, with the men and women separated. My mum and I had to wait a long time before our search was even completed, and my brother was kept waiting even longer. By the time he was finally allowed through, all of the passengers had already been called to board. We had no choice but to wait for him, meaning we ended up at the very back of the boarding queue.

The entire experience was stressful, frustrating, and extremely poorly organized. Separating families for additional searches without any consideration for the delays they cause is unacceptable.This was a very disappointing start to our journey.

On top of that, some of the people around us were rude, pushing and shoving their way through the queue. This was particularly upsetting as I was injured, and the lack of basic courtesy made an already stressful situation even worse.

Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end once we boarded the aircraft. The in flight experience was just as disappointing as the boarding process. The cabin crew came across as unfriendly and unapproachable, and there was very little effort made to make passengers feel welcome or comfortable. Customer service felt rushed and impersonal, with staff seeming more interested in getting through their duties than helping passengers.

One particularly frustrating moment happened as we were trying to get to our seat. A flight attendant was standing directly in front of our row, talking to another person and completely blocking access. We politely said “excuse me” several times, but he ignored us and continued his conversation without moving. We were left standing in the aisle for around two minutes waiting to get past. Even when he eventually moved, he still remained in the way, making it awkward and difficult for us to get into our seats. It was incredibly frustrating, especially as boarding should be carried out efficiently and passengers should not have to repeatedly ask a member of staff to let them access their own seats.

To make matters worse, when we finally got settled, we realised we didn’t have any headphones because the same flight attendant had dropped them somewhere while standing in front of our row. We politely asked if we could have another pair, but instead of helping, he repeatedly insisted that we already had headphones. We explained several times that we didn’t and even showed him that there were none at our seats. Only after we proved this did he reluctantly hand us a replacement pair, doing so with a noticeable attitude. It was a simple issue that could have been resolved in seconds, but instead it became another unnecessary and frustrating interaction due to the poor customer service.

The food was also a major let-down. The quality was poor, the meal lacked flavour, and it certainly didn’t meet the standard I expected from an international airline. Overall, the catering was disappointing and left a lot to be desired.

Throughout the flight, the atmosphere felt unwelcoming, and the level of service simply wasn’t what I would expect from a major airline. After such a stressful and badly organised boarding experience, I had hoped the flight itself would make up for it, but unfortunately it only added to my disappointment.

Overall, this was one of the most frustrating travel experiences I’ve had. From the slow and disorganised boarding process to the disappointing service on board, the entire journey fell well below expectations. Based on this experience, I would be very reluctant to fly with Turkish Airlines again or recommend them to others.

DISGRACEFUL AIRLINE DONT TRAVEL WITH THEM
I travelled from Mongolia to Istanbul on a morning flight, 9am. The flight was just over 9 hrs. As soon as we had taken off the stewardesses came round to close the window blinds, I opened mine and was told to keep it closed. This is not right on a day flight. The reason they did this, is so that because it was so dark people would go to sleep and the lazy staff wouldn't have to do anything.
I went for a walk to the toilets and was pushed by a stewardess who with two other staff members were eager to get their sleeping quarters door opened.
I spoke to a stewardess about being pushed and asked to speak to the Steward/Stewardess in charge but was told she was sleeping......!!!
I have travelled extensively with lots of different airlines and have never experienced having to sit in the dark for 9 hrs and being assaulted on a flight....
I have since reported it to Turkish airlines who are totally useless. There way of dealing with complaints is by sending a standard reply stating they have passed it on to the relevant department and thanking me for my feedback! I didn't give feedback I wrote a complaint and want answers as to why I had been treated so badly. They might as-well employ BOTS at Turkish Airlines Customer Services as it would be cheaper and the staff give answers like BOTS!

I had a very bad experience at the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul Airport during a 16 hour layover , a staff member asked for my boarding pass then told me Iam blacklisted from the lounge because I fell asleep inside ( even though I am an Elite Plus member i know I have the right to rest and if I wanted proper sleep I could have booked a sleep room. Instead ) the staff member refused me entry to the lounge with no clear reason and no respect. This is unacceptable treatment for an Elite Plus member. I expect Turkish Airlines to explain this and fix it

Very disappointed with Turkish Airlines. I paid £400 (£100 per seat) to reserve four extra legroom seats for my family on the Lahore–Istanbul and Istanbul–Madinah flights. Despite paying in full, my seats were changed without my consent. At the airport, the staff were rude and simply told me to ask another passenger on board to swap seats. If I had to request someone else anyway, why did I pay £400 for reserved seats? I’m attaching my boarding passes and payment proof. Think twice before paying extra for seat selection with Turkish Airlines.

My colleague was refused travel to Uganda despite holding an Angolan passport which give them the right to travel to Uganda without having to apply for a visa. They were forced to then apply for a visa and had very bad customer service and experience overall. They had to spend money which wasn’t in their budget and lost money for their flight ticket. For this reason I will not be using Turkish airlines

On 17 June 2026, Turkish Airlines flight TK369 from Tashkent to Istanbul departed 4 hours and 33 minutes late due to operational reasons, as later confirmed by Turkish Airlines. The delay caused me to miss my onward Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to London Heathrow.
Immediately after arriving in Istanbul, I went to the Turkish Airlines customer service desk. A member of staff checked my booking and advised that, because my itinerary was a self-transfer, Turkish Airlines would not rebook me and I would need to purchase a new ticket. Acting on that advice, I purchased a replacement Turkish Airlines ticket from the Turkish Airlines desk for £237.01. Because I arrived in London much later than planned, I also had to purchase a replacement National Express coach ticket costing £42.80.
Trip.com later reimbursed £55.00. My remaining documented loss is therefore £224.81, which is the subject of this complaint.
My claim has always been limited to the replacement Turkish Airlines ticket (£237.01) and the replacement National Express coach (£42.80). I have not claimed for hotels, meals, transfers or any other third-party services.
Turkish Airlines accepted the operational delay and requested receipts, which I supplied. It subsequently refused my claim using different reasons, including separate tickets, expenses after arrival and third-party services. None of those responses directly addressed my claim for the replacement Turkish Airlines ticket that I purchased immediately after the delay, following advice from Turkish Airlines staff.

My husband was meant to fly to Uganda for a business meeting and the Turkish airline denied him from boarding the plane. For Angolan citizens Uganda does not require a visa, my husband is from Angola and behold an Angolan passport and still was refused entry to his plane. Alot of money was spent and time was wasted, it was very disappointing to me that the Turkish Airlines does not understand international laws and does not respect African laws and their policies. They made my husband buy another flight ticket and to purchase an evisa just so the immigration system of Uganda to inform my husband that he does not require a visa to enter Uganda. Absolutely outraged by this experience...

Booked Business Class 787 aircraft, non negotiable seat change email from TK 48 hours before flight meant they changed flight to 30 year plus A330. Seats were broken, safety standards not adhered to and flight attendant who constantly called TK “cheap” and that these planes are very OLD and TIRED. Lost and broken luggage. Staff promise to return calls in Bangkok tel:
+66 89 456 7144, Istanbul staff refuse to acknowledge and assist. Promised experience certainly not delivered.

🇹🇷❌✈️Turkish Airlines must respect passenger rights. Silence and unfair treatment are not acceptable. We demand transparency and justice. ✈

Wasted four hours of my life trying to book a flight. Their website is completely incompatible with different devices and browsers and I was on hold waiting for an agent for two hours. Only persisted because I was going somewhere where there were very few other options. It was a casual reply on their Instagram that put me o to using the app, which did actually work. Complained and they couldn't care less. 'Europe's best airline'? Don't make me laugh. They should be embarrassed at how poorly this company functions.

Horrible experience with Turkish airlines support team. The feedback team is there to never resolve an issue. My rebooking issue is still pending from last 2 weeks.

I hold an Angolan passport and I am allowed to travel to Uganda visa free for 30 days, and the Turkish airlines stopped me from boarding the flight and I wasted £1300 on a flight ticket. I didn't get a refund and I didn't get no customer services and I dont think this airlines does not show any respect and considerations towards customers who are African and other black people... very annoyed. The Turkish airline are very ignorant, they have no knowledge of international affairs and its laws and they will make you lose money if any mistakes are made and they will abandon you. Absolutely awful ...

There is absolutely no way to get an answer from them . It is unacceptable. I can show a copy of my attempt to talk to someone. There is no way to reach customer service. Simply unacceptable

Turkish Airlines left all three of my bags in Manchester, took 4 days to deliver them to Hong Kong, and ruined my only chance to see my secondary school friends before they left for university because I had no clothes. Completely irresponsible service.

Flights actually on time. Planes ok. Staff incredibly rude and unprofessional. Instanbul airport prices make Zurich look cheap. Will not use again.