In the past few hours, a coup attempt has taken place in Turkey. Information is still limited, but explosions have taken place in Ankara and Istanbul, with sections of the country now under martial law. Military operations (and counter-operations) are underway in various areas, and many media outlets have been taken offline. Both the US…
Continue reading: BREAKING: Istanbul Airports Closed Due To Military Coup, Flights Canceled
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
It's 9:30 EST and I'm watching Tk4 land at IST as we speak.
Pretty scary if this article is correct and there is no control tower, etc.
@ Daniel -- They have been letting (some) planes land, but not takeoff. Many pilots are asking for takeoff clearance, and have been denied due to lack of ATC -- that's all I know right now.
Planes allowed to land but not takeoff. Bear in mind when these planes reach IST, it is about 12 hours later, they shd have ATC then
"Turkish Airlines: All flights to resume as normal to Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport Saturday at 6 am local - Anadolu Agency, Haberturk"
Was just able to get my sister routed on LH rather than TK two weeks out with a $75 change fee.
I'm in Nepal right now until the next weekend and some members of our group are scheduled to fly through IST on Saturday. When I booked my flights here I almost booked on TK but ultimately went with other Airlines for better mileage earning opportunities.
I was just about to board TK in AUH to IsT connecting to iAd. Just as boarding began I heard about the coup. I and several others offloaded ourselves. The plane left to IST about two hours late and it was eventually diverted to some other Airport near Istanbul. NOT Sabiha. Glad I avoided that mess am now on EY nonstop. Phew
In a time of a lot of uncertainty, I really appreciate this well-researched and useful post. I'm sure things will become clearer in the next few days, but for those of us traveling very soon, this is extremely useful.
Im here now, its a complete mess. Turkish airlines has ~3 staff for the entire airport and almost all flights are cancelled still (even though news says its operating again). The lounge is devout of any water and food and staff have no access to any computer systems and thus are unable to issue new tickets. Their advice: wait and see, maybe go to a gate with a flight to your region and they could put you on a flight at the gate.
Last night at the airport was terrifying - people screaming and running down the lounge stairs and 2-3x sonic booms which sounded like tank fire/bombs and shook the windows... luckily just jet fighters breaking the sound barrier.
Avoid Istanbul at all costs - I have heard from fellow passengers that arrived today that TK is not honest in outlining how the situation is here. Expect to find your connection cancelled.
I am flying from IAD-IKA connecting in IST on August 4th, should I start looking for other options?
Waiver notice linked on Turkish Air site, linked from here, is for dates related to the previous terror incident in June and is not for dates related to the current coup-related turmoil. Unless there is a notice I am not seeing. . .
@ SEABASS -- Start looking, sure, but the airlines haven't issued a waiver through that date yet, so you might want to hold off on actually changing flights.