Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

I know i'm not the first and i won't be the last but what is the point of buying Spirits at Ercan for these crooks in Istanbul to rob it of you in transit ,home today minus a bottle of Black Label whisky in proper duty free bag with label and receipt ,im done with pegasus now .

My grandson had a bottle of vodka taken from him, Stansted to Ercan and he too had it taken from him at Istanbul. I've told him to buy a bottle in the supermarket and pack it in his case when he's going back. Wasn't a cheap bottle either.

You need to ask person at sales counter to put but in a "Sealed Transit Bag". I have not had any problem in either direction.

Soner wrote:You need to ask person at sales counter to put but in a "Sealed Transit Bag". I have not had any problem in either direction.

with the receipt inside the sealed bag I believe

Yes, with receipt in sealed bag. Thanks for pointing that out.

eastendjoker wrote:I know i'm not the first and i won't be the last but what is the point of buying Spirits at Ercan for these crooks in Istanbul to rob it of you in transit ,home today minus a bottle of Black Label whisky in proper duty free bag with label and receipt ,im done with pegasus now .

I am confused with your final paragraph. How is an airline (Pegasus in this case) responsible for the confiscation of 'duty-free'purchases when this is done by airport employees or immigration staff serving their government? The airline will transport such items if they pass through the State screening process or was it a Pegasus employee who took the bottle at the booking in desk or whilst on board the aircraft (theft)?

What he's saying is he's done with Pegasus because of the need to go through Istanbul security while changing planes. On about half of my flights since this stupidity was brought in I haven't had to go through security but it's a pain when you do. His only alternative though is direct to Larnaca, or as Soner said get the booze put in a sealed bag.

To confirm what Soner has said we travelled to the UK and back very recently with duty free alcohol, with Pegasus simply asked for transit packing at both Ercan and Stansted duty free tills and went through extra security both ways, no problem.

[quote="torontomapleleaf"]What he's saying is he's done with Pegasus because of the need to go through Istanbul security while changing planes. On about half of my flights since this stupidity was brought in I haven't had to go through security but it's a pain when you do. His only alternative though is direct to Larnaca, or as Soner said get the booze put in a sealed bag.[/quote

Surely the same situation applies to Turkish Airlines and all other airlines when ECN travel and any mainland Turkish airport (not just Istanbul airports) transit is involved? You have to change 'planes for any onward journey in both directional travels. If the authorities insist on security checks in any Turkish airport whilst passengers are in transit, I cede it is a pain but not one we can do anything to relieve.

I do apologise if this comes across as a dig at Pegasus ,it is not ,mainly the over zealous customs officals at the airport and maybe i should have taken the time to ask for sealed bag etc , but people need to realise that many people doing this for the first time are not aware of the various hoops that are required to be jumped through and nobody at Ercan airport is making people aware of this .

And thats why many people myself included now use Larnaca, far easier and not much difference in price. Pegasus are regularly cancelling flights and telling you to re-book, it has happened to us twice in the last year on Turkey flights.

The rules have been the same now for many years. At Ercan they are still not brilliant at keeping inbound and outbound passenger separate. This is why you have to de-plane at Istanbul. Security unfortunately has to be paramount in this day and age - Asda fact of the times we live in.