transfers at Istanbul airport

[frugal90]

flying from Edinburgh to Istanbul then on to Ercan later this year- only got about 1hr 10 mins from landing to take off- is this long enough? also what chance of the luggage making it . If luggage doesn't how effective is Ercan at getting the luggage delivered . Only flow to Ercan once about 8 years ago. Also do any car hir companies allow hire car drop off at Ercan ?

thanks for any help/advice

frugal

[Leither]

I normally get the earlier flight from Edinburgh and hang around for a few hours for the late Ercan flight,this time I am using the later flight from Edinburgh,this is a first for the boss and I,I live here and have been assured that you will get on the Ercan flight ,if there are any delays I have been assured that if its only minutes they will hold the flight back ,longer than that a hotel will be provided and paid for,ref the luggage if its not on the plane they will deliver the following day.

Leither

[tomsteel]

My son returned to Ercan recently - luggage missing, apparently it was never loaded at point of departure. Delivered to the house next morning. This was a Turkish Airlines flight.

[niceone]

We have had a one hour stop over and our luggage did not make it, we collected it ourselves from Ercan the next day only because we did not think they would find our house !

Most car hire companies allow Ercan drop off by prior arrangemeent

[frugal90]

thanks guys for the quick replies -appreciated

frugal

[surfmeetseast]

My luggage has been lost apprx 5 times (over 7 years of to and fro) but they delivered it every time right out west at Kayalar. They do wait a little if you are late but I have found an hour is OK.

[Snoopy]

Last time we flew with Turkish, our plane was late taking off from the UK and so we missed the connecting flight and had a 6 hour wait! BUT our luggage came on the same plane as us!

I know Acmenya car rental will let you hire a car from Ercan to be returned to Ercan. I did this recently and they were there waiting for us on arrival.

[Jonesy299]

Rather negative experiences posted to date. I have flown 3 times via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines (including with our dog in the hold). All times with similar turnarounds to yours at Istanbul. It's a little tight if your start plane is delayed but very do-able. Luggage transfers have been smooth but only if both flights are TA.

[cambridge]

Did a similar transfer last week. It would appear that they have regularised the system whereby, provided you have a boarding card,
you go up through the departure lounge on to the concourse. No going through security etc. So make sure you have your boarding card for the Ercan leg before boarding in the UK.

[carrierbag]

I have done UK - Ercan via Istanbul many times, sometimes a short period before next flight but always caught it. As Cambridge says, if you have a quick turnaround you are ushered straight through to departures, missing out the security checks. Never had my luggage go missing with Turkish Airlines so you should be fine.

[woodspeckie]

I have done Manchester - Istanbul - Izmir 1.1/4 hr transfer had to go to Domestic departures passport control and security it was OK .

[Hippocampus]

With a one hour transfer, our luggage has failed to make it no less than three times. Each time Ercan has failed to deliver it to Karsiyaka, saying that customs wished to open it, although there was only ever clothes and a few toiletries in it. We suspect that this was a cop out. My advice is to secure the cases with cable ties and not locks, so they can't give this excuse.

[PoshinDevon]

Have booked and flown with TA to Ercan many times.

When booking you do have a choice of connecting flight from Istanbul to Ercan. You can of course opt for a quick connection, the best we have done is 50mins. But you can allow much longer if you want. Its your choice.

Of course a quick connection does have a risk that if your inbound flight is delayed you may miss your connection or your luggage may not make the transfer between flights. However in our experience if you are tight for time on arrival in Istanbul, passengers for Ercan are often grouped together and ushered quickly to the departure gate. As for luggage, yes it has missed the connection but only once. Slight inconvenience but hey we chose the tight connection times. We could have waited a couple of hours at Ercan for the next incoming flight but decided to get to our place instead. Option was to have luggage delivered or we could collect. Decided to collect as it was in our control, rather than wait in for a delivery to arrive.

All in all the TA experience into Ercan is our favoured journey from the UK.

[denali2007]

You could always try the Pegasus option. Neither you nor your luggage have to swap planes. Much more restful.

[denali2007]

You could always try the Pegasus option. Neither you nor your luggage have to swap planes. Much more restful.

[Mountain Edge]

I flew Edinburgh to Ercan (via Istanbul) in March with the same stopover as you and everything was as smooth as you like. I have used Turkish Airlines many times and, touch wood, never had a problem.

[PoshinDevon]

You could always try the Pegasus option. Neither you nor your luggage have to swap planes. Much more restful.

Used Pegasus a couple of times from Stansted. Yes you stay on the plane but the its not for us. We used them because they appeared the cheaper option, but for us Stansted was just a little inconvenient, plus in flight the service was just average....something between Ryanair and Easyjet. So not for us.

Turkish Airlines service has been very good each time we have flown, the in flight entertainment has been excellent, food good, drinks free and service with a smile.

But of course we all have differing reasons for flying with who we do.

[denali2007]

Yes the Pegasus flight from Stansted is quite inconvenient geographically, but suits us for the time we need to fly. I suppose everyone chooses what they do for different reasons.

[meldy]

I have flown Edinburgh to Ercan via Istanbul a number of times and had no problem with the short changeover. Also got luggage every time, and usually one of the first on the baggage carousel. As regards Pegasus from Stansted, absolutely no use to us as there are no connecting flights from Stansted to either Edinburgh or Aberdeen. May be ok for those who live near enough or can get connecting flights, but I am not prepared to travel miles by train. Turkish Airlines flight from Edinburgh is excellent quality, value for money, good luggage allowance and meal all included in the price.

[come_on_aylin]

Slightly different question - my daughter is booked to come out via Istanbul in June, the flight from UK to Turkey was booked at a different time to the Turkey to Ercan flight hence different booking codes. Does anyone know if they will book her bags straight through? My husband and I are on the same flights but under a single reservation so no problem for us.

[wanderer]

Ask the airline If its TA they have online communication get the connection bit in writing so that when you check in they put the tag on your bag that makes it a connecting flight
Otherwise you would need a visa and collect and recheck your luggage missing a connecting flight I would think

[come_on_aylin]

I tried asking TA online and was told to phone their help desk. Just wondered if anyone had experience or advice. Will try giving them a call but as you say it's better to get it in writing.

[wanderer]

If you live near Birmingham they have a desk at the airport other than for checking in and I suppose at other airports as well

[kaiserphil]

Maybe it depends upon whether or not they issue boarding cards for both flights in the UK, and the case gets a label "ECN".

If not, it will get "IST", and you may have to check in again at Istanbul for the Ercan flight.

Still, you are right to get the answer from TA themselves if you can.

When I returned from Ercan the other week, I had to insist they labelled my case "MUC", otherwise it would have got "IST".

[woodspeckie]

When I was going to Izmir changing at Istanbul I asked if my baggage would go straight through, I was told only if I had made one booking for the two flights together, if I had booked separate flights I would have to collect it. I rang Manchester office they replied by e-mail which I printed off just in case.

[come_on_aylin]

When I was going to Izmir changing at Istanbul I asked if my baggage would go straight through, I was told only if I had made one booking for the two flights together, if I had booked separate flights I would have to collect it. I rang Manchester office they replied by e-mail which I printed off just in case.

Do you mean that when you rang they replied that they would book it straight through?

[woodspeckie]

I was told on the phone my luggage would go straight through as I had booked the two flights as one booking. I was sent confirmation by e-mail. Although I had to go to Domestic departures for the Izmir flight in 1.1/4 hrs it was fine, the luggage was first off at Izmir.

[aljanyoung]

We do this flight both ways 3 times each year and only once had problems when Istanbul airport was closed by snow. We got the Ercan flight but our case did not make it, it was delivered to us the next afternoon. The transfer time is plenty as you don't go through security just follow the transit passenger signs and go straight to the departure gate.

[come_on_aylin]

Re my earlier post, just had written confirmation from Turkish Airlines Lefkosa office that my daughter can have her baggage checked all the way through, they have given me a reference to quote. Thank goodness!