First impressions: I just arrived at the new airport in Istanbul!

Greetings from the new airport of Istanbul or, in fact, the new airport of Istanbul. The airport officially opened today replacing Ataturk Airport at 2 pm local time, and my flight arrived from Chicago at 4:20 pm.

First impressions: I just arrived at the new airport in Istanbul

The next day, I will have content about the airport itself, as well as the new "exclusive" Turkish Airlines Business Lounge. But while things were cool, I just wanted to share some first impressions of the new airport in Istanbul.

L & # 39; landing

The captain of our flight told us that it was a special flight because we were one of the first flights to land at the airport. ; Istanbul. Seen from the ground and from the air, it certainly looks like a newly built area with lots of earth and concrete! I have not seen a single plane that is not a Turkish Airlines plane (because only Istanbul-based airlines are allowed to fly here until tomorrow).

One of the things I was looking forward to was access to the portal! On most of my flights between the United States and Istanbul, you have to sit in front of a remote booth and take a bus to the terminal. No kidding, I had a bus ride that lasted 20 minutes before!

Fortunately, our flight stopped to the front door, which allowed us to get out of the terminal quickly.

The terminals

Yes, it's great! Currently, the terminal areas are empty because the number of flights arriving and departing from this airport is still limited. It seems a little strange to be in such a vast place and be so calm!

Although the airport has information scattered throughout the airport to help you find what you need, if you are looking for lounges, you will not find a sign indicating this until you reach the lobby.

With the airport so big, there are some fast international transit areas of each terminal. If your connecting flight is less than 75 minutes from your arrival, you can use these fast transit options to move between terminals. Otherwise, it's in the contest!

The competition

In the main lobby, it's like being in an airport, but it's also like a big mall, maybe a bit like the Dubai Mall. There are many shops and a large food court offering many options. If you are looking for trade shows, they have Alliance lounges and air shows.

You will find signs in this area, as well as for the airport. Similar to that of Ataturk Airport, you can use this hotel if you have a long layover. At the moment, there do not appear to be any hotels at nearby airports, but I expect this will change in the coming months.

The lounges

As for Turkish lounges, they book the best for their own passengers. But maybe that's not really what's going to be? I can not say with certainty because there is certainly some confusion among employees the first day!

There is a lounge for Star Alliance business and Star Gold passengers, followed by the Turkish Airlines business class lounge. It's the one I'm sitting in now and it's spacious enough! There are more than two levels because they managed to put everything on one level – a very long level!

summary

I've probably been through Ataturk airport in Istanbul about 60 times or more (maybe 75 ???). Over the years, there are more and more people and I hated being in the main area of ​​the airport because of overcrowding.

While the airport is largely empty right now, the new airport in Istanbul seems to have solved the problem of overcrowding! It's a huge and bright new airport that will definitely be a great place for transit in the future. As an airport ready to accommodate more passengers than any other airport, it seems that it was built as it should.

Come back later because I have a landing video, a video presentation and a photo tour of the new "exclusive" Turkish lounge!

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