Report No: 2020-603E
Ladies and Gentlemen,
After not flying for 2.5 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic; on Saturday, 30 May 2020, I've read the news that domestic flights in Turkey would resume on Monday, 1 June 2020. With this occasion, I decided to take the special flight to Ankara which would be the first scheduled flight in Turkey after the flight restrictions have lifted. That day, I was going to take 3 different flights in order to be back in the air.
The third and last report of this series would be a flight onboard the Turkish Airlines A330-300 from Izmir to Istanbul. On this report, I would give you more information about the hygiene measures in the air and some exclusive news for those who're planning to fly Turkish Airlines in the near future.
Here is the routing
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3TK 2333 Izmir to Istanbul Airport ( Economy Class ), Airbus A330-300
Loads for this flight
Business Class: No idea
Economy Class: %40-45
IZMIR ADNAN MENDERES AIRPORT - ADB
After arriving from my previous flight, I have started to explore the airport. Most landside cafés and restaurants were closed
And the international terminal was deserted.
If we return back to the domestic terminal, the sales offices were closed. Currently, carriers in Turkey are only accepting bookings through online channels.
And the check-in desks, social distancing was enforced at this point
There was no wait for the security check and social distancing was also enforced for passengers behind me.
Most airside cafés and restaurants are also closed. However, some food stands were open.
As you might notice, the advertisement boards were also closed.
The Primeclass Lounge was closed
As well as the Turkish Airlines Lounge in Izmir
At that time, I realized that TC-LND would be the one taking me back to Istanbul.
GATE AREA & BOARDING
As I didn't have anything to do, I sticked around the gate area for the remaining time here in Izmir.
Each one of adjacent seats were blocked and signs were indicating passengers not to sit next to each other.
The smoking terrace near gate 242 was locked, however, the one near gate 238 was open.
The gate podium had a glass barrier in order to protect the gate agents during boarding
And I was lucky to see the incoming aircraft arriving.
And, TC-LND is approaching to our gate.
And the jetbridge was docked.
Boarding has started on time with the respect of seat rows. Priority boarding for Business Class & elites was not offered.
Social distancing was enforced throughout the boarding process. Also a supervisor was present at the jetbridge checking hand baggages as carry-on baggages that could not fit under the seat are not permitted onboard TK flights. Instead they are checked on hold for free, in additional to the baggage allowance.
TK 2333 IZMIR ADNAN MENDERES AIRPORT TO Istanbul Airport
When boarding, the hygiene expert of the flight has handed my hygiene kit which contains a replacement mask and an antiseptic wipe.
I wasn't able to take a photo of my seat but here is the seat behind me.
The legroom is decent for a domestic flight. For today's flight, the IFE system was closed throughout the entire flight. Also, no announcements regarding the free usage of Pressreader was made on this flight.
Also no onboard magazines were present in the seat pocket. The only content available in the seat pocket was the disposal bag and the safety card.
Boarding has completed on time.
The view from the window. Grounded Pegasus and SunExpress aircraft were visible.
Shortly after the aircraft door closed, the safety video was played
And, we've started our pushback
While taxiing to the runway, more SunExpress and Pegasus aircraft were visible.
At that time, an information video regarding Coronavirus was played on the personal screens.
And we have taken off on time towards the South
And after a turn, we've started heading northwards to Istanbul
Bornova in the bottom, Karşıyaka and Mavişehir in the top
Çiğli area and Çiğli Air Base
And we're over the clouds
As you've noticed in the previous reports, only water was served onboard this flight. Normally, TK offers a hot sandwich and a full range of non-alcoholic drinks on these kinds of routes.
As you might have noticed, TK has hygiene expert crews on all flights which are only responsible for the hygiene of the lavatories. These kind of crew are not responsible for any kind of meal service. To test how they perform and for personal needs, I decided to visit the lavatory.
It looked clean during my visit
Normal Morton Brown amenities were present
Such as the Atelier Rebul cologne, however, there was something additional available in the lavatory. A hand disinfectant was also present.
After my visit to the lavatory, the hygiene expert crew which had a large disinfectant in his hand went to the lavatory to clean it before another passenger visits the lavatory.
And we've started our descend.
TÜYAP congress center and Hadımköy area
Esenkent area, Akbatı shopping center and Koza Tennis Park
Ispartakule area
And the airport tollway
And we have landed ahead of schedule
The magnificent IST tower
While taxiing some interesting aircraft was visible, such as this Onurair A330 leased for Saudia
TK widebodies which are not surprising
And Qatari Air Force military jets alongside with a Turkish Air Force jet
And here are two photos from the new 3rd runway which would open on the 18th of June.
The control tower near the domestic pier and the third runway
And we have parked to gate G4.
Our neighbor was this A321-200.
Istanbul Airport - IST
While deboarding the crew asked passengers to sit at their seats until their row number has been announced. As you might have realized on the previous reports, on TK flights disembarkation is made according to seat rows. However, social distancing was not enforced by some passengers inside the jetbridge.
From the jetbridge
It's nice to see IST this empty
However, this would not last that much as the number of flights per day are already gradually increasing
The last photo of TC-LND. Thanks for the ride.
Heading down to the arrivals hall
The domestic to international checkpoint was closed. Passengers were asked to use the landside route instead. I have no idea when it would re-open.
There were representatives available at the transfer desk, also the domestic to domestic transfer boarding pass control was open.
On my way to the baggage claim hall, I have noticed this hygiene vending machine. Masks, gloves, disinfectants, wet wipes, etc… were available in this machine.
The baggage claim hall of IST
There was a military charter from Şırnak and our flight from Izmir arriving at that time. I didn't understand the logic why both flight had adjacent baggage belts. Also, there were announcements being made in order to ensure social distancing at the belts.
Also at the arrivals hall, I've seen this very interesting news. Maybe some of you noticed it in the first report of the series ( it's hidden in that report ).
According to this signage, TK would contract the IGA Lounge for international passengers for a while rather than re-open their own lounges. I personally have never reported the IGA Lounge here in Flight-Report and I expect to report it soon.
And as I didn't have any checked baggage, I headed to the exit.
FIDS
The arrivals hall was deserted, like the first days of Istanbul Airport
And the remaining of the arrivals level was closed to the public
And now it's time to go down to the transportation level.
Here are the new updated estimated taxi prices to/from the airport. Also I would like to mention that there was an high demand for taxis that day, upstairs in the taxi rank.
And the updated public transportation options. Several Havaist buses and municipality buses H-2 and H-9 were running that day.
And it was time to leave the airport.
This report has came to an end.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you on another report.
Hi ISTFlyer, thanks for this final review in this special 3-part series!
Lounges are beginning to open back up here in France, and other parts of Europe. Do you know when these TK lounges will open back up?
I think that's great. While people should have their own masks, it is definitely appreciated that TK provides these kits for passengers. Especially with the wipe, that many people aren't used to carrying,
I wonder if this was done on purpose and if this will be the case on all flights. Several airlines have temporarily discontinued IFE to cut costs in these difficult times. Hopefully this was because it was a domestic flight.
Seems well organised. Of course, as you point out, people don't necessarily respect social distancing once outside the aircraft, but good on TK for trying.
Thanks again for this very interesting and insightful series of flights!
Hi Kévin and thanks for stopping by,
- The TK domestic lounge in IST & ESB and the IGA contract lounge in the international section of IST should be back opened. All other domestic lounges and the TK International lounges in IST would not open for a while.
- In all three airports that I visited in this series, there was at least one vendor or vending machine selling these wipes but I don't think people were purchasing them. That's why I also find the hygiene kit useful.
- Before COVID this was always the case on domestic flights. On some domestic flights the IFE is open, on some it's closed. Normally domestic flights have a different version of IFE with less content ( due to copyright reasons of movies ) and it should be kept open. It might be a cabin crew mistake or they might have not loaded the June content on the system. In the first report of this series, the IFE system was kept open throughout the entire flight.
- Some do, some do not. Unfortunately, this is a general problem in Turkey; some people even don't respect the floor markings for social distancing at a supermarket before an employee warns them. However, the crew managed the situation very well.
Thank you one more time for your comment and hope to see you in another series.
Thank you for sharing this series of the 'new normal'. I hope all airlines are able to come back on their feet sooner than later. Erie to see everything so empty...but I am sure this is only temporary...
Hi jish.b and thanks for stopping by,
- Here in Turkey, almost all airlines have resumed operations, however, for the rest of the world, I wish the same.
- Yes, it was temporary, that day there were only 3 scheduled departures/arrivals from IST except for repatriation flights and charters. Now, there are more than 100 daily departures/arrivals.
Take care and hope to see you in another report