Poor Sabiha Gökçen Airport

I managed to get the last seat, on one the last planes at the end of school holidays rush. The last seat brings me to Sabiha Gökçen Airport for the first time in 6 years.

How to ruin a good airport.... Try and make it into a shopping mall to sell departing passengers as much toot as possible.

The quaintness of Sabiha Gökçen Airport was always that you could go from the check-in desk to the aeroplane in less than 100 steps. Alas no longer.


If Ataturk Airport is Heathrow, then Sabiha Gökçen has become Gatwick. Not just Gatwick but Gatwick South Terminal.

Both terminals have a cheap, and less than cheerful holiday maker feel about them. Both are more in the countryside than in the city. And that brings different problems.

‎It looks like Sabiha Gökçen bus all their staff from one village‎ and everyone in the village is related.

The children that speak English well enough work in Gözen Security, those not so well work in fast food, Dad's and uncles are Policemen, Mum's and aunties are in baggage security.‎ Anyone else wears white and are one of those Ghost cleaners that most people don't notice.

I hope the government is going to use a different blue print for the grand and ecologically disastrous plan for a world class third airport. I doubt it though.