THY Ticket Booking Issue for Istanbul-Igdir Flight
On 07.07.2024, I purchased tickets for the 13:15 Istanbul-Igdir flight for my wife and my 2.5-year-old child, approximately 2-3 weeks in advance. My other 7-year-old child did not want to go because my mother was ill and wanted to stay with her. Since she would stay with her grandmother, I did not buy a ticket for her. In the last days, she became very eager and excited, so I wanted to send her too, but there were no tickets left. I hoped that maybe a last-minute spot would open up, so we took her along. When we did the check-in, I explained the situation to the staff at the counter. They directed us to different places. One staff member told me, 'It will be clear at 12:30, come and check.' I registered my name and got in line. We were third in line. Meanwhile, my wife and children were waiting for me in the departure area. At 12:25, when I went to the relevant counter, they said, 'Okay, a spot has opened, but let's wait 5 more minutes, and I will issue the ticket.' I called my wife and told her, 'We will get the ticket, wait there, I will be there in 5 minutes.' A security officer told my wife, 'You will miss the plane, go ahead and enter. Your husband can send you the ticket via WhatsApp at the last minute.' She panicked and entered with the children. I was still waiting in line. After a while, the staff at the counter told me, 'Oh, no more spots left.' Despite my pleas, I told them, 'Based on your word, I talked to my wife and she acted accordingly.' They were already inside, I asked them to help, saying my younger child could sit on my wife's lap, or the older one could take her seat if necessary, but it was of no use. We even offered to pay for an extra ticket, but they refused. My wife also spoke to them at the last moment. I took the phone, pleaded, and talked, but it was as if we were talking to robots, not humans. I then said, 'Take the older child to security,' but they refused. I said I would come and pick her up, but they said no. With limited time, the plane departed. My wife then returned with the children. I cannot describe the stress and frustration we experienced. I will never travel with THY again and will advise everyone around me not to. We then spent 2 hours searching for our luggage, my feet were swollen from walking. We were sent from one place to another repeatedly. We were very distressed again. Finally, I explained the situation to another counter. They said, 'I am very sorry, I will help you, I am putting your ticket on hold, you can use it whenever you want.' Later, when we called to postpone the ticket to a future date, it turned out they had not done it, and the feedback was empty.
