u/Intrepid_Mulberry_69

Turkish Airlines finally compensated me for my 4+ hour delay. So I'm gonna address the obvious, I sound very sarcastic and cynical because I am genuinely sick of this airline. This isn't my first issue I've had with them but I am so sick of the cult like defensiveness people show for this airline and the constant gaslighting whenever someone makes a VALID complaint. I'm sick of the Turkish social media users defending the airline and glazing them when negative comments are shared. My experience with Turkish is something that isn't unique to Turkish, delays can happen on any airline, but the way Turkish handled it was just scummy. Straight up resorting to lying IN WRITING is a new low. Again, like I always tell people, if you have no issues with Turkish, good for you and I hope it stays that way, but when things go wrong, I hope youre a patient person.

Ok so that's gonna be my rant and now on to the good stuff:

📌The complaint portal for Sivil Havacılık Genel Müdürlüğü - SHGM (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) is now: https://kdmerp.shgm.gov.tr/ (as of 2026)

So I was flying to Pakistan, which as many of us know by now...does not get the premium service quality that Turkish loves to brag about. The original flight was swapped out by 3 different aircraft, all in a different layout. We also got delayed 7 times and had 3 different gate changes, the third being in an entire different concourse. Turkish did not advertise any form of compensation, after the delay dragged on 3+ hours, they did claim in writing that we are eligible for a free rebooking. I did ask out of curiosity if my return segment could be pushed forward by a day, hard no. But whatever.

❕A word of caution though, because boarding ended quicker than expected, they did roll back the departure time to a slightly earlier time so make sure you are ALERT and near that gate at all times.

Nowhere did Turkish advertise the compensation plan nor did they advertise any information on meal vouchers, I tend to browse this sub often so I knew about the vouchers, so I did wait in a long line at the care point to receive a meal voucher which they honored without a fuss. Most of my fellow passengers later told me they had no idea that meal vouchers were even an option because it was never communicated to them.

⏩As for the cash compensation, here is what I did:

1. Recorded all audio interaction with the care point staff. I was fully ready for Turkish to pull a slick one on me so I gathered my evidence. The ground staff did confirm that the aircraft was in Izmir and had technical issues causing a creeping delay. As for the compensation, I needed to fill out a feedback form. No mention of SHGM or passenger rights.

2. I sent my first email asking about the cause of the delay. I was able to confirm in writing the delay time and it was due to "operational reasons" which was a red flag because that is way too vague and can mean nearly anything. Turkish offered me a 10% off coupon code that covers AIRFARE ONLY. It does not cover anything else, fuel surcharge or taxes will be paid in full. What in the name of Frontier Airlines is this compensation?? As for my request for compensation I am entitled to in line with the SHGM guidelines, I was told, "In relation to your request in your feedback, you are not entitled to compensation for the flight routes on which the irregularity has occurred. Therefore, we regret to inform you that we cannot make an additional compensation payment in line with your request."

3. I politely declined the 10% coupon compensation and inquired (much more professionally as opposed to my tone in this post because I'm already sick of this airline) about the SHGM compensation guidelines.

4. Turkish Airlines responded: "In relation to your request in your feedback, since your departure airport is not located in the SHGM, you are not entitled to compensation for the flight routes on which the irregularity has occurred. Therefore, we regret to inform you that we cannot make an additional compensation payment in line with your request. We would like to indicate that the action that was carried out was done in accordance with the rules. We would like to express our regret that these application conditions have caused you dissatisfaction." ... so according to Turkish Airlines, Istanbul is not in the SHGM zone? So now Turkish is resorting to blatantly lying.

5. I again inquired about the compensation, Turkish closed my feedback and marked it as "solved" without a response.

6. When I travelled back to home, I began my research. I found that the website to file a compensation request is: kdmerp.shgm.gov.tr (in a post from 2024, the link was not working so I think they changed the complaint dashboard)

7. Since I am not a Turkish National, I used the " *import a foreign user* " option to create an account. They asked for my passport information and I was able to verify my contact information via email, so no need to have a Turkish passport/phone number to pass this step. The page was available in Turkish and English.

8. I provided my complaint and the steps were pretty straight forward. It asked for my flight information, the details of the delay, etc. As an added bonus step, I submitted my complaint in BOTH English and Google translated Turkish. I provided screenshots of the email but I did not mention anything about recording the ground staff.

9. I submitted the complaint. In 11 calendar days, SHGM informed me that my claim was finalized. In a separate email, Turkish Airlines finally agreed to compensate me. Alhamdu Lillah!

10. I received another email from Turkish Airlines confirming that I can either get 51,00 miles (they really said they were *pleased* to offer the miles...lol no they were not) or if I choose to decline the miles, I can receive a refund check of 600 EUR.

11. I was instructed to complete a form to finalize my direct deposit to my bank account. I did ask if I could just pick up the check from the ticketing office but Turkish just sent me the link and told me to fill out the form with no mention of the office. I had to provide a copy of my passport and a voided check in order to finalize the deposit.

12. Upon submitting the information required, Turkish informed me that I should see the payment within 15 business days. The payment went through in 14 calendar days, Turkish did sent me an email confirming that the payment was sent.

PS: Oh also remember that 10% discount code that Turkish so kindly offered as a customer service gesture? "We would also like to inform you that %10 discount code have been cancelled."