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I am traveling from New York City to Skopje and I found cheaper tickets with Turkish Airlines from NYC to Istanbul then I'll have 1 hour and 30 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Skopje.

Is this enough time to get through all the security checkpoints at that airport since all of the attacks have increased security?

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4 Answers 4

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If it's in one booking, then the Airline thinks it's enough, and if you miss the connection it's their job to get you on the next flight to Skopje.

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  • this should be the standard answer for all question regarding connection time...
    – Marcel P.
    May 30, 2017 at 19:10
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While Crazydre's answer is factually correct, it's worth noting that "the next flight to Skopje" may be the following day, in which case they would have to provide you with accommodation and meals. Yet this means you'll arrive at your destination a day later, which may not be acceptable (e.g. you have connecting flights in Skopje or somebody is waiting for you, etc., etc.).

From personal experience, 1.5 hours is absolutely fine for international to international connection at Ataturk airport. I've travelled via that airport many, many times; the shortest connection I have had was 50 minutes - and I made it just fine, along with my luggage.

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  • Do they have to provide you with this? Is it Turkish law?
    – Calchas
    May 30, 2017 at 19:42
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    @Calchas Technically, it depends on the reason for delay. If it's their fault, then yes, they have to provide you with these. If it's not their fault, they may or may not, depending on the circumstances and how nice you are and how nice they are. For example, my mother-in-law was delayed in Ataturk due to emergency in the airport (emergency landing of a plane with engine on fire) - she got nothing, along with about 15,000 other people that were delayed. When I once missed a connection due to bad weather, I did get meal vouchers.
    – Aleks G
    May 30, 2017 at 19:44
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This should be no problem. I had a two-hour connection at IST a few days ago (on a Budapest-Istanbul-Atlanta itinerary) and found it long enough to spend a bit too much money at the souvenir stores. 1.5 hours would have definitely been sufficient. Istanbul is a crowded airport, but it is not particularly large.

On the way back from Skopje to New York, you should be aware that Istanbul-US flights are subject to some special screening now, so get yourself to the gate in plenty of time.

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Adding another personal anecdote. I made a EU-IST-UK and UK-IST-EU transit in the last month. I had a 3 hour connection in IST on separate tickets. On the outbound and I didn't even pass security but went straight to airside transit. I had 2:50 to spare.

On the inbound I was required to go via airside transit and was the only passenger there. I started taking out my liquid bag and they told me to put it back in my hand luggage. I had a 4 hour transit and had a mere 3:45 left over after passing through security. As long as you don't have to go landside, I can't see this taking much time.

Since I had 4 hours and no status on the last leg, I purchased lounge entry for 25 euro at IST for a comfortable place to sit, some hot food and a couple of beers.

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