By A.J. Griffiths-Jones

For many holidaymakers the most stressful part of their vacation is actually the time spent at the airport or, unfortunately, dealing with delays. Looking back at the past two years of incoming flights to Turkiye, most polls reveal that the most popular carriers are Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and SunExpress, with Swiss, Aegean, Jet2, Finnair and EasyJet following on respectively.

As we enter the height of summer season flights in 2025, it’s worth looking at statistics and weighing up the real price of delays and cancellations.

There is no doubt about it, travellers love a bargain and the temptation to book cheap seats is sometimes a great ruse, especially if you’re taking children overseas for a couple of weeks in the sun during the school holidays, but what promises to be the vacation of a lifetime can occasionally turn into every parent’s nightmare when the flight schedules don’t run according to plan.

Keeping little ones occupied for hours can be extremely stressful, not to mention expensive, as you sit in airport departure lounges waiting to hear when you can finally take off. Also, have you ever weighed up the true cost of flight delays from the airline’s perspective? It makes hair-raising news.

Last week, for example, a Jet2 flight from Birmingham to Bodrum was delayed overnight, with the passengers having to be found transport and accommodation while the issue was resolved.

This naturally had a knock-on effect to the flight that should have been leaving Bodrum in a quick turnaround, leaving over 200 passengers stranded and most of the communication having been done via text message.

To be fair, the airline was quick to act, ferrying everyone to a nearby luxury all-inclusive hotel, together with their luggage, providing rooms, meals and drinks throughout the stay. The delay in total, was eighteen hours, with many weary holidaymakers either desperate to get home or to begin their stay in the U.K.

One can only imagine the total expense of such an arrangement. When the flight finally took off, late afternoon of the following day, there was no comprehensive explanation as to what had caused the inconvenience, just a misplaced joke by the pilot that he had ‘broken the plane.’

Add to this the inevitable amount of compensation that will need to be paid out over the next few weeks and it becomes a valuable lesson in inefficiency.

It is not just flights that are causing extra time to be spent at airports, as recently drugs testing has been introduced at many hubs, and this measure alone is causing its own minor chaos.

The procedure means that hand luggage is carefully swabbed to detect traces of illegal substances, with passengers being asked to wait in a holding area until their results are given the all-clear.

This is a very positive step forward, but for many flyers it is a new and additional check that means added time to get through security and sometimes a quite personal experience as items are removed from bags while a search is completed.

On the other hand, there are other changes currently taking place within airports that make travelling less of a bind, with increased allowances on duty-free and larger quantities of liquid taken onboard, definitely a plus for those travelling light but wishing to carry shower gels, perfumes or shampoos with them.

Overall, many airlines flying into Turkiye are great at communicating changes but it is always best to be prepared for unforeseeable circumstances. Packing a lightweight change of clothes into hand luggage is a good place to begin, at least then you can leave bulkier luggage in an airport locker should the delay be overnight.

Colouring books, crayons, paper and cards are all easy to carry and can prove imperative to keeping little ones busy during long waits. Neck pillows are also an asset for tired children and a small piece of elastic sewn into the seam ensures they can be easily attached to bags or cases.

For relatives waiting to collect friends and family who have been delayed at the airport, there are many free flight tracker apps that give up-to-date information and can help to avoid parking costs or unnecessarily long waiting times at arrivals.

It is also important to keep channels of communication open, whether it be watching for flight delays or using WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to keep loved ones in the loop as to how your journey is progressing.

Whichever airline you choose this summer, fingers crossed for no wasted time and a smooth, stress-free experience.