Hi! Sri Lanka has announced it could run out of fuel in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. The government has implemented a mandatory four-day workweek to save oil, and there are long lines at gas stations due to fears of an early shortage. In Vietnam, the government has warned all airlines that flights will need to be reduced due to a lack of kerosene. The country imports two-thirds of its jet fuel from China and Thailand, but both countries have now banned exports out of fear of domestic shortages. The state is asking airlines to plan ahead and park aircraft to drastically reduce operations, starting with domestic flights and then international ones. International carriers will also need to cut back on their rotations. This will begin in the coming days. 🙁

Hi there

I completely forgot the transit procedure at Doha Airport and I’m a bit worried because I only have 1h30 to change planes, since my first flight was rescheduled. My flights: Barcelona/Doha: arrival at 6:15 AM Doha/Bangkok: departure at 7:50 AM

We only have carry-on luggage. Will they be checked again? Do we have to go through security again? Are the connections smooth and well signposted? Finally, is it common in this situation to ask a flight attendant for help?

Thanks! 🙂

Hi there,

Lately, when I check Skyscanner (sorted by price low to high 😛), I don’t see Gulf airlines at the top of the list anymore. Instead, Air India dominates (I flew with them a few years ago, and my experience was pretty mixed). After that, there’s Royal Jordanian… and the first Gulf Air, Etihad, and others only show up at 7XX € or more (with endless layovers). What’s going on with these airlines? Did they change their target market? I really like these routes for Southeast Asia trips because they give you a perfect midway break.

We bought round-trip tickets from Mulhouse/Basel to Maun (Botswana) in January 2023 through Option Way.

Turkish Airlines issued the entire round-trip tickets. The flight plan was:

31 August 2023: TK 926 from Basel/Mulhouse to Istanbul and TK38 from Istanbul to Johannesburg 1 September 2023: Airlink (4Z)300 from Johannesburg to Maun. 11 September 2023: Airlink (4Z)301 from Maun to Johannesburg and TK43 from Johannesburg to Istanbul 12 September 2023: TK1923 from Istanbul to Basel/Mulhouse.

On 1 September, on the outbound trip, Turkish Airlines flight TK38 from Istanbul to Johannesburg arrived 1 hour and 30 minutes late due to airport congestion. As a result, we missed our connection with Airlink flight (4Z) 300 from Johannesburg to Botswana (even though the initial layover time was sufficient for the connection). Upon arrival at Johannesburg Airport, a Turkish Airlines agent greeted us, booked us a room near the airport, and rebooked us on the same flight for the following day, 2 September. On 2 September, after numerous difficulties checking in at the Airlink counter in Johannesburg, we finally reached our final destination with a 24-hour delay. We lost our first day of vacation in Botswana, including the activities that were planned for that day. On 11 September, during our return trip and almost certainly due to the rescheduling of the outbound flight, the Airlink check-in counter in Maun did not recognize our tickets issued by Turkish Airlines. After many searches and phone calls, we had to buy new tickets for the Maun/Johannesburg flight 4Z301. This cost us 9,306 Botswana pula (643 €). Upon arrival in Johannesburg, the Turkish Airlines check-in counter again had trouble identifying us for flight TK43 from Johannesburg to Istanbul. It’s clear that the root of our check-in problems stemmed from the renumbering of our tickets when the Turkish Airlines representative rebooked us on the Airlink (4Z)300 flight for 2 September. During this process, all subsequent flight tickets must have been canceled. Since our return, I’ve requested the following from Turkish Airlines: · Compensation under the European Regulation EC 261/2004 of 11 February 2004 for flight delays, amounting to 600 € per passenger. We meet all the conditions: departure from a Franco/Swiss airport, arrival at the final destination more than 4 hours late, and a distance greater than 3,500 kilometers. Turkish Airlines has not provided evidence that they did everything possible to avoid this delay. · Reimbursement for the Airlink Maun/Johannesburg tickets on 11 September, which we had to pay again to Airlink even though we had already paid for them through our agent, Option Way. Turkish Airlines refuses compensation on the grounds that they complied with all regulations. Turkish Airlines and Airlink are passing the buck when it comes to reimbursing the tickets we paid for twice. For Turkish Airlines, claims can only be made through their website, and each time a different agent responds. I’ve contacted our insurance, legal protection, the travel ombudsman... without success. Currently, the case is with a lawyer working for "Air Indemnité," but I have little hope. Obviously, I won’t be flying with Turkish Airlines again—they seem to have a habit of not respecting schedules or customer satisfaction. A good lesson for planning very long layovers.

Hi,

Right now, with the war raging in Iran and affecting all the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf, many airports are completely closed to all traffic.

Several airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates, and others have almost completely halted their operations.

Whether in the Middle East or Africa, many travelers are stranded—maybe for a long time... A heartfelt thought for them and the struggles this will cause.

Four months ago, I was in Kenya with a flight booked through Qatar Airways... I can’t even imagine how I’d react if I were stuck there now. ??

Wishing all these travelers courage, patience, and success in making it back home.

...

Doha Airport on October 21, 2025:



...

Hi there,

This might be a silly question, but I’m traveling to Japan from CDG and returning via Osaka with EVA Air, and I have a pretty bulky aluminum knee brace. It’s this model: https://enovis-medtech.eu/fr_FR/OA-FullForce-74358.html

Has anyone had any experience with airport security checks or flying with one of these?

Thanks in advance! Best regards,

Hi Will the new airfare tax be applied to flights departing from Geneva on the French side for Air France flights to Paris? Mich74

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have an idea about how flight ticket prices drop for a given destination? (Excluding Ryanair, of course.)

We need to leave for Seville on December 27th. Generally, airlines launch trips on a specific date with a high price to start filling the plane. As the departure date gets closer, the airline tries to fill the plane and lowers its prices, so the ticket price becomes reasonable again.

Example: Right now, for a trip in about 10 days, the average round-trip ticket price is usually around 200 €. Currently, the round-trip ticket price for December 27th is 450 €.

If any of you have more precise info on this topic (for example, if the price drops 15 days before departure), thanks in advance for your input. Jean Paul

Hi,

I’m leaving for Brazil in two weeks with my partner and just realized I made a mistake on the flight ticket regarding the middle name. Usually, I never include one, but this time I wanted to add my partner’s middle name—and instead of putting it on his ticket, I put it on mine. So now I have an incorrect middle name (a male one, no less!). Otherwise, the first and last names are correct. Do you think this could cause a problem, given that the middle name is optional? Thanks!

Hello, We’re planning to fly from Paris to Bangkok at the end of June with my wife, our daughter, and the baby who’ll be 4 months old by then. The baby won’t be born for another 2 months, and I was wondering if it’s possible to book the 3 flight tickets now and add the baby after the birth? I read that a ticket isn’t necessary for babies. Can you confirm this for me? Is there a risk that in 2 months they’ll tell me the flight is full and we can’t add our baby? Finally, is it possible to reserve a seat in the first row (where there’s the most space) right now? Thanks so much for your help

Hi, I booked flight tickets with Turkish Airlines 15 days ago for a round-trip for 4 people to Thailand in August 2026. On my reservation, I only included my married name, but on my passport, my maiden name appears along with my married name. I only noted one first name—I didn’t include my second or third first name. For my husband and children, I only included their first first name. I called Turkish Airlines a few days ago as a precaution, and they were very helpful, guiding me through the process of adding a comment to request the modification with scanned passports. They confirmed it would be free of charge. Today, I received a response from TK saying I need to buy new tickets with the required changes and then provide them with the new reservation details to be reimbursed for the initially purchased tickets. I called Turkish Airlines again, and they advised me to file a complaint using the initial comment I made. I did that tonight, explaining that I made these requests as a precaution—I fly every year and have never included my maiden name or other first names on my reservations, and it’s never been an issue. Plus, I can’t afford to pay for new tickets since prices have skyrocketed (+1000 € for 4 people). I’m really worried and anxious about this situation. We’ve been saving for a while to afford this trip, and I hope it gets resolved favorably. Have any of you experienced similar issues or situations like this? If so, how did it go at the airport? Thanks in advance for your help

Hi everyone, I’ve got a problem… I don’t even know if it’s a small one or a big one. Back in May, I booked our flight tickets to go to New Zealand, and I just realized I misspelled my husband’s first name: Giiles instead of Gilles… I booked through Lufthansa, and on the outbound trip, there’s a Shanghai-Auckland flight operated by Air New Zealand, and on the return, an Auckland-Hong Kong flight operated by Cathay Pacific. The rest is with Lufthansa. We’re leaving from Nantes in February-March 2026. Have any of you run into this kind of issue, and if so, how did it go? It’s really freaking me out. Lufthansa added a note in our file about the ‘i’ instead of ‘l’ mistake, and they told us it’s not a problem for them, but what about Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific…??? Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific say they can’t do anything because the ticket was booked through Lufthansa. And Lufthansa added a note to our file, but will that be enough, or are we going to get turned away in Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Auckland?? After another call to Lufthansa, they’re implying that a correction isn’t possible and the solution is to buy a new flight ticket for 2800 €. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I’m lost and don’t know what to do.

I booked a flight to Dubai on Expedia with my married name instead of my maiden name, with Emirates. I sent a form to Expedia to correct it, I called them several times, and they keep passing me around without fixing my name. On my passport, it shows my maiden name (ép. ...). Do you think it’ll be okay?

Hi there,

I’m starting this thread to ask for your advice on a tricky situation I recently ran into. Maybe you’ve been through something similar?

After booking my tickets for this summer, I realized I never received an email, payment confirmation, or reservation number (well, the number did appear on the page after payment, but I didn’t write it down, assuming I’d get it in the confirmation email that usually arrives right after). Even though I was charged, I have no other proof of purchase since I don’t have anything to back it up...

At the time, I wasn’t too worried—email delays had happened to me before. Worst case, I’d get it an hour later.

Except after a full day, I still hadn’t received anything, and the reservation still doesn’t show up in my personal account on the airline’s website.

What should I do?

I contacted support via message: still no reply (and they guarantee a response within two hours). I called them, but no one picked up (and on top of that, I was charged 7.5 € for 15 minutes on hold). Now I’m starting to lose my patience...

Has this ever happened to you?

Thanks in advance,

Hi there,

Do you know any tricks for traveling on a budget? With flight prices constantly rising, it’s a real lifesaver!

Hi,

I swapped my first and last name when I made my reservation. I’d like to know if this could cause any issues for boarding or not? I have a layover in Istanbul on my way to Dubai.

Could you please point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance

Good evening. I hope you're all doing well. Sorry in advance—my message will be a bit long, and sorry for any spelling mistakes.

So, here's the thing: I booked a flight ticket through an intermediary to go to Réunion from November 29th to December 16th. This evening, I was checking the dates and times of my flight, and—WHAT A NASTY SURPRISE!!

My outbound ticket is correct—no issues, the day and time match perfectly. But there’s NO flight at the time listed on my return ticket!!! I thought it must be a glitch. I refreshed the page several times, cleared my history, and even searched on other sites and in private browsing.

But it’s still the same—no flight on December 16th leaves at the time shown on my ticket. I went back to the intermediary’s site, then checked the airline’s website, and I had the idea to try December 15th for the departure—and BINGO! The return flight time, the airline, the type of plane—everything matches.

I realized then that the site that sold me the ticket made a mistake on the return date. I don’t know what to do because I can’t get anyone on the phone.

Since the error is on their end, are they obligated to change my flight to December 15th, or do I have to pay for a new ticket?

If I ask them to put me on another flight on the 16th, will I have to pay fees or not?

I’m completely lost and pretty upset, so if you have any answers to my questions, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I bought my flight ticket with my first (usual) first name, which appears first on my passport. However, I have two first names on my passport, and of course, it’s mentioned in the machine-readable zone at the bottom.

I booked with Turkish Airlines (through an online agency) for a trip to South Korea.

I wanted to know if it would be a problem that I only used my first first name on the ticket, while my passport has two. I had requested through the agency to add the second first name, but the airline refused because it doesn’t meet their general conditions. (They must have seen that the last name and first name were the same, and only the second first name was added.)

So, my ticket has my last name and first first name correctly spelled, and when I check in online, I’ll enter the passport details correctly.

I’ll have a layover in Istanbul on the flight.

Thanks in advance for your replies. Have a great day.

CUSCO-LA PAZ FLIGHT Hi, I’d like to fly from Cusco to LA PAZ (to save time… so I don’t want to deal with a canceled flight). Any feedback on Avianca? (It’s the only direct flight I’ve found.) Thanks

Hi, I’m trying to book 2 flight tickets on SATENA’s website. After entering my personal details, it asks for: "Business name, fiscal identification and fiscal ID"... and I can’t skip this step. Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance

Hi everyone, We’re going on a Nile cruise. My question: We’re taking off from Brussels Airport to land in Cairo. Then we have to catch a second flight to Luxor. How does that work—do we pick up our luggage, do we have to exit and then re-enter the airport? Thanks for your help, tips, and advice, etc.…

Hi, I need your help because I’m stuck. I booked 6 flight tickets to Palermo on August 6th through the Lastminute site. The flight is operated by Air France, and I just realized my name is wrong. I immediately contacted Air France, who told me it’s up to Lastminute to make the change, but they say it’s Air France’s responsibility. I’m really anxious because I’m traveling with my two kids. Can you help me? Thanks

Hi there,

We're planning to visit Yellowstone between mid and late September (yes, I'm leaving it to the last minute for bookings...). I was initially planning to arrive and depart from Salt Lake City, which I’d also like to explore. It turns out that flights to SLC are 300 € more expensive than flights to Jackson Hole, even though the connection goes through... SLC! I’ve checked on several comparison sites from different locations, and these prices remain pretty consistent.

Does anyone know what it would cost if I skip the connection to Jackson Hole from SLC to take advantage of the cheaper fare and then fly back from JH instead?

Thanks in advance!

Sylvain.

It's really simple and without any reservation—I wouldn’t recommend Kenya Airways. I travel about three times a year and have been doing so for 23 years, and I’ve never said that about an airline before. Sure, they serve food all the time, but it’s not even good. The planes themselves are fine. As for the rest, here are the issues: Just to be clear, everything that happened to me also happened to everyone I spoke with on various Kenya Airways flights. 1. Booked 12 flights with decent schedules. In the end, nearly all of them were changed, resulting in sleepless nights, arrivals in the middle of the night, or arrivals 24 hours later than originally planned. 2. Luggage arrived 24 hours late. 3. Flights canceled and delayed mid-trip. So, hours spent in transit zones. They’re very nice and try to fix the problems, but you end up wasting so much time struggling. For example, getting to the hotel they provide can be a huge hassle, and it often isn’t even valid in the end. You might even risk missing your flight.

Hi there, I usually bring along a can or two of vegetables, sugar, tea, coffee, and even jam to start off my stay. Does anyone know if this is allowed when arriving in South Africa? I know that milk—even powdered—is banned, but I haven’t found answers about the other items. Thanks for your help.

Hi everyone! It feels really strange to be back on Voyage Forum after such a long time.

A quick question for the pricing experts out here 😉

I’ve been running some simulations for a Singapore Airlines flight, and I found THE perfect one for me! But here’s the thing: the simulation for 1 passenger is 978 €, and for 2 passengers, it jumps to 2,208 €. Where do those extra 252 € come from?

Yeah, I know I could book two separate reservations...

Thanks for your insights...

Hi Voyage Forum members,

My wife and I took American Airlines flight no. 63 on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 9:30 AM, with a scheduled arrival in Miami at 1:30 PM local time.

After about half an hour of flight, a young passenger had a medical emergency. They were given care, and a flight attendant went to get an oxygen bottle. Then, an announcement over the loudspeakers informed passengers that the plane was diverting to London.

Once at London Heathrow (LHR), we were waiting to depart again. But a new announcement asked us to disembark because the plane wouldn’t be able to take off until the next day. (American responded to my follow-up, saying they’re required to limit their staff’s working hours to a certain number per day.)

A crowd of travelers gathered at the American Airlines counter, where they were told to follow instructions to get to a hotel. Meanwhile, I called the airline’s customer service to find a replacement flight that same day, since I couldn’t afford to leave the next day. If I had, I would’ve lost my hotel and car rental reservations due to late cancellation, which would’ve cost me a significant amount.

After discussing in English with customer service and the counter staff (who I handed my phone to), we managed to get two seats on British Airways flight BA 0209, which was leaving about 2 hours later.

That’s how, after a stressful wait unsure if we’d get our luggage back, and once we did, we hurried—heavily loaded—to reach the far-off terminal for our new boarding on foot and by train shuttle.

We finally took off for Miami and landed around 7:30 PM, which was 6 hours later than the originally scheduled arrival time of American Airlines flight 63.

On top of the stress, there were the costs of meals in the meantime, and I had to notify the hotel and car rental company about our delay.

As a result, I requested compensation for a flight delay of at least 3 hours (and I’ve involved my insurance’s legal protection to pursue this claim). American Airlines argued that exceptional circumstances prevented them from compensating me.

What do you think? Is my request unreasonable?

Which countries are flown over between Paris and Hanoi? Ch2

Hi there,

I’m heading to the United States for the first time, flying from Paris to Austin with a layover in Atlanta. I arrive at 8:55 PM and leave again at 10:30 PM. Air France told me I don’t need to collect my checked bags, but I keep reading that I *do* have to pick them up after immigration and customs—and that doing all that in 1 hour 30 minutes is basically impossible. I’m traveling with my son, and our English isn’t great. It’s making me a little anxious because the flight I need to catch is the last one of the day, and if I miss it, I’ll have to wait until the next morning.

Do you think this is doable?

Thanks so much

Hi everyone,

Since it’s a hot topic, yet rarely shown, and since there’s quite a bit of criticism and prejudice around it—and since I’ve had three in ten days—I’m going to talk about layovers at Istanbul Airport, especially with Turkish Airlines. This is a common scenario for forum members planning trips to Central Asia, the Caucasus, but also Japan, China, Australia, Africa, and more.

It all starts on a plane beginning its descent, knowing that the approach to Istanbul Airport is always quite long—about thirty minutes. Through the windows, if you’re lucky, you get a view of the city. You need to know a little to get your bearings, but here we’re on the side of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, south of Istanbul on the Asian side. You can spot the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, and Fenerbahçe’s football stadium.



Landing over highways with three times four lanes, and then the airport tarmac for the taxi phase. This can take a while—sometimes nearly half an hour—but this morning, luck was on my side: barely more than 10 minutes. It’s rare now for Turkish Airlines planes to unload via pax buses, so we got a jet bridge. Avgeeks will immediately notice they’re not in Europe anymore but in another world: Pobeda, Belavia, and plenty of more exotic airlines. As the captain seriously put it in his final announcement after thanking the kids, it’s the “crossroads of the world.”

We suddenly step into a massive corridor, an endless, bright hall, usually deserted, and turn left or right—I think it’s always left for the flights I take, heading toward “transfers.” The walk is supposed to take a good ten minutes at worst. Watch out for airport vehicles—they come fast and don’t honk.



Here’s where it gets interesting: Istanbul has always had a bypass for short layovers, something you never hear about on forums. In the past, you had to bolt out of the jet bridge like a rocket and vaguely show your boarding pass to an attendant before sprinting. But now it’s institutionalized, and there’s signage that spares you from running all the way to the main security check. Until recently—at least the last time I did this—it even let you skip all formalities, dropping you like a wild dog into the departures area, which is spacious enough to stretch your legs!



A heads-up for the young and the not-so-young: even without the bypass, if you’re under 5 (accompanied), over 65 (alone), you get fast track. That saves you a few hundred meters and possibly some waiting time, though I’m less sure about that. The entrance honestly looks like an amusement park, though.



So, not young enough, not old enough, I keep going. I pass by dozens of passport control booths (in blue) and reach the transfer security checkpoint (in red). There’s a fast track for Business and Gold passengers—in my case, I’m both—but since it’s at the wrong end for my direction, it wouldn’t even be worth it. It’d just be a frivolous sprint. None of this is crowded at all; the wait lasted about a minute. You have to take out your laptop at this checkpoint—not all of them—but you haven’t had to take out liquids for a while in Istanbul. A hallway, an escalator, and then—bam—you’re in the Dubai-esque hall. One look says it all. Everything sparkles, everything’s expensive. *Very* expensive. Just for show, I spot a sandwich for around 12 €, and some simits for about 4 € (it’s in TL, but that’s roughly the conversion).



So, I head to the lounge—or one of the lounges—at Turkish Airlines, upstairs. Here too, there’s a priority entrance for families and people with reduced mobility, and an extra hundred meters for everyone else. A few of us seem to have had the same idea, and the twin lounges are under renovation for three months. One is for Business Class passengers, the other for Miles & Smiles and Gold members. They’re nearly identical. Needless to say, it’s packed—just as crowded in one as the other. There are *tons* of Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines. I assume some other airlines’ passengers are mixed in, but not enough to explain the crowd. It’s as busy as Gare Montparnasse on a holiday departure day, and the 5 or 6 food counters, along with the salad and dessert buffets, are struggling to keep up. I didn’t dare ask to access the shower area, but I’ll admit the Wi-Fi works without the torturous maneuvers it required just a few months ago. Later, I’ll have to watch for the gate for my destination—Warsaw. With my usual luck, it’ll be in the F double-digits, the farthest ones, listed as 15 to 19 minutes away. That said, once you reach the end of that dead end, there’s plenty of quiet space with power outlets. Because here, there’s high demand for kilowatts.

My reporter’s conscience doesn’t go so far as to guide me here—I’ve covered the free access up to the iGA lounge, which has a good reputation but costs nearly 100 € for three hours. Maybe another time, on a promo day—I’ll keep an eye on their site. The piano starts playing “Bésame Mucho,” so I’ll pause my story here.



Michel