‘Food and Drink Prices at Istanbul Airport Burns a Hole in the Wallet’

Istanbul Airport, already known for its pricey food and beverage options, is once again under the spotlight—this time being labelled as one of the “world’s most expensive airports.”

Hosting around 220,000 passengers daily, the airport is drawing criticism from both local and international travellers for its ‘exorbitant prices’.

Italian journalist Leonard Berberi from L’Economia shared his astonishment after visiting the airport, highlighting a ‘tiny’ 90-gram portion of lasagna being sold for €24.50 (approximately £21). “It looks like a brick. Topped with something resembling shredded cheese and a fake basil leaf,” he remarked.

Berberi documented several other inflated prices at the airport:

• Cheese or meat croissants: €14.50–€17.50
• Chicken Italian salad: €17.50
• 500ml Efes beer: €17.50
• Popeyes 4 wings + cola + fries combo: €17.50
• McDonald’s Big Mac meal: €21.50
• Double Quarter Pounder meal: €25.30
• Burger King Whopper meal: €22
• A single banana: €6

He compared these prices with downtown Istanbul, noting he paid just €1.50 for the same beer in Taksim Square—a staggering 1,067% price increase.

Travelers echoed his sentiments on platforms like Reddit. One user shared they had paid €6 for just a banana.

To make matters worse, Istanbul Airport also made headlines recently for being ranked among the top airports worldwide for lost luggage incidents—adding to passengers’ growing frustration.