In case of passenger delay, the air carrier is liable for damage unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible to take such measures. 

The liability for passenger delay is limited to 4.694 SDRs (EUR5,100).

In case of baggage delay, the air carrier is liable for damage unless it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible to take such measures. The liability for baggage delay is limited to 1,288 SDRs. 

Destruction, loss or damage to baggage:

The air carrier is liable for destruction, loss or damage to baggage up to 1,288 SDRs . In the case of checked baggage, it is liable even if not at fault, unless the baggage was defective. In the case of unchecked baggage, the carrier is liable only if at fault.

There are no financial limits to our liability for passenger injury or death. In relation to all passenger claims, we are entitled to rely on a defence of contributory negligence on the part of the passenger. However, for damages up to 113.100 SDRs (approximately 117,000 Euros) we will not avail ourselves of any other defence. Above that amount, we are also entitled to defend ourselves if we can prove:

• Where the Warsaw Convention applies, that we took all necessary measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for us to take such measures.
  
• Where the Montreal Convention applies, that we were not negligent or otherwise at fault. 

In the case of passenger delay, we are entitled to rely on a defence of contributory negligence but will otherwise be liable for damage unless: 

• Where the Warsaw Convention applies, we can prove that we took all necessary measures to avoid the damage or it was impossible for us to take such measures. 
• Where the Montreal Convention applies, we can prove that we took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for us to take such measures. Our liability under the Montreal Convention will be limited to 4.694 SDRs (approximately 5,000Euros).

Where the Warsaw Convention applies: 

• We can prove that we took all necessary measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible to take such measures; or 
• We can prove contributory negligence on the part of the passenger or the person from whom he or she derives his or her rights. 

In relation to all baggage claims, we can rely on a defence of contributory negligence.

Otherwise we will be liable for damage arising from delay to baggage unless we can prove that we took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible to take such measures.

We will also be lable for destruction, loss or damage to checked baggage unless the baggage was defective and for unchecked baggage unless we can prove that we were not at fault. Our liability under the Montreal Convention for destruction, loss, damage or delay to baggage is limited to 1,288 SDRs.

You can benefit from a higher liability limit under either the Warsaw or Montreal Conventions if you make a special declaration at check-in and pay a supplementary fee.

This contingency plan for lengthy tarmac delays is applicable to flights operated by Turkish Airlines and has been adopted pursuant to the requirements of section 259.4 of the regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

For all flights, which depart from or arrive at U.S. airports, we will not allow the aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than 4 hours without an opportunity for passengers to deplane unless the pilot-in-command (PIC) determines there are safety or security reasons that the aircraft cannot leave its position on the tarmac to deplane passengers or Air Traffic Control (ATC) advises the PIC that returning to the gate or another disembarkation point would significantly disrupt airport operations. 

We will make reasonable efforts to provide convenient and comfortable service to all customers in the event that a flight is delayed. 

In particular, in the event of a tarmac delay, we will, 

1) Provide adequate food and potable water no later than two hours following gate departure or flight touch-down if the aircraft remains on the tarmac, unless the PIC determines that safety or security considerations preclude such service. 

2) Ensure that lavatory facilities are operable and that adequate medical assistance is available if needed. 

3) Notify passengers on the aircraft every 30 minutes regarding the status of the delay, including the reasons for the delay, if known. 

4) Provide passengers on the aircraft notification every 30 minutes that they have the opportunity to deplane, if that opportunity exists. 

We have committed sufficient resources to implement this plan and we have coordinated this plan with airport authorities (including terminal facility operators, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Transportation Security Administration) at all U.S. airports that we serve including regular civilian diversion airports that are defined by DOT to be a “non-hub” or larger airport. 

We will make reasonable efforts to comply with this plan in the event of a diversion to any other U.S. airport.

Pursuant to Turkish Airlines’s Conditions of Carriage, for flights operated on our behalf by other carriers, the applicable contingency plan will be that of the operating carrier.

Turkish Airlines values all of its customers and is continually working to improve its services and to offer the safest and most comfortable trip to every customer.

The following Customer Service Plan provides a summary of the actions taken by Turkish Airlines to assist its customers.

This Customer Service Plan is applicable to services provided in the United States and in connection with scheduled flights to/from the United States by Turkish Airlines and has been adopted pursuant to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations.

Offering the lowest fare available

For reservations made via Turkish Airlines’ U.S. website, U.S. phone reservation center, or U.S. airport ticketing counters, we will offer the lowest fares available through that booking channel, when you provide specific travel dates, flights, and class of service information. For reservations made via the phone reservation center or airport ticketing counters, we will also advise you if lower fares may be available through the website.

For flights that depart in 7 days or less, we will provide timely information about known delays of 30 minutes or more, cancellations and diversions (“flight status information”),within 30 minutes of our becoming aware of it, by: 

• Providing flight status information through the website and upon request via the phone reservation center.
• Providing flight status information through announcements at gates and through flight status displays at airports in the U.S.
• Providing this flight status information through notification services (including e-mail), to the extent such services are offered by Turkish Airlines, to passengers who register on the website to receive e-mail updates.

Delivering baggage on time 

We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all checked baggage is available as soon as possible after a passenger’s flight arrives at the gate. In the unlikely event your baggage does not arrive at your destination with you, we will initiate a search and make reasonable efforts to return the baggage to you within 24 hours. In the further unlikely event that your baggage cannot be located, we will refund any fees that you have paid for its transportation (including fees for excess or overweight baggage). In addition, we will pay compensation for lost or delayed baggage as required by applicable international agreements.

Refunds within 24 hours

Effective for reservations made on or after July 17, 2018: If you make your Turkish Airlines reservation to or from the United States at least 7 days prior to the flight’s departure through any of Turkish Airlines’ sales channels in the United States (Call center, ticket office, website, etc.), you may cancel the reservation within 24 hours of making it and receive a full refund, including the cost of the ticketing fee, if any. 

To request your refund within 24 hours of making a reservation, please send your request to the appropriate e-mail for the trans-Atlantic gateway that you were scheduled to use. The refund e-mail address for each gateway is as follows: 

Atlanta: sales.atl@thy.com 

Boston: bostonreservation@thy.com 

Chicago: saleschi@thy.com 

Houston: iah.ticketing@thy.com 

Los Angeles: laxticketing@thy.com 

Miami: miasales@thy.com

New York: nyc.ticketing@thy.com 

San Francisco: info.sfo@thy.com 

Washington, DC: iadsales@thy.com 

Regardless which e-mail address you use, the time that you contacted Turkish Airlines will be duly noted. 

If you do not request your refund within 24 hours of making your reservation, all ticket rules will apply.

Effective for Purchases made on or after April 2, 2019: 

Airlines will offer its customers a 24 hour hold period in which they can hold a reservation without payment, under no obligation, with a guaranteed fare to or from the United States, made on this website or through other U.S. reservations centers or ticket counters if the reservation is made at least 7 days prior to departure. After a customer provides payment for any ticket, it will only be refunded subject to applicable fees per the fare rules. This is true regardless of whether or not a customer chooses to use this free “hold” option.

Providing prompt ticket refunds

If a passenger has purchased a ticket that is eligible for a refund via the website, phone reservation center, or airport ticketing counters and the passenger makes a timely request for a refund, we will provide prompt refunds as follows: 

• For purchases by credit card, we will submit the request for a refund to the credit card issuer within 7 business days of receiving your completed request for a refund. (The credit card issuer will refund the purchase price under the terms of the credit card agreement; your credit card statement may not immediately reflect the refund.) 
• For purchases by cash or check, we will issue your refund within 20 business days of receipt of your completed request for a refund. Refunds must be requested through the phone reservations center. A complete request for a refund may require information including your name, address, credit card number, ticket number, dates of travel, and origin and destination of travel. 
• We will also refund fees charged to a passenger for optional services that the passenger was unable to use due to an oversale situation or flight cancellation.

Please contact your travel agent for refund requests for tickets purchased via a travel agent.

Properly accommodating passengers with disabilities, and other passengers in need of assistance

We are committed to offering convenient and comfortable service to all of our passengers, including passengers who require special assistance.

For passengers with disabilities, we will comply with DOT regulations. We also offer certain services for children traveling alone, passengers who are pregnant or traveling with small children, and other passengers who may require special assistance. While passengers may ask for assistance at the airport, there are, however, certain service requests which require advance notice. Please note that even in cases where advance notice is not explicitly required, we recommend that passengers inform us in advance of any special assistance requests so we can best be prepared to serve you. Such notification will help us plan ahead for your safe and comfortable travel. Please call 1800-874-8875 for further details.

We will make reasonable efforts to meet the requirements of passengers who require special assistance and also to ensure that the requirements of any passengers who require special assistance are met during a lengthy tarmac delay.

Compliance with the Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays

In the event of a lengthy tarmac delay involving a flight departing from or arriving at any U.S. airport, we will make every reasonable effort to meet passengers’ essential needs as described in our Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays.

Treating passengers fairly and consistently in the case of oversales

Occasionally we may not be able to provide a passenger with a seat on a flight, even if he/she holds a ticket and has checked in on time. This is called an “oversale” and can occur for reasons such as safety restrictions on the maximum weight that an aircraft can carry; an unplanned change in the size of the aircraft operating the flight; or if there otherwise are more passengers who have checked in and are prepared to board than there are available seats. Passengers denied boarding or involuntarily downgraded due to an oversale on a flight departing the U.S. are in most cases entitled to transportation on an alternate flight to the final destination and/or compensation, as required by DOT regulations. We will consistently follow DOT requirements and our own policies in the event of an oversale, including by asking for volunteers before denying boarding or involuntarily downgrading any passenger, and by providing a written statement to each passenger denied boarding which describes his or her rights.

Please be advised to arrive at the airport two hours prior to scheduled departure for international flights.

Disclosing cancellation policies, frequent flyer rules and aircraft configuration information

The following information will be available via the website:

• Cancellation policies applicable to each type of ticket fare are displayed when purchasing via the website, and agreed to by the customer at time of purchase.
• The rules and policies for our frequent flyer program.
• Aircraft configuration charts, including the number of seats and the location of lavatories. (Aircraft configuration charts for flights operated by our codeshare partners may be obtained from their websites.) 

Upon request, our phone reservations center can also provide this information, or identify its location on the website.

Providing information about itinerary changes

For flights that depart in more than 7 days, we will notify customers in a timely manner of changes in their travel itineraries (including changes in the scheduled departure time, as well as delays or cancellations) through notification services (including e-mail) to the extent such services are offered by Turkish Airlines, to passengers who register on the website to receive e-mail updates and upon request through the website and the phone reservations center.

Ensuring responsiveness to customer problems

We welcome the opportunity to address the concerns and opinions of our valued customers, while continually striving to improve our service.

Although we will make every effort to respond much sooner, at the very latest we will acknowledge, in writing, all written complaints within 30 days, and provide a substantive response within 60 days, in accordance with DOT regulations. We will also promptly respond to other comments and feedback. Information about how to contact us is available here or by e-mail to You can share your comments, feedback and suggestions via our online feedback form.

Providing services to minimize inconvenience resulting from delays and cancellations

In the event of flight delays, cancellations or misconnections, we will make reasonable efforts to assist passengers in rebooking travel to their destination. As described above in sections 2 and 10, we will promptly notify to passengers of known flight irregularities and itinerary changes. Additionally:

• If rebooking options are not available and you can not arrive at your final destination on the originally scheduled arrival date due to an irregularity under our control, we may, at our direction, offer complimentary overnight hotel accommodations.
• If the cause of the problem is severe weather conditions and/or other issues outside of our control, in most cases complementary accommodations will not be arranged, but we will make reasonable efforts to provide information enabling you to secure your own accommodations.

Notification of Rights under Israel Aviation Services Law 5772-2012

Below are the rights established by the new law that applies to all flights operated to/from Israel as of 16 August 2012

This information is based on Israel Aviation Services Law 5772-2012 in force since 16 August 2012 to all flights operated to/from Israel.

This Regulation applies in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights provided that: You are the holder of a confirmed reservation on any flight operated by Turkish Airlines to/from Israel, including flights with layovers. The ticket acquired corresponds to a tariff published. You have checked in and arrived at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of your flight.

1. CANCELLATION

If your flight was cancelled (or delayed for more than 8 hours) without prior notice and the cancellation is not due to extraordinary circumstances beyond our control, we shall provide you with:

• Free assistance to make two telephone calls, or to send a fax or an e-mail; food and drink in accordance with the waiting time; in case of an alternative flight - accommodation and transfers, if an overnight stay is necessary.
• A refund of your ticket or an alternative ticket for the e arliest possible date for the contracted destination.
• The corresponding compensation as detailed below:

• However, the amount of compensation shall be reduced by 50% when changing to an alternative flight that will take you to your destination:

- With up to a 2 hours difference for flights of 2,000 km.

- With up to a 3 hours difference for flights of more than 2,000 km and less than 4,500 km.

- With up to a 4 hours difference for flights of more than 4,500 km.

2. DENIED BOARDING

If we have denied your boarding, it will have been as a result of not being able to find enough volunteers willing to opt for our financial compensation in exchange for giving up their seat and transferring to a later flight. Under these circumstances you are entitled to choose between an alternative flight or refund of the consideration paid for the flight and we will award compensation equal to that described in the cancellations table, however, the amount of compensation shall be reduced by 50% when changing to an alternative flight that will take you to your destination:

3. DELAYED FLIGHTS

If the departure of your flight is delayed, we will assist you according to the waiting time, as detailed:

• From 2 to 5 hours:

- Food and drink in accordance with the waiting time;

- Communication services

• More than 5 hours and up to 8 hours: in addition to the aforementioned protection, the following is added:

- The offer of a refund or an alternative flight;

- In case of an alternative flight - hotel accommodation and transportation if an over night stay is necessary.

4. A FLIGHT THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD

• If your flight was brought forward for more than 5 hours and less than 8 hours without prior notice, we shall provide you with a refund of your ticket or an alternative ticket for the earliest possible date for the contracted destination.
• If your flight was brought forward for more than 8 hours without prior notice and the cancellation is not due to extraordinary circumstances beyond our control, we shall provide you with compensation equal to that described in the cancellations table, in addition to the above.

5. CHANGE OF CLASS

If for any reason we are forced to change your Business Class seat for a seat in Economy Class, you shall be compensated, within 21 days, for an amount equal to 80% of the price of your ticket.

This notification contains a summary of the rights to benefits available under the Law. In the event of inconsistency between the terms of this notification and the provisions of the said Law, the provisions of the Law will apply.

Aviation Services Law of Israel 5772-2012: Enacted by the Parliament (Knesset) on the 29 Iyar, 5772 (21 May 2012).

According to Israeli Consumer Protection Law (“CPL”), 5741-1981, any transaction  carried out in a "long-distance sales transaction" (according to the definition of this term under the Israeli CPL) can be canceled within fourteen (14) days of the date of the transaction, or as of the date of receiving the transactions’ summary document (as required under the CPL) and no less than seven (7) days, not being days of rest, prior to the departure date of the first flight on your itinerary.

Subject to the provisions of the Law, if you are a consumer who is “disabled”, “senior citizen” or “new immigrant”, as these terms are defined under the CPL, you can cancel a "long-distance sales transaction" within four (4) months as of the date of the transaction, or as of the date of receiving the transactions’ summary document (as required under the CPL) and no less than seven (7) days, not being days of rest, prior to the departure date of the first flight on your itinerary.

This will apply solely on transactions which included a conversation between yourself and the seller (including a conversation by means of electronic communication). Kindly note that we are entitled to demand documentation to verify your status.

When a cancellation is being made according to the provisions of the CPL as stipulated above, the cancellation fee shall be equal to the lesser between 5% and NIS 100.

When a cancellation under the provisions of the CPL is a result of non-conformance, failure to provide the service at the scheduled date or due to any other alleged breach of contract – you will be entitled to receive a full refund within 14 days from the cancellation notice.

A “long distance transaction” can be cancelled through each of the following methods:

• Orally, through our customer service center, at the telephone number +97236945919;
• By email to: sales.tlv@thy.com

The cancellation notice must contain the name of the customer and the identification number.