Reading this gave me flashbacks. Istanbul used to feel fine with tight connections, but lately it feels like a total coin toss.
Everything looks good on paper, then one small delay, different parking spot, or a random decision to force everyone through security again and suddenly you are sprinting the length of the airport. That walk to the D gates alone can eat up most of your buffer.
Making the flight but boarding sweaty and stressed is almost worse than missing it. Feels like you never know which version of the process you are going to get on any given day.
After a couple close calls like this, I am firmly in the camp of padding IST layovers. Not worth the anxiety anymore.
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