Turkey has long drawn tourists from all corners of the globe, with its postcard-worthy beaches, glitzy resorts and good-value bars and restaurants. But while the country itself offers incredible bang for your buck – from £3 kebabs and £1.50 beers to £40 nightly stays at five-star resorts – the same certainly cannot be said for its international airports.Major travel gateways like Istanbul Airport (IST) and Antalya Airport (AYT) are facing increased scrutiny as droves of holidaymakers have taken to social media to express frustration over eye-watering prices for basic fast food and snacks at airport terminals. Serving 222,000 daily passengers, Istanbul’s mega-hub has earned the not-so-flattering title of the ‘world’s most expensive airport’ for dining. Here, travellers routinely face staggering markups, including up to €17.50 (£15) for a beer, €21.50 (£18.50) for a Big Mac, and even €6 (£5) for a single banana. As many as 150,000 passengers travel through Antalya Airport each day – and it appears many hungry travellers are getting caught out its sky-high fast food prices Daily Mail travel writer Jowena Riley at the Land of Legends theme park in Antalya – just days before heading home via Antalya Airport However, Istanbul is not the only spot in Turkey charging extortionate prices for tourists in transit; Antalya is fast catching up, with ‘mind-blowing’ fast food price hikes at its McDonald’s and KFC joints – where classic menu items typically cost three to four times more than standard UK prices.Frustrated holidaymakers have documented their ‘rip off’ meal costs on TikTok, with @jake_land1994 revealing in one video that his group collectively paid £90 for three medium-sized Big Mac meals.In another clip, London-based content creator, @londoncityroller, shared how their Jet2 flight back to the UK ‘ran out of food’ due to customers avoiding paying sky-high prices at the airport, opting to eat aboard the plane instead. Even a brief look online will surface more stories of this nature, with travellers reporting hiked-up prices for even water.So begs the question: is Antalya Airport, which welcomes over 150,000 passengers per day, really one of the most expensive airports in the world for a bite to eat? Sitting here with a tedious 60-minute wait until boarding for Stansted after a lovely four-day break in the coastal city, I’ve decided to part with the remainder of my holiday budget and see for myself. Leaving my nephew and sister-in-law behind at the seating area, I head up the escalator to the first floor, where many of the airport’s biggest food outlets are clustered, including New York Pizza, Sweet Kingdom and, of course, McDonald’s.As I approach the infamous yellow arches, my surroundings suddenly feel almost primal. Children scream in every direction, parents lunge over the collection counters to grab their orders as quickly as possible, and fatigued travellers crowd around the overhead screens, some demanding to know why their food hasn’t yet arrived. This is what a real feeding frenzy looks like. Tempers are fraying, queues are snaking across the restaurant and every table is occupied by holidaymakers wolfing down burgers as quickly as possible before darting off to make their flight. For McDonald’s, this appears to be the perfect captive audience. At Antalya Airport, customers can expect to pay £11.50 for a McChicken, £12.40 for a single Big Mac, or over £16 for a Double Big Mac burger The price for this Happy Meal at McDonald’s in Antalya Airport? A cool 697 Turkish Lira, or £11.90Weaving my way through red-faced, bleary-eyed children clinging to their parents’ ankles, I finally manage to nab a self-service kiosk, with several members of staff hovering nearby to help confused customers complete their orders. I start scrolling the menu, and my jaw drops. These aren’t just inflated airport prices – they’re the sort of figures that make you wonder if there’s been a mistake.Holidaymakers with bigger appetites are certainly hit hardest. A single Big Mac? 775 Turkish Lira, or £12.40. Prefer a McChicken? That’ll be £11.50.A six-piece portion of Chicken McNuggets comes in at £6.69 – fairly reasonable considering the prices I’ve seen so far – but a basic cheeseburger will set you back £8.80. Feeling extra hungry? You might want to rethink ordering a four-patty Double Big Mac or a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese – both priced at an eye-watering £16.But it’s the children’s menu that really catches my attention.Travelling with my nephew – who has decided this is the exact moment he needs something to eat – I do what any doting aunt would and add a four-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal to my order.The total? Six hundred and ninety-seven Turkish Lira – or £11.90. For context, a UK Happy Meal, which typically consists of a small meat or veggie option, fries, drink and a toy, costs between £3.79 and £4.29, depending on the location. If we’re to compare the latter with what I’ve just ordered, that’s a 177.39 per cent markup. Plus, for families with three or more children, three tiny Happy Meals will now cost a steep £35. At neighbouring KFC, families are forced to cough up as much as £48 for a 20-wing bucket served with two portions of friesTrying not to think too hard about what I’ve just spent, I carry it back to my nephew, who tucks straight in. For a brief moment, the price feels worth it.That feeling doesn’t last long. Barely three minutes later, and every last chip has disappeared. £12 gone in seconds – and that’s just to feed one child.Curious as to whether McDonald’s is an isolated case, I wander over to neighbouring KFC to compare – but the prices aren’t much better.A single Hot Wing costs £3.40, while a medium portion of fries is priced at £4.20.The biggest shock? A sharing bucket containing 20 Hot Wings, two portions of fries and four drinks comes to £48. Split between a family of five, there’s not even very much food to go around.Most seasoned travellers will know that airport food comes at a premium – paying several pounds for a bottle of water or an overpriced sandwich has surely become part of the experience.But Antalya Airport feels as though it takes matters to the extreme. When passengers would rather go hungry – or rely on whatever’s left on the plane – than eat inside the terminal, it’s easy to understand why Turkish airports have become recent targets of social media outrage. As for me, I’m content with a limp, reheated panini at 35,000ft – rather than forking out £12 for another not-so-happy Happy Meal.