Istanbul Airport becomes busiest airport in Europe

Turkiye’s Istanbul Airport was the busiest among airports in Europe during the period from 21 April to 27 April, according to data by The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) on Wednesday, Anadolu news agency reported.

Istanbul Airport ranked first among the busiest airports in Europe with an average of 1,482 daily flights in this period, according to the European Aviation Overview Report.

The flights in Istanbul Airport increased by 4% year-on-year, and by 24% compared to the same period of 2019.

Istanbul Airport was followed by Amsterdam Schiphol with 1,419 daily flights, London Heathrow with 1,357 flights, Paris Charles De Gaulle with 1,344 flights, and Frankfurt with 1,314 flights.

On 17 April, Istanbul Airport, which was Europe’s second busiest airport last year, began simultaneous triple runway operations.

With this infrastructure, it became the first in Europe to have three runways and the second in the world, after the US.

Istanbul Airport handled about 80 million passengers in 2024, making it Europe’s largest and second-busiest airport, according to data from the State Airports General Directorate (DHMI).

It also became Europe’s busiest air cargo hub last year, according to the Airports International Council (ACI) Europe’s 2024 Annual Traffic Report.

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