Istanbul Airport became Europe’s busiest airport after serving 8.6 million passengers in August. The airport’s passenger traffic increased by 3% compared with the same month last year.
London Heathrow served 7.9 million passengers in August, while Paris Charles de Gaulle served 6.9 million. Istanbul Airport therefore ranked first in Europe in terms of passenger traffic during the summer period.

Sabiha Gökçen led Europe in growth
Passenger traffic at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport also rose by 9.5% in August compared with the same month last year. This was the highest growth rate in Europe among airports serving more than 40 million passengers annually.
Sabiha Gökçen was followed in the same category by Madrid at 4.9%, Barcelona at 4.5%, Istanbul Airport at 3% and Rome Fiumicino at 1.4%.

Istanbul Airport also stood out in cargo traffic
Istanbul Airport also outperformed the broader European market in air cargo traffic. While air cargo traffic at European airports fell by 6.1% in August compared with the same period last year, it increased by 18.1% at Istanbul Airport.
Istanbul Airport recorded the highest growth among Europe’s 10 airports with the largest cargo volumes and also ranked first in total cargo volume.

Passenger traffic at airports across Europe increased by 3.9% in July and 3.1% in August. In Türkiye, passenger traffic at airports rose by 4.4% in August.
The monthly traffic data from Airports Council International Europe cover more than 450 airports and represent over 95% of European airport traffic.