Istanbul Airport soars to keep Europe’s busiest air hub title
Entrance to international flights passport control area at the Istanbul Airport, Istanbul, Türkiye, June 27, 2023. (Shutterstock Photo)


Turkey’s largest airport, Istanbul Airport, retained its title as Europe’s busiest air hub from Nov. 4-10, according to the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (Eurocontrol) on Thursday.

The airport recorded an average of 1,359 daily flights, marking a 3% increase from the previous week.

The welcome word "ISTanbul" shows at the Istanbul International Airport, Istanbul, Türkiye, Oct. 11, 2019. (Shutterstock Photo)

London Heathrow Airport ranked second, with 1,295 average daily flights, unchanged from the previous week, while Amsterdam Airport came in third with 1,282 average daily flights, down 2%.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport ranked fourth with 1,212 average daily flights, a decline of 5% compared to the previous week, while Frankfurt and Madrid Barajas airports registered 1,170 and 1,129 average daily flights, respectively, with no changes from the previous week.

Barcelona Airport saw a 6% drop, with 862 average daily flights, followed by Munich Airport, which fell 3% to 845, and Rome Fiumicino Airport, down 4% to 790.

Zurich Airport saw a 1% uptick with 670 average daily flights during the same period.

Except for Frankfurt, the top 10 busiest airports registered more flights compared to the same week last year.

Meanwhile, Ryanair was the top airline with 2,440 average daily flights, down 18% compared to the previous week, followed by Turkish Airlines with 1,368, marking a 3% increase, and easyJet with 1,267, experiencing a 22% decline.

Turkish Airlines was the only operator to see an increase in average daily flights during this period.

Turkish Airlines airplane with Air Traffic Control Tower of Istanbul Airport, Istanbul, Türkiye, June 3, 2023. (Shutterstock Photo)

The top 10 aircraft operators registered 8.7% fewer flights compared to the previous week, due to the start of winter schedules, Eurocontrol said.