Istanbul Airport keeps crown of Europe’s busiest air hub

For the third consecutive year, Istanbul Airport has maintained its position as Europe's busiest air hub, averaging 1,401 daily flights in 2024, according to EUROCONTROL data released on Thursday.

The Turkish hub continued to lead the continent's aviation recovery, underscoring its significance in the region's air traffic network with a 2 percent year-on-year hike in the figure.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport climbed to second place with 1,336 daily flights, surpassing London Heathrow, which came third with 1,302 daily flights. Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt rounded out the top five, handling 1,275 and 1,204 daily flights, respectively.

In 2024, European air traffic reached 10.7 million flights, climbing 5 percent from the previous year but making 96 percent of 2019 levels.

The recovery varied across regions. Southern European countries exceeded pre-COVID-19 traffic levels, driven by strong demand for tourism and shifting airline route patterns.

Northern and Northeastern European countries, on the other hand, struggled to recover due to airspace closures, flight bans and reduced demand.

The U.K. led Europe last year with the highest average number of daily flights (5,488 per day), a 4 percent rise compared from the previous year. Spain ranked second with 4,984 daily flights (up 8 percent), followed by Germany at 4,711 daily flights (up 4 percent).

Italy showed the most significant growth among the top 10, with a 9 percent increase in flights, driven by strong connections with Spain (up 13 percent), Germany (up 7 percent), and Poland (up 25 percent). Its domestic traffic also grew by 3 percent. Four countries in the top 10 surpassed their 2019 traffic levels with increases, including Greece (18 percent), Türkiye ...