Istanbul Airport Europe's busiest air hub on Oct 30 - Nov 5

By Tuba Ongun

Türkiye's mega Istanbul Airport was the busiest air hub in Europe last week, according to data from the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (Eurocontrol).

Türkiye's gateway to world saw an average of 1,283 flights daily Oct 30 - Nov 5, claiming the top spot on a ranking of Europe's busiest airports, the report showed on Wednesday.

The figure was down 7% from the previous week, but up 5% from last year and 11% from the pre-virus period in 2019.

"Only one of the top 10 airports (iGA Istanbul) is currently handling traffic above its 2019 levels," read the report.

It was followed by London Heathrow with 1,255 daily flights, Paris-Charles de Gaulle with 1,240 flights, Frankfurt with 1,210 flights and Amsterdam with 1,179 flights, Eurocontrol data showed.

While Antalya Airport in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city lost its place among the top 10 as the summer season has ended, London Gatwick entered it.

The report underlined that none of the listed airports recorded growth compared to the prior week.

The UK was the busiest country, recording 5,050 flights – including overflights – last week, a decrease of 11% from the previous 7-day period.

Germany followed it with 4,456 flights, Spain with 4,431 flights, France with 3,616 flights and Italy with 3,169 flights from Oct 30 to Nov 5.