Istanbul Airport reigns as Europe’s busiest airport on Nov. 4-10

By Emir Yildirim

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye’s largest airport, iGA Istanbul Airport, maintained its position as Europe’s busiest air hub on Nov. 4-10, according to the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (Eurocontrol) on Thursday.

The airport saw 1,359 average daily flights, up 3% compared to the previous week.

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

Following Amsterdam, 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 saw 1,170 and 1,129 average daily flights, respectively, with no changes since the previous week.

Barcelona Airport was down 6% with 862 average daily flights, followed by Munich Airport falling 3% with 845, and Rome Fiumicino Airport declining 4% with 790, while Zurich Airport saw a 1% uptick with 670 average daily flights over the same period.

Except for Frankfurt Airport, 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 and 3% increase, and easyJet with 1,267 and a 22% decline.

Turkish Airlines was the only operator to see increased average daily flights in this period.

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