Istanbul Overtakes Heathrow as Europe’s Busiest Airport

Istanbul Airport has moved ahead of London Heathrow in the race to become Europe’s busiest airport, highlighting how tight the competition between the two hubs has become.

Heathrow had finished 2025 as Europe’s busiest airport with 84.48 million passengers, only around 40,000 ahead of Istanbul.

Istanbul had already overtaken Heathrow in January this year, handling 6.9 million passengers compared with Heathrow’s 6.5 million.

By May, Heathrow had narrowly regained the lead, but only just. ACI Europe said Heathrow handled 7.12 million passengers during the month, beating Istanbul by just 3,012 passengers.

The latest shift comes as Heathrow continues to operate close to capacity. The airport currently has two runways, while Istanbul has five, giving the Turkish hub considerably more room to grow.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye had already warned earlier this year that Istanbul was likely to overtake Heathrow either in 2026 or 2027.

Heathrow is pushing ahead with plans for a third runway, with the airport arguing that additional capacity is needed if it is to remain competitive with other major European hubs.

The airport’s outlook for 2026 has also been affected by disruption in the Middle East. Heathrow recently cut its passenger forecast to between 80.1 million and 84.5 million, down from an earlier forecast of around 85 million.

Istanbul, meanwhile, has continued to grow strongly in recent years and now also ranks first in Europe for direct connectivity, according to ACI Europe.

The gap between the two airports has become increasingly small, and with Istanbul continuing to expand while Heathrow remains capacity constrained, the battle for the top spot is likely to remain close.