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Istanbul Airport has surpassed London Heathrow to become the busiest airport in Europe, setting a new daily passenger record. On July 25, 2025, Istanbul Airport handled 271,836 passengers, overtaking Heathrow’s previous record of 268,000 travelers set on June 30, 2024.
The increase in traffic at Istanbul comes after the airport began operating its three-runway system earlier this year. Turkish Airlines’ main hub now leads European airports for total seat capacity as well. According to travel data provider OAG, Istanbul served about 4.75 million seats in July 2025—an 8% rise from last year and the largest gain among the continent’s top ten airports. London Heathrow followed with roughly 4.53 million seats and saw little change from last year.
OAG’s ranking also included another Turkish facility: Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport moved into tenth place with a significant 13% growth in capacity compared to last year.
