Istanbul Airport overtook London Heathrow in July 2026 passenger traffic, handling 8.15 million travellers against Heathrow’s 7.86 million. The Turkish hub became Europe’s busiest airport for the month as its traffic rose 2.3% year on year, while Heathrow fell 1.5%, narrowing the gap between the two largest hubs after Heathrow led the continent in 2025.
The monthly shift reflects strong demand through Istanbul’s expanding international network and a softer traffic picture at Heathrow on some routes. Heathrow handled about 267,000 passengers on its busiest day of 2026 so far, on 19 July, while Istanbul set a new European daily record on 9 August with 289,732 passengers.
For the first seven months of 2026, Istanbul Airport’s traffic reached 48.07 million passengers, underlining its momentum in long-haul and transfer travel. Heathrow finished 2025 with 84.48 million passengers, just ahead of Istanbul’s 84.44 million, leaving the two airports close in the battle for Europe’s top ranking.