Istanbul Airport has become Europe's busiest airport, overtaking London Heathrow, which has seen a decline in passenger numbers, particularly on Middle East routes.
Heathrow recorded 84.46 million passengers in 2025, with its busiest day of the year so far being July 19th, coinciding with the start of the summer holidays for many schools. On that day, 267,000 passengers traveled through the airport.
The airport's owners have proposed an expansion that would increase its capacity to accommodate 150 million passengers annually, arguing that the expansion is crucial for the country to remain competitive and stimulate economic growth. Heathrow also noted that the addition of several new airlines in the past month indicates a strong demand for access to the airport.
Recently, Heathrow received approval to increase its service charges to airlines, which will help recover costs associated with the initial phases of its third runway project. Meanwhile, passenger numbers on Middle East routes specifically fell by 20.2% year-on-year at Heathrow.