Heathrow still Europe's busiest airport, but Istanbul gaining fast

Paris, France: London Heathrow remained the busiest aviation hub in Europe last year but Istanbul Airport was nearly neck and neck and is likely to ov...

Paris, France: London Heathrow remained the busiest aviation hub in Europe last year but Istanbul Airport was nearly neck-and-neck and is likely to overtake it soon, an industry group said Thursday.

With 84.48 million passengers, Heathrow had a 0.7 percent increase in traffic last year, ACI Europe reported, citing the use of larger planes by airlines at "the capacity-constrained British hub".

British authorities say a third runway will be added at Heathrow but it is not expected to be ready before 2035.

Istanbul Airport, where traffic has surged since its inauguration in 2018, saw passenger growth of 5.5 percent to 84.44 million -- just 40,000 behind Heathrow.

Turkiye has benefitted as a gateway between Europe and Asian destinations as well as being a hub for flights between Russia, subject to Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, and the rest of the world.