General · 11 August 2026

Istanbul overtakes Heathrow to become the busiest airport in Europe

The London hub handled 7.9 million travellers this July, falling short of the 8.15 million people who flew through Istanbul. Heathrow executives are using this slip in the rankings to urge the government to approve their privately funded third runway project. The airport also lost traffic on its Middle Eastern routes, which fell by a fifth following the war in Iran.

By BriefTea Editorial · 11 August 2026 at 9:41

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