ISTANBUL

Air hubs in Türkiye’s megalopolis, namely the IGA Istanbul Airport and the Asian-side air gateway Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport, set new records in passenger count with a total of 132 million people served at the end of 2025, according to the State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI).

The IGA Istanbul Airport handled 80.4 million passengers last year, with that figure expected to rise to 84 million by the end of 2025, while the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport served 41.4 million last year and 48 million this year.

The two airports saw their highest-ever travel traffic this year.

By the end of 2025, the IGA Istanbul Airport would have operated approximately 547,000 flights, with 48% of passengers on long-haul transfers and 52% arriving and departing. Istanbul's air hub connects the city to the rest of the world with over 330 destinations.

The IGA Istanbul Airport had the most flights in a single day on July 18 with 1,707 and the most daily passengers on August 2 with 282,835, according to IGA.

The air hub became Europe's first airport to successfully implement triple independent runways on April 17.

The number of scheduled passenger airlines operating from this hub reached a historic high of 116, while the annual passenger target was set at 90 million for 2026.

Meanwhile, the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport hosted over 270,000 flights and over 48 million passengers throughout 2025, according to the air hub’s authority HEAS, a subsidiary of Türkiye’s Defense Industries Agency (SSB).

Some 56% of passengers were on international flights and 44% on domestic flights this year.

Germany was the most preferred international destination, while the most visited destination was the Ercan Airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Antalya Airport was the most popular domestic destination this year.

On Sept. 7, the air hub broke its daily passenger and flight records, with 856 aircraft and 160,163 passengers.

The annual passenger traffic at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport increased by 6% on domestic routes and by more than 24% on international routes this year compared to 2024.

The air hub’s Terminal-1 renovation project put an additional terminal into service. The project aims to add an additional 5.5 million passengers per year to the airport’s capacity.

The completion of the 3,540-meter-long second runway, taxiways, cargo and aircraft aprons, control tower, and superstructure investment—alll designed to accommodate wide-body passenger aircraf—significantlyy boosted the airport’s air traffic capacity.