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Located at the crossroads of continents, Istanbul has long been a hub of the world.
As Byzantium and then Constantinople, it controlled trade routes along the Silk Road and sea routes from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
During the Golden Age of Railways, Istanbul was at the very pinnacle of Europe and Asia, and the terminus of the Orient Express.
In the 21st century, iGA Istanbul Airport rules the skies, overtaking London Heathrow as the most accessible airport on the planet.
“They’ve finally taken the number one spot,” said John Grant, chief analyst at global travel data provider OAG, which just released its Megahub 2026 Index, which compares the world’s top airports.
This ranking is generated by comparing the number of scheduled international connections to and from the airport and the number of destinations served by the airport. They do this by looking at a snapshot of the busiest day of the year, this year August 2nd.
Achieving the top spot is “an important achievement for iGA Istanbul Airport and reflects our established position as a global aviation hub,” airport CEO Selahattin Birgen told CNN. “Currently, we already serve around 350 destinations around the world, and there is significant room for further growth.”
In this year’s ranking, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is in third place, followed by Kuala Lumpur in fourth place and Chicago O’Hare in fifth place.
This is a rapid and impressive development for the award-winning $12 billion Istanbul Airport, which opened to much fanfare in 2018 and is located approximately 32 miles on the European side of Istanbul’s outskirts. This is a hub built for scale. Its massive 1.4 million square meter terminal is the world’s largest under one roof, and the entire 76.5 million square meter area is larger than Manhattan.
With over 84 million passengers passing through each year, it is the eighth busiest airport in the world. But long-term plans call for expanding capacity to 200 million passengers a year, twice the annual number of passengers currently handled by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport, the world’s busiest airport.
“It’s going to be impossible to attack them for the next few years,” Grant said. “They have the runway capacity. They have a highly successful national airline that continues to grow with new aircraft orders. They are very close to some of the most emerging markets in the world, such as Central Asia. They are partially benefiting from the situation in the Middle East. They are in a very good position.”
Istanbul Airport opened its fourth main runway last month, and the ultimate goal is to have nine runways (six main and three backup) at the hub airport.
The new 2,820-meter-long runway is the first to run from east to west, reducing taxi and flight times for westbound aircraft, saving time and fuel.
“These airports are the only airports in the world that are authorized to operate three runways simultaneously, which allows us to increase our frequency during peak hours, giving us more flexibility in our operations. With three runways, we are more likely to have better punctuality,” Grant says.
Turkish Airlines has an 80% share of flights at Istanbul Airport and plays a key role in the hub’s success. Two years ago, the airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for flying to more countries than any other airline. As of 2026, it flies to a total of 130 countries.
The company operates a modern and rapidly expanding fleet of more than 500 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including a diverse mix of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
Victoria Mironiuk, a senior lecturer in air transport management at Britain’s Cranfield University, said a younger fleet “makes a better impression” on customers, reflecting on the sophisticated service that helped Turkish Airlines recently win Skytrax’s Best Airline in Europe award.
New aircraft are also more efficient, giving airlines a competitive advantage and lowering ticket prices at a time when fuel prices are rising.
Selahattin Birgen, CEO of iGA Istanbul Airport, told CNN: “The efficiency and cost advantages we offer continue to attract new airlines to our network every year, making us now one of the two major hubs serving the most airlines in the world.”
Infrastructure is key to connectivity as well. “As a relatively new airport, iGA Istanbul Airport has been designed with growth in mind from the beginning, with the capacity and flexibility to meet increasing passenger demand and support its role as a major international transit hub.”
OAG’s 2026 Megahub rankings will inevitably be influenced by the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
While other airports and regions have struggled, Istanbul Airport’s geographic location and diplomatic ties have been a fortuitous blessing.
Istanbul Airport has the flexibility and growth capacity that its competitors in the region do not have. Plans for a third runway at London Heathrow Airport remain highly controversial due to its environmental impact in a densely populated corner of south-east England. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the third busiest airport in the world, has a flight cap of 488,000 movements per year.
“The fact that Istanbul Airport is located a bit on the outskirts of the country means that the airport can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Myroniuk says.
She also praises Turkish Airlines’ stopover program. The program allows transit passengers to take a break to explore Istanbul and enjoy a free night stay at a partner hotel.
“I’m one of those unlucky passengers who really can’t sleep on the plane and has a hard time even on economy flights. But your luggage will be checked in with Turkish Airlines and you’ll get a perfect night’s rest,” says Mironiuk.
She says this is a form of sustainable tourism, allowing travelers to embrace slower travel and get in touch with local culture, rather than taking inexperienced cheap connecting flights.
It is also easier for many passengers to obtain a visa to stop in Turkey than to join an exploration tour from an EU airport, another advantage enjoyed by Istanbul Airport.
It’s difficult to predict anything in these turbulent times, but “all things being equal,” Grant says, Istanbul will continue to maintain its position in 2027.
“I think over the next three to four years we’re going to see Chinese airports strengthen their position. There’s a lot more international growth for Chinese airlines, and that’s going to help them,” he says.
International airlines, including British Airways, have not yet resumed flights to the Middle East, but the region’s airports are “hoping to get back to normal,” Grant said. “All of this will continue to erode the position of Paris, home to Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and Europe’s airports, which are reaching capacity.”
