Overview
- Heathrow handled 84.48 million passengers in 2025, narrowly ahead of Istanbul’s 84.44 million, a gap of about 40,000.
- European airports served a record 2.6 billion passengers, up 4.4% year on year, driven by a 5.6% rise in international travel as domestic traffic was flat.
- Istanbul’s traffic rose 5.5% and has surged since its 2018 opening, benefiting from its Europe‑Asia gateway role and connections that include flows linked to Russia.
- Heathrow’s growth was limited to 0.7% as airlines upgauged to larger aircraft at the capacity‑constrained hub, with a government‑approved third runway not expected before 2035.
- ACI Europe expects 2026 traffic growth to normalise to about 3.3%, with resilience supported by demand even as geopolitical and geoeconomic risks persist.