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It’s not who you know that matters, but where you fly with them.
IGA Istanbul Airport, which opened just six years ago in 2018, is considered the best-connected airport in the world, according to new data from aviation analysis firm Cirium.
Located in Turkey at the crossroads of East and West, Istanbul Airport offers an impressive 309 nonstop flights to destinations around the world, most of which are operated by Turkish Airlines, which flies to more countries than any other airline.
This global hub serves around 90 million passengers annually, making it the seventh busiest airport in the world and has an annual capacity of 200 million.
This could prove useful as air traffic in the first half of 2024 exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia enables us to serve as a major hub for international travel,” Selahattin Bilgen, the airport’s CEO, said in a statement to CNN. “We have also proven to be the most resilient airport, recovering fastest from the Covid-19 pandemic and returning to our pre-pandemic passenger numbers before any other airport in the world.”
Next on the list are three European airports: Frankfurt in second place, Paris Charles de Gaulle in third place and Amsterdam Schiphol in fourth place.
Frankfurt is a financial centre and the base of the German airline Lufthansa, one of Europe’s largest airlines. Schiphol is conveniently located in the heart of Europe, giving it an advantage over airports such as London Heathrow, which are on an island on the fringes of continental activity and whose expansion plans are hampered by their densely populated location.
With 270 nonstop destinations, Chicago O’Hare is tied with Schiphol in fourth place and is the best connected airport in North America.
Dubai International ranks sixth, serving 269 nonstop destinations. According to Airports Council International, Dubai handled around 87 million passengers in 2023, almost a third more than in 2022.
In seventh place is another US airport: Dallas Fort Worth International. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and Dallas Fort Worth is the second largest airport in the USA in terms of area, just behind Denver International in Colorado.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is ranked 8th and is the best connected airport in Asia, serving 243 nonstop destinations.
The world’s busiest airport by passenger volume, Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International, ranks 9th and serves 237 nonstop destinations.
Last in the top 10 is Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport with 234 non-stop destinations.
In April this year, Rome Airport was awarded the World’s Best Airport Security Management award in the annual survey conducted by British airline and airport rating portal Skytrax.
1. Istanbul Airport. (309 unique nonstop destinations).
2. Frankfurt Airport. (296).
3. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. (282).
4. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. (270 = tie).
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport. (270 = tie).
6. Dubai International Airport. (269).
7. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. (261).
8. Shanghai Pudong International Airport. (243).
9. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (237).
10. Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport. (234).
11. Denver International Airport. (229).
12. London Heathrow Airport. (221).
13. King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah. (219).
14. Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport. (218 = tie).
14. London Gatwick Airport. (218 = tie).
16. Munich Franz Joseph Strauss Airport. (217).
17. Barcelona El Prat Airport. (209).
18. Beijing Capital International Airport. (206).
19. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. (202).
19. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. (202).
