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It’s not about who you know, but where you are to fly they on.
IGA Istanbul Airportwhich opened just six years ago in 2018, has emerged as the best connected airport in the world, according to new data from aviation analytics company Cirium.
Located in a prime East-meets-West location in TurkeyIstanbul Airport operates no fewer than 309 non-stop flights to destinations all over the world.
Approximately 90 million passengers pass through this global hub each year, making it the seventh busiest airport in the world, with an annual capacity of 200 million.
That could be useful, just as air traffic did in the first half of 2024 surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia allows us to serve as an essential hub for international travel,” said Selahattin Bilgen, the airport’s CEO, in a statement to CNN.
“We have also proven to be the most resilient airport, recovering the fastest ever from the Covid-19 pandemic and reaching our pre-pandemic passenger numbers sooner than any other airport in the world.”
Three European airports follow on the list: Frankfurt at number 2, Paris Charles de Gaulle at number 3 and Amsterdam Schiphol at number 4.
Frankfurt is a financial center and a base for the German airline Lufthansa, one of Europe’s largest airlines. Schiphol is well located in the heart of Europe, which gives it an advantage over, for example, London Heathrow, on an island at the edge of the continental area and with expansion plans hampered by its densely populated location.
Australian airports are missing out
Chicago O’Hare, like Schiphol at number 4, is the best connected airport in North America with 270 direct destinations.
Dubai International ranks number 6 and serves 269 non-stop destinations. Dubai handled approximately 87 million passengers in 2023 almost a full third more than in 2022, according to data from Airports Council International.
Another American airport is at number 7: Dallas Fort Worth International. Everything is bigger in Texas, as the saying goes, and Dallas Fort Worth is the second largest airport in the United States by land area, just behind Denver International in Colorado.
Shanghai Pudong International ranks number 8 and is the best connected airport in Asia, with 243 non-stop destinations.
Of the world busiest airport in terms of passenger volume, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International ranks #9 and serves 237 nonstop destinations.
The last place in the top 10 is occupied by Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport, with 234 non-stop destinations.
There is no Australian airport in the top 20.
In April this year, Rome Airport won the world’s prize best airport security processingin the annual survey by Skytrax, a rating and ranking site of British airlines and airports.
The best connected airports of the moment
1. Istanbul Airport. (309 unique non-stop destinations).
2. Frankfurt Airport. (296).
3. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. (282).
4. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. (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. Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport. (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).
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