{"id":370086,"date":"2026-10-11T00:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/370086\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T00:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:31:15","slug":"bigger-than-manhattan-the-record-breaking-airport-megahub-that-conquered-the-world-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/370086\/","title":{"rendered":"Bigger than Manhattan: The record-breaking airport megahub that conquered the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos within the sponsorship, in compliance with our policy<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Standing at the crossroad of continents, Istanbul has long been a global linchpin.\n <\/p>\n

\n As Byzantium and then Constantinople, it controlled trade routes along the Silk Road and maritime passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the golden age of railways, Istanbul was the end point of the Orient Express, at the very cusp of Europe and Asia.\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, in the 21st century, iGA Istanbul Airport is ruling the skies, having just overtaken London Heathrow as the best-connected airport on the planet.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey\u2019ve finally got the number one position,\u201d says John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, a global travel data provider which has just released its Megahubs 2026 Index, comparing the world\u2019s top airports.\n <\/p>\n

\n The rankings are generated by comparing the number of scheduled connections to and from international flights, with the number of destinations served from the airport. They do this through a snapshot look at the busiest day of the year, which this year was August 2.\n <\/p>\n

\n Gaining the top spot is \u201can important achievement for iGA Istanbul Airport and reflects the position we have built as a global aviation hub,\u201d airport CEO Selahattin Bilgen tells CNN. \u201cToday, we already serve approximately 350 destinations around the world, with significant room to grow further.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is third place in this year\u2019s ranking, followed by Kuala Lumpur at No.4 and Chicago O\u2019Hare at No.5.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s been a swift and impressive rise for the award-winning $12 billion Istanbul Airport, which opened to much fanfare<\/a> in 2018, about 20 miles outside Istanbul on the European side. This is a hub built for scale: Its huge 1.4-million-square-meter terminal is the world\u2019s largest under one roof and the whole 76.5-million-square-meter site is bigger than Manhattan.\n <\/p>\n

\n More than 84 million passengers pass through each year, making it the eighth busiest airport<\/a> in the world. However, the long-term plan is to increase capacity to 200 million passengers per year, which is double the annual number currently handled by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, the world\u2019s busiest airport.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to be unassailable in the coming years,\u201d says Grant. \u201cThey\u2019ve got runway capacity. They\u2019ve got a national airline that is hugely successful and continues to grow with new fleet orders. They\u2019re very close to some of the most emergent markets in the world, such as Central Asia. They\u2019ve benefited partly from the Middle East situation. They\u2019re just very well placed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Istanbul Airport opened its fourth main runway last month and the end goal is for the hub to have nine: six main and three reserve.\n <\/p>\n

\n The new 2,820-meter-long runway is its first to run east to west, meaning a reduction in taxiing and airborne times for westbound aircraft, saving time and fuel.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey\u2019re the only airport in the world that is licensed for three simultaneous runway operations,\u201d says Grant, \u201cYou can build more frequency at those peak hours, and it gives you more operational flexibility. If you\u2019ve got three runways, then you\u2019re likely to improve your punctuality.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Turkish<\/p>\n

\n Turkish Airlines has an 80% share of flights at Istanbul Airport and plays a key role in the hub\u2019s success. Two years ago, it entered Guinness World Records for its achievement in flying to more countries<\/a> than any other airline: 130 in total, as of 2026.\n <\/p>\n

\n It operates a modern and rapidly expanding fleet of more than 500 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including a diverse mix of narrow and widebody planes.\n <\/p>\n

\n A younger fleet makes \u201ca better impression\u201d on customers, says Viktoriia Myroniuk, a senior lecturer in air transport management at the UK\u2019s Cranfield University, reflecting on the polished service that helped earn Turkish Airlines its recent Skytrax award for Best Airline in Europe<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n Newer aircraft are also more efficient, which, in this time of rising fuel prices, gives the airline a competitive edge, allowing them to lower ticket prices.\n <\/p>\n

\n Selahattin Bilgen, CEO of iGA Istanbul Airport, tells CNN, \u201cThe efficiency and cost advantages we provide continue to attract new airlines to our network each year, and today we are one of only two major hubs worldwide serving the largest number of airlines.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Infrastructure is equally key to that connectivity. \u201cAs a relatively new airport, iGA \u0130stanbul Airport was designed from the outset with growth in mind, providing the capacity and flexibility to accommodate increasing passenger demand and support our role as a major international transfer hub.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n OAG\u2019s 2026 Megahub rankings are inevitably affected by the ongoing disruption in the Middle East, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.\n <\/p>\n

\n While other airports and regions have suffered, Istanbul Airport and Turkey\u2019s geographical position and diplomatic relations have by chance granted it better fortune.\n <\/p>\n

\n Istanbul Airport has the flexibility and capacity for growth that its competitors in the region lack. London Heathrow\u2019s plan for a third runway<\/a> remains highly controversial, due to the environmental impact in a highly built-up corner of southeast England. Amsterdam Schiphol, the world\u2019s third best connected, has a flight cap of 488,000 movements a year.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe fact that Istanbul Airport is slightly on the outskirts\u201d means \u201cthey can operate 24\/7,\u201d says Myroniuk.\n <\/p>\n

\n She also praises Turkish Airlines\u2019 stopover program<\/a>, which allows connecting passengers to take a break to explore Istanbul and enjoy free accommodation in partner hotels.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m one of those unlucky passengers who really can\u2019t sleep on board\u201d and struggle on economy flights, Myroniuk says, but \u201cyour luggage stays with Turkish Airlines. You go to the perfect night\u2019s rest.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s a form of sustainable tourism, she says, allowing travelers to embrace slower travel and to connect with local culture, rather than notching up cheap connecting flights with no experiences to show for it.\n <\/p>\n

\n For many passengers it is also easier to get a visa to stop off in Turkey than it would be to take an exploratory tour from an EU airport, so that\u2019s another advantage Istanbul Airport enjoys.\n <\/p>\n

\n Although it\u2019s hard to make any predictions in these turbulent times, Grant says that \u201call things being equal,\u201d Istanbul will continue to hold onto its position in 2027.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think we\u2019re going to see over the next three or four years the Chinese airports strengthen in their positions. We\u2019re seeing more international growth from Chinese airlines, and that will help them,\u201d he says.\n <\/p>\n

\n International airlines including British Airways have yet to resume flying to the Middle East, but airports in the region will hopefully \u201cget back to where they were,\u201d says Grant. \u201cAll of which will continue to chip away at the position at Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol, and Paris, where we have European airports\u201d that are reaching capacity.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-370086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}