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Heathrow loses Europe’s busiest airport title to Istanbul in July

Heathrow said its expansion case is stronger as it serves near full capacity on its two runways, while Middle East passenger traffic fell 20.2% year on year.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Europe

Heathrow reported 7.86 million passengers passing through its four terminals in July, down 1.5% from the same month last year. That total compares with 8.15 million passengers at Istanbul over the same period, leading Heathrow to lose its spot as Europe’s busiest airport for the month, according to figures published Tuesday by Airports Council International.

The outlet reported that Heathrow had held the Europe busiest airport position from 1996 to 2019, lost it in 2020 during coronavirus travel restrictions, regained it in 2023, and has kept the title since then. It said Istanbul’s passenger numbers rose 2.3% year on year.

Despite the July decline, Heathrow said it is operating its two runways at near full capacity and is seeking government permission to build a third runway. The airport’s owners have proposed expansion that would allow Heathrow to accommodate 150 million passengers per year, and it recorded 84.46 million passengers in 2025.

The story added that Heathrow reported its passenger numbers on Middle East routes in July were down 20.2% year on year. It also said the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, launched a consultation on the renamed Heathrow expansion national policy statement in June, with a goal of enabling a decision that could allow work by 2035, after remarks from former chancellor Rachel Reeves and later political changes.

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