An article by a British media outlet has said that Heathrow could lose the European crown to Istanbul airport. The travel correspondent for the UK-based newspaper penned an article titled "the Aviation Analyst notes that Heathrow will lose the European crown to Istanbul”.
The correspondent was reported to use following expression: "Until the international transfer centers recover after the Covid-19 pandemic, it looks like Istanbul's mega airport will be observed to be the busiest in Europe.”
In the same article the author also shared the expression "Heathrow Airport and its Western European rivals will lag behind Istanbul in terms of passenger numbers when they finally emerge from the Coronavirus outbreak", used by a reputable aviation analyst at Anker Report.
"While airports like Heathrow, which rely heavily on international traffic, will eventually recover, Istanbul's new mega airport is likely to become Europe's busiest," Anker told British Media. Same article shared that in March 2021, Istanbul Airport had hosted 40 percent of its passengers in 2019, five times better than Heathrow Airport.
Istanbul Airport, at the intersection of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, serves as one of the most important aviation centers in the world with its strategic geographical location connecting continents in Istanbul. Over the past 10 years, the international air transport sector has grown by 5.6% worldwide, while Turkey has recorded 14% growth. Istanbul, which has become one of the most important flight and transfer centers in the world, plays a leading role in this growth.
