Istanbul Airport was the busiest airport in Europe in August and had consistently high traffic throughout the year, although London Heathrow surpassed Istanbul Airport in passenger numbers between January and August.
Speaking at Routes World in Istanbul, the Acting CEO of IGA, Selahattin Bilgen, said that Istanbul Airport aims to reach 100m passengers by 2027, a goal only achieved by Atlanta and Beijing Capital airports in 2019.
He said “iGA was built from the ground up with an eventual target of 150m passengers, and has now increased this target to 200m, and due to this is designed to serve the world.”
Istanbul Airport needs additional carriers to achieve its ambitious passenger goals and attract more diverse airlines: Turkish Airlines dominates Istanbul Airport, accounting for around 80pc of seat capacity, rising to 82pc when other Star Alliance carriers are included, making it the defiinition a fortress hub.
Low-cost carriers at Istanbul Airport account for only 2pc of seat capacity and charges are higher than most low cost destination airports, but they have the potential to grow passenger numbers and stimulate demand. Istanbul Airport ihas higher fees and charges than Sabiha Gökçen, home of Pegasus and AnadoluJet on the Asian side of the city, whose overdue second runway will open in November.
The airport recently did deals with Air Arabia, easyJet, flyadeal, flydubai, flynas, and Wizz Air, but not, as yet, Ryanair.
