Istanbul Airport Exceeds 2019 Figures & Targets 85 Million Passengers This Year

Key Takeaways

  • Istanbul Airport (iGA) welcomed 76 million passengers last year, exceeding 2019 figures.
  • iGA Airport aims to reach 85 million passengers and plans to increase its investments to €656.5 million this year.
  • In 2023, Istanbul Airport ranked as the Busiest Airport in Europe, with an average of 1,375 flights per day.

Istanbul Airport (iGA) surpassed pre-pandemic figures, reaching 76 million passengers last year, as revealed by Selahattin Bilgen, Acting CEO at iGA.

Meanwhile, in 2019, nearly 53 million travelers passed through this airport, VisaGuide.World reports.

Following this record in passenger traffic, iGA Airport aims to reach 85 million passengers and also 532,000 flights this year. Compared to 2023, these figures represent a 12.77 percent and 12.46 percent increase, respectively.

In addition, with 11 new airline companies starting their operations at our airport this year, we will also lead the world in this field.

Selahattin Bilgen, Acting CEO at iGA

Moreover, Bilgen has announced that 2024 will be the “Year of Investments” for iGA Airport. The company invested €160.1 million in 2023 and plans to increase its investments to €656.5 million in 2024.

He further revealed they will introduce the first triple parallel runway operation in Europe to increase the capacity of passengers to 200 million.

Among other projects to take place this year include iGA becoming the world’s first airport to fulfill all its electricity requirements through renewable energy sources.

We aim to invest a total of 656.5 million euros in 2024, with a total investment of 331.2 million euros planned for the construction of the East-West runway and the North-South backup runway in 2024.

Selahattin Bilgen, Acting CEO at iGA

Despite increasing its investments, Bilgen mentioned airport sustainability goals, stating that iGA aims to slash emissions by 45 percent within six years, with further reductions planned for the following years.

We will achieve a 73 percent emission reduction in 2040 and reach the Net Zero Emission target in 2050.

Selahattin Bilgen, Acting CEO at iGA

In addition to the increase in passenger traffic and investments, Istanbul Airport witnessed a rise in public appreciation rate. Referring to a study by GfK Research Company, Bilgen noted the public’s appreciation rate of Istanbul Airport has increased continuously over three years, reaching 89 percent in 2023.

He believes this rate will grow even more due to the opening of the Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport metro.

The Istanbul Airport ranked as the Busiest Airport in Europe in 2023 for the second year in a row. During that period, iGA operated an average of 1,375 daily flights, whereas on June 22, the airport recorded a total of 1,684 flights in a single day.

Meanwhile, on July 2, last year, iGA set a new record in passenger traffic, reaching 266,184 within that day.

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