Airports: Istanbul closes in on rejoining the 100 million annual air passengers by city club

Istanbul has grown inexorably as a tourist destination, a business hub and an international and intercontinental transfer point.

The two airports serving Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city and the country's economic, cultural, and historic centre, collectively hosted 78.6 million passengers in the nine months ended 30-Sep-2023, which was an increase of 17.8% year-on-year. The total at the primary Istanbul Airport (IST), on the city's western (European) side and which replaced Atatürk Airport in 2019, was 58.0 million (+21.7% year-on-year), while at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) on the eastern (Asian) side the growth level was +22.7% year-on-year, to 27.7 million.

Accordingly, Istanbul is about to pass the 100 million passenger figure again in 2023 as measured by those using its two airports on either side of the city. The two complement each other well, in the way of catering to the demands of widely differing passengers and their needs.

The 100mppa club is a select one - only 11 cities are known to have been members, and there will be fewer than that in 2023.