Europe’s Busiest Airports: September 2023 Edition
- Istanbul Airport is the busiest European airport by flights in September
- While other airports are still recovering, Istanbul services have risen by 10% versus 2019
- Gatwick is in the top 10, replacing Moscow Sheremetyevo
Europe has 739,000 passenger flights in September, with the UK, Spain, Germany, and Italy in the world’s top 10 country list. While European flights are more than 9% lower than in 2019, the continent remains the world’s third-largest by this metric after Asia and North America.
Europe’s busiest 10 airports
According to Cirium schedules data, Istanbul Airport has more passenger flights in September than any other European airport, as detailed in the following table. (Yes, it is on the European side of the Bosphorus.) It is so busy that it is also the world’s sixth-busiest airport, and only slightly quieter than Los Angeles.
The fast growth of Istanbul – and the continued recoveries of all the others – has propelled it from fifth place to first in Europe, replacing Frankfurt, which topped the table in the pre-pandemic 2019. As ever, rankings would be somewhat different if seats, available seat kilometers, and – when available – passengers were examined instead.
| Rank | Airport | Weekly September passenger flights* | Change vs. 2019 | Passenger destinations: September** |
| 1 | Istanbul Airport | 4,964 | +10% | 306 |
| 2 | London Heathrow | 4,643 | -3% | 226 |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 4,563 | -6% | 274 |
| 4 | Frankfurt | 4,373 | -15% | 284 |
| 5 | Paris CDG | 4,307 | -13% | 260 |
| 6 | Madrid | 3,661 | -10% | 203 |
| 7 | Munich | 3,198 | -24% | 199 |
| 8 | Barcelona | 3,165 | -11% | 196 |
| 9 | London Gatwick | 2,962 | -4% | 193 |
| 10 | Rome Fiumicino | 2,847 | -15% | 208 |
| * Departures; double for both ways. Per Cirium | ** Per Cirium |
How have the top 10 varied?
Examining rankings shows that three airports have fallen versus their pre-pandemic position, four have improved, two remain unchanged, and one has entered the table (as another was pushed out). This is summarized below. Of course, this is still a period of recovery and flux, and things will keep changing.
- Frankfurt: was 1st in September 2019 but is now 4th
- Paris CDG: was 2nd, now 5th
- Amsterdam: remains 3rd
- London Heathrow: was 4th, now 2nd
- Istanbul Airport: was 5th, now 1st
- Munich: was 6th, now 7th
- Madrid: was 8th, now 6th
- Barcelona: was 9th, now 8th
- London Gatwick: new to the top 10 versus 2019
- Rome Fiumicino: remains 10th
- Moscow Sheremetyevo: fallen out of the list due to sanctions
Gatwick Gets In
Gatwick is no stranger to the top 10 list. While the London-area airport ranked 11th in September 2019, it became Europe’s 9th busiest airport in 2022, a position it continues to maintain.
Gatwick has been helped by the exit of Sheremetyevo and its stronger-than-most recovery, with flights just 4% behind what they were pre-COVID and much better than Europe generally (-9%).
Some 14% of the UK’s flights are to/from Gatwick this September. As anyone who has been there will attest, one in two departures (51%) is by easyJet, distantly followed by British Airways (12%), both the BA EuroFlyer and mainline. It is the world’s 44th busiest airport by flights in the examined month.
