New data has revealed the best connected airport in the world.
IGA Istanbul Airport has been named the world’s best connected airport based on data from the first two quarters of 2024 compiled by aviation analytics platform Cirium.
Opened just six years ago in 2018, the airport offers 309 nonstop flights to destinations around the world – most of them with Turkish Airlines, which flies to more countries than any other airline.
“Our strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia enables us to serve as a major hub for international travel,” Selahattin Bilgen, the airport’s CEO, said in a statement to CNN.
“We have also proven to be the most resilient airport. We have recovered fastest from the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to pre-pandemic passenger levels before any other airport in the world.”
Istanbul Airport is a global hub with an annual passenger traffic of around 90 million passengers and an annual capacity of 200 million, making it the seventh busiest airport in the world.
After Istanbul Airport, Frankfurt with 296 non-stop flights, Paris Charles de Gaulle with 282 and Amsterdam Schiphol with 270 are the airports with the best connections.
In North America, Chicago O’Hare is the airport with the best connections, tied for fourth place with Amsterdam Schiphol, and serves 270 nonstop destinations.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport ranks seventh, Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport ranks ninth, and Denver International Airport, which serves 229 nonstop destinations, just misses the top 10 at 11th place.
According to Cirium, these are the ten best connected airports in the world:
1. Istanbul Airport (309 unique nonstop destinations)
2. Frankfurt Airport (296)
3. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (282)
4. TIE: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (270)
4. Tie: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (270)
6. Dubai International Airport (269)
7. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (261)
8. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (243)
9. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (237)
10. Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (234)
