OAG, the world’s leading aviation platform providing data and analysis to the global travel industry since 1929, described Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport’s 2025 performance as “a strategic achievement among Europe’s top 10 largest airports.”
Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport marked 2025 as a turning point in which it redefined its operational boundaries and reinforced its position in the global aviation arena. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) reached 48.4 million passengers, proving that it is one of the world’s most important international connectivity hubs.
The UK-based, long-established institution OAG—regarded as the digital compass of the aviation industry and one of the most trusted authorities in shaping global aviation strategies—published its report titled “The World’s Busiest Airports of 2025” on 15 January 2026, prepared using Global Airline Schedules Data.
Based on full-year (January–December) 2025 scheduling data and offering year-on-year (YoY) analyses as well as comparisons with the pre-pandemic period (including 2024 and 2019 data), the report used the following assessment for Sabiha Gökçen Airport’s 2025 performance: “a strategic achievement among Europe’s top 10 largest airports.”
First in capacity growth: 15% increase
In OAG’s “Europe’s Top 10 Largest Airports” assessment, which ranks airports based on offered seat capacity, Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) increased its capacity by 15% year on year in 2025, reaching 28.6 million one-way (semi-route) seats, becoming the airport with the highest annual growth among the top 10.
The report noted that major European hubs Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) airports are still below their pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
Although both airports showed a recovery trend of 3% and 5% respectively compared with 2024, Sabiha Gökçen Airport—recording a 15% annual increase—overtook Munich, which fell to 10th place.
While Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen was the only new airport to enter the “Europe’s Top 10 Largest Airports” list, it climbed two places from 11th in 2024 to ninth position.
Maintaining its leadership in long-term growth performance, Sabiha Gökçen Airport increased its capacity to 37% above 2019 levels, becoming the fastest-growing airport compared with the pre-pandemic period.
Commenting on the 2025 World’s Busiest Airports rankings, OAG Chief Analyst John Grant pointed out that global aviation has entered a new phase of growth, while also underlining Istanbul’s rise as a global hub.
In his additional assessment specific to Sabiha Gökçen, John Grant stated that “the figure of 48.4 million passengers indicates an average load factor of 84% throughout the year; this data is aligned with and consistent with market expectations.”
Kerem Maybek: “ISG’s success is the tangible outcome of its transformation vision”
Interpreting this success not merely as an increase in volume but as a tangible outcome of the holistic transformation vision at ISG—where technology is positioned as a strategic lever—Kerem Maybek, Deputy CEO for Commercial Affairs and Strategy at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (ISG) Airport, stated that in 2026 they will continue to support rapidly growing traffic with sustainability principles and technology-focused investments, while delivering a world-class passenger experience.
Maybek commented: “Türkiye, with its geopolitical advantage at the heart of three continents, has become one of the prominent bases of global aviation as both a fast transport corridor and an ergonomic connection point. From Istanbul—the focal point of this critical logistics corridor and the jewel of world tourism—we connect 55 countries with 23 airlines and a total of 154 destinations, including 39 domestic and 115 international routes. Our airport has transformed not merely into a destination, but into a vast ecosystem that sets new ‘hub’ standards for global aviation.”
Maybek concluded his remarks as follows:
“At Sabiha Gökçen, ‘the Airport of the City – of Cities’, which has stronger, faster and more integrated connections with Istanbul and its surroundings via road, sea and rail systems, we will continue to offer our passengers not just a transit point, but a comfortable, seamless, predictable and digitalised travel experience.”
