Istanbul Airport has set new records for daily flights and passenger traffic, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Monday.
Türkiye's largest airport and one of the biggest civil aviation hubs in the world handled 1,739 flights and 290,287 passengers on Sunday.
The figures marked the highest number of daily flights and passengers ever recorded at an airport in Türkiye and Europe, Uraloğlu said in a statement.
The passenger count renews Istanbul Airport's previous peak of 289,732 reported on the same day a week ago.
The new records further strengthen Istanbul Airport's position as a major international aviation hub, Uraloğlu said.
"Istanbul Airport is among the world's leading airports with its capacity, strong infrastructure and quality of service," he noted.
"These new records once again demonstrate that our airport is further strengthening its position as a global transfer hub."
The gleaming glass-and-steel structure along the Black Sea coast turned into one of the most important transit centers in aviation since it became fully operational in April 2019.
The hub can handle 90 million passengers a year in the current phase. The figure is nothing compared to its potential capacity to serve 200 million after completing all phases.
Istanbul Airport served record-breaking 84.4 million passengers in 2025, making it the second-busiest airport in Europe after Heathrow Airport and the eighth-busiest worldwide. It seeks to reach the 90 million mark this year.
Across the city, Türkiye's second-largest airport also recorded its highest-ever daily passenger traffic on the same day.
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport said it had handled 180,914 passengers across 958 flights on Sunday.
It said it saw new daily records for international arriving and departing passengers, domestic passenger traffic, total international flights and international departures.
The airport additionally set a record for aircraft served through Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBBs). A total of 218 aircraft used the boarding bridges on Sunday, surpassing the previous daily record of 212.
Hanita Ahmad, executive director of Sabiha Gökçen, said passenger traffic had surpassed 180,000 for the first time, reflecting both strong demand for the airport and its operational capacity.
"As Sabiha Gökçen, we will continue focusing on continuously improving the passenger experience and sustainable growth in line with our vision of becoming a regional transfer hub," Ahmad said.
