Istanbul Airport broke a world air traffic record Saturday with 1,594 take offs and landings, thanks to the UEFA Champions League final, according to Türkiye's Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
It said additional scheduled and charter flights played an important role in the record.
Finalists Inter and Manchester City fans came by plane and caused a crowd at the airport.
While the arrival of the fans with scheduled flights continued, many non-scheduled planes departing from Italy and the U.K. also landed at Istanbul Airport.
Private jets also carried passengers from different countries to Istanbul.
Manchester City on Saturday etched its name in history as they secured their long-awaited conquest of the UEFA Champions League after beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul.
The Abu Dhabi-backed club won the Champions League title for the first time.
The victory, courtesy of Rodri's 68th-minute goal, has been 15 years in the making since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan transformed City into one of the wealthiest teams in the world overnight.
Istanbul Airport, along the Black Sea coast has managed to turn into one of the most important transit centers in aviation since it was officially declared open in late October 2018, before becoming fully operational in April 2019.
It reflected the emergence of Istanbul, Europe’s largest city straddling Europe and Asia, as a major regional transport hub.
Istanbul Airport can handle 90 million passengers a year in the current phase, which is nothing compared to its potential capacity of serving 200 million after completion of all phases, making it the world’s largest.
All four phases of the airport’s construction and expansion, including six runways, are expected to be completed by 2028.
