Türkiye’s largest airport took the crown of the best in Europe in a recent study by the portal Holidu, which evaluated average Google Review ratings to name the best and worst air hubs located within the Old Continent.
With an average rating of 4.4 Istanbul Airport took the top spot on the list of best hubs, just ahead of Francisco de Sa Carneiro Airport in Portugal's Porto and Athens International Airport.
"Although the end of summer is marked by a massive influx of travelers returning from their holidays, the travel experience is not limited to the destination. The airport of departure and arrival plays a crucial role in the overall traveling experience," Holidu said in a blog post about its survey.
To help travelers anticipate and plan their trips as effectively as possible, Holidu, the booking portal for holiday homes, has analyzed data from Google Maps to draw up a ranking of the best and worst airports in Europe for the year 2024, it said.
"Based on thousands of comments and ratings, the guide indicates which airports offer exceptional experiences, as well as those that need to be improved," it added.
For the second year running, Istanbul Airport has risen to the top of the list of Europe’s best airports, according to Google reviews, Holidu said.
"With an impressive score of 4.4, based on 101,956 reviews, it continues to win the admiration of travelers from all over the world."
Like this, Holidu said, the airport confirms "its leading position, combining efficiency, comfort and quality services," adding that this is a "remarkable achievement that underlines the excellence of Türkiye’s infrastructure."
The mega 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.
Since then it has become the busiest airport in Europe, with the number of daily flights often averaging between 1,400 and 1,500 in the recent period.
In the week between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1, Istanbul Airport remained the busiest with 1,494 flights a day, according to the weekly data from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol).
Istanbul Airport welcomed 7.7 million passengers last month only and managed 46,933 flights, according to recently published figures from the State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI).
Meanwhile, Holidu revealed that the worst-ranked airport in their study based on user reviews was Heraklion International Airport in Greece with an average score of 2.6 points. It was followed by Bordeaux-Merignac Airport in France and Manchester Airport in the U.K.
A fast-growing vacation rental company, Munich-based Holidu was founded by two brothers in 2014 and it offers a wide range of accommodation options across Europe along with personalized service and modern software solutions.
