Heathrow is on the verge of losing its position as Europe’s busiest airport to Istanbul, new figures show.<\/p>\n
Just 3,012 more passengers used the west London airport than its Turkish rival in May, airports group ACI Europe said.<\/p>\n
The airports both recorded 7.12 million passengers during the month.<\/p>\n
This came after Heathrow suffered a 1.2% decline from May 2025, while Istanbul enjoyed a 2% year-on-year boost.<\/p>\n
The former recently warned that the Iran-US conflict is putting “notable downward pressure on traffic”, with its Middle East routes down 25%.<\/p>\n
It said it expects its annual passenger numbers to fall by 1.1% this year compared with 2025.<\/p>\n
Despite this, Heathrow continues to operate its two runways at near-full capacity, and it is seeking Government permission to build a third.<\/p>\n
A proposal by the airport’s owners would enable it to accommodate 150 million passengers per year.<\/p>\n
Some 84.5 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s four terminals last year.<\/p>\n
Transport<\/a> Secretary Heidi Alexander launched a consultation on the renamed Heathrow expansion national policy statement last month, setting out the conditions needed if the project is to be given the go-ahead.<\/p>\n Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> said at the time she was determined to get “spades in the ground” for the third runway<\/a> in the current Parliament, and for it to be built by 2035.<\/p>\n