PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Istanbul international Airport has overtaken London Heathrow as the best-connected airport in the world, according to OAG, a global travel data provider.
The largest airport in Turkey, and the largest privately-owned airport operated in the world, Istanbul becomes the most connected airport in the world in 2026, moving up from second place in 2025.
One of the busiest airports in Europe, iGA Istanbul Airport boasts of the highest potential connectivity of the world's biggest airports, with a total of 89,456 connections flights flying to 337 destinations across the world. It served more than 51.2 million passengers between 2025 September and 2026 August.
It is the 8th busiest airport in the world in terms of capacity (August 2025-August 2026). Turkish Airlines is the dominant carrier at the airport with 80 percent of capacity.
Connectivity was measured based on the busiest day for global aviation in the year - Sunday August 2.
The rankings were generated by comparing the number of scheduled connections to and from international flights with the number of destinations served from the airport.
In OAG's Megahubs 2026 Index, London Heathrow Airport moves into second place this year with potential connections falling by 6 percent on the busiest day compared to last year. London Heathrow's connectivity is affected by the ongoing disruption to Middle East schedules, with its capacity to the region down by 25 percent in August 2026 versus last year's.
Maintaining its position in third place is Amsterdam Schiphol, which has seen both capacity and destinations grow.
Kuala Lumpur retains fourth position in the global rankings and remains the most connected Asian Megahub. While potential connections have fallen slightly since last year at KUL, it has seen an increase in destinations served from 151 to 154, and overall capacity has increased by 6.9 percent. This is the highest capacity growth rate amongst its peers in Southeast Asia except for Hanoi, which is growing at 11.8 percent.
The airport in the capital of Malaysia also tops OAG's Low-Cost Carrier Megahubs index, offering nearly 15,000 possible low-cost connections.
Chicago O'Hare is the most connected Megahub in the Americas, moving up this year into the top 5 from 7th place last year. Chicago and Atlanta are the only two North American hubs in the Top 10 Global Megahubs. Capacity has increased by 10.6 percent, and potential connections by 9.8 percent, making Chicago the fastest-growing North American airport of those in the top 50. It now has the third most destinations served of any airport in the world, with services increasing from 297 to 308 in the last year.
Seoul Incheon International Airport, Frankfurt International Airport, Tokyo International Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport rounds out the Top 10 most-connected airports in the Megahubs 2026 Index.
Of the 50 most connected airports in the world, 17 are in Asia Pacific, 17 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, 12 in North America and 4 in Latin America.
Eight of the top 20 most connected airports globally are in Asia Pacific.
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