Istanbul airports top Europe for departure punctuality

Turkey

Turkish Airlines Group shares highest arrival punctuality among Europe's largest airline groups

Istanbul's two international airports delivered Europe's strongest departure punctuality performance during the week of 13–19 July, according to the latest network performance data published by EUROCONTROL. Istanbul Airport and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport ranked first and second among the continent's 20 busiest airports, while Turkish Airlines Group shared the highest arrival punctuality among Europe's leading airline groups.

The results underline the strong operational performance of Türkiye's aviation sector during a week in which air traffic across the European network continued to grow.

Istanbul takes the top two positions

Istanbul Airport achieved an on-time departure rate of 81%, securing first place among Europe's busiest airports. Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport followed in second place with 78%.

Copenhagen Airport ranked third with a departure punctuality rate of 76%, while Oslo Airport and Antalya Airport each recorded 75%.

Turkish Airlines shares top position

Among Europe's 20 busiest airline groups, Turkish Airlines Group and SAS Group jointly achieved the highest arrival punctuality, with both recording an on-time arrival rate of 85%.

Turkish Airlines also posted a lower average air traffic flow management delay than SAS, with 1.37 minutes per flight compared with 2.37 minutes.

Pegasus Airlines shared fourth place in the ranking with an arrival punctuality rate of 78%, behind Iberia Group, which achieved 79%.

During the same reporting period, Turkish Airlines also set a new record for the highest number of daily flights in its history, surpassing the previous record established earlier this year.

European traffic continues to grow

According to EUROCONTROL, the European aviation network handled an average of 36,201 flights per day during the week, representing an increase of 1.9% compared with the same period in 2025.

Across the network, arrival punctuality averaged 69%, while departures achieved an on-time performance of 63%.

A total of 63,957 flights—equivalent to 25% of all services operated during the week—were affected by air traffic flow management restrictions.