Istanbul Airport Becomes Europe’s Leading Air Cargo Hub 

Istanbul Airport has officially surpassed Frankfurt Airport to become Europe’s biggest air cargo hub, according to the German Aviation Association (BDL). The primary enabler for the Turkish airport’s ascent has been lower costs and faster ground times than their German counterparts who continue to face bureaucratic obstacles, spiraling costs, and a lack of cooperation from regional governments.

In 2024 global air cargo traffic was up 6%. Frankfurt managed a small gain of only 1.2%. In stark contrast, Istanbul witnessed a staggering 39.6% increase in cargo volume and became the first airport in Europe to dominate the market. The BDL warned that airports in neighbouring countries that are new and efficient will continue to attract cargo traffic away from German airports. Unless air transport in Germany sees major reform, airports such as Frankfurt and Cologne/Bonn will fall even further behind.

The association has proposed a five-point action plan that can show impact quickly to tackle air transport, which includes removing some of the ground costs, reducing paperwork, making sure employees can work flexible hours, enforcement of the EU customs rules and evidence of a reduction in paperwork for collecting the VAT on imports.

Meanwhile from January 1 to April 30, 2025, Istanbul had just over 596,000 tons of cargo, which is a slight reduction from 2024, but nonetheless kept the title of busiest airport in Europe, recording on average 1,482 flights a day from April 21-27, 2024.

Flight traffic was up year-on-year by 4% and 24% from 2019 numbers, demonstrating solid growth in the longer term.

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