✈️ Istanbul Dual-Airport Divergence: Business Aviation Traffic Accelerates Shift Toward New Airport
According to Avi-Go data, from April 1 to May 28, 2026, combined business aviation movements at Istanbul's two airports totaled 3,094 operations, a modest year-over-year decline of 3.0% compared to 3,191 operations during the same period in 2025. However, the structural divergence between the two airports is intensifying. LTFM (Istanbul Airport) recorded 760 movements, up 8.6% year-over-year, while LTBA (Atatürk Airport) declined 6.3% to 2,334 movements. Although LTBA continues to dominate the market at approximately 3.07 times the volume of LTFM, the direction of migration has become increasingly clear. Notably, from April to May, LTBA's month-over-month growth rate (+9.0%) outpaced that of LTFM (+4.9%), indicating that short-term peak-season incremental traffic is still concentrating at the legacy airport — the relationship between the two airports is not a simple zero-sum dynamic. In terms of origin, domestic Turkish flights led with 496 movements, followed by Greece (105), Italy (99), France (85), and the United Kingdom (60), with short-haul European business demand forming the primary traffic base.
Impact: For FBO operators, the sustained growth at LTFM signals that demand for business aviation infrastructure at the new airport is reaching meaningful scale. At the same time, LTBA continues to absorb significant traffic during peak season, meaning the parallel operation of both airports will not change in the near term. A strategy concentrated solely on one airport carries considerable risk.
Recommendation: FBO investors and ground handling service providers should complete a reassessment of capacity and slot allocation across both airports before Q3 2026, prioritizing the establishment or expansion of handling capabilities at LTFM, while retaining operational flexibility at LTBA to manage peak-season demand — and avoiding premature reduction of resource allocation at the legacy airport.