London Heathrow No Longer Europe's Busiest Airport London Heathrow's recent decline to third place among Europe's busiest airports is a telling sign of the complexities and challenges that come with airport expansion.
The west London airport, which held the top spot from 1996 to 2019, has been surpassed by Istanbul in terms of passenger traffic.
Heathrow attributes its decline to the US Israel conflict with Iran, which saw Middle East routes plummet by 20. 2% year on year. However, there are deeper issues at play.