2023 statistics
2023 data is being updated as not all Airports and state regulatory entities have disclosed the statistic up until now.
This is a list of the busiest airports in the Middle East (handling more than 5,000,000 passengers per year), ranked by total passengers per year, including both terminal and transit passengers.
The tables also show the percentage change in total passengers for each airport over the last year. Data is sourced individually for each airport and normally originates from national aviation authority statistics, or those of the airport operator or international civil aviation authorities.
2023 data is being updated as not all Airports and state regulatory entities have disclosed the statistic up until now.
Ben Gurion International Airport, commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym Natbag, is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the busiest airport in the country. It is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the northwest of Jerusalem and 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the southeast of Tel Aviv. Until 1973, it was known as Lod Airport, whereafter it was renamed in honour of David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first Israeli prime minister. The airport serves as a hub for El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia, and Sun d'Or, and is managed by the Israel Airports Authority.
Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia, as well as the 13th-busiest airport in Europe. Originally built as a military airbase, Sheremetyevo was converted into a civilian airport in 1959. The airport was originally named after a nearby village, and a 2019 contest extended the name to include the name of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of India, officially declared in 1991. It is the operating base of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and SpiceJet. Spread over an area of 700 acres (280 ha), the airport is approximately 3.7 km (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, 16 km (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach, 13 km (8.1 mi) from Technopark and 21 km (13 mi) from the under-construction Vizhinjam International Seaport. It shares a visible proximity to Shankumugham Beach making it the nearest airport to the sea in India, just about 0.6 miles away from the sea.
Bahrain International Airport is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama and the city Al Muharraq, it serves as the hub for the national carrier Gulf Air. The airport is managed by the Bahrain Airport Company. Established in 1927, it is the Persian Gulf's oldest international airport.
Sharjah International Airport is an international airport located 7 nautical miles east-southeast of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It is spread over an area of 15,200,000 m2. It has one runway, and is the only airport in Sharjah capable of international flights as of 2022.
Imam Khomeini International Airport is the primary international airport of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Tehran. All international flights in Tehran are currently served by this airport, and all domestic flights are served by Mehrabad Airport. IKA ranks third in terms of total passenger traffic in Iran after Mehrabad Airport and Mashhad International Airport. The airport is operated by the Iran Airports Company and is the primary operating base for Iran Air and Mahan Air, as well as an international hub for many smaller Iranian airlines.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport is one of the seven international airports serving Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev International Airport is the busiest airport both in Azerbaijan and in the South Caucasus as well as one of the busiest in the post-Soviet countries. Formerly, it was called Bina International Airport after a suburb of the Azerbaijan capital Baku. On 10 March 2004, the airport was renamed after the former president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. The airport is 20 kilometers northeast of Baku, connected to the city by a highway. It serves as the hub for national carrier Azerbaijan Airlines as well as for Azal Avia Cargo, Buta Airways and Silk Way West Airlines.
Penang International Airport (PIA) (IATA: PEN, ICAO: WMKP) is an international airport in George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, 16 km (9.9 mi) south of the city centre, and serves the country's second largest conurbation.
Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport or Medina Airport is a regional airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Opened in 1950, it handles domestic flights, while it has scheduled international services to regional destinations such as Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul and Kuwait City. Medina Airport also handles charter international flights during the Hajj and Umrah seasons. The Pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah can enter Saudi Arabia through this airport or through Jeddah Airport only. It is the fourth busiest airport in Saudi Arabia, handling 8,144,790 passengers in 2018.
Jay Prakash Narayan Airport is an international airport serving Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. It is named after the independence activist and political leader, Jayprakash Narayan. It is the 15th busiest airport in India. To meet demand, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is working to expand and modernise airport infrastructure. The airport is currently undergoing an ambitious expansion project that includes a new two-level passenger terminal, which will be completed by December 2023.
Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport, formerly Novo Alexeyevka International Airport, is the busiest international airport in Georgia, located 17 km (11 mi) southeast of capital Tbilisi. The airport handled 3.7 million passengers in 2019. Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the airspace of Georgia was closed for most of 2020 causing the number of travelers through Tbilisi airport to drop by 84% to less than 600,000.
Antalya Airport is a major international airport located 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of the city centre of Antalya, Turkey. It is a major destination during the European summer leisure season due to its location at the country's Mediterranean coast. It handled 31,210,119 passengers in 2022, making it the second-busiest airport in Turkey after Istanbul Airport. The airport has two international terminals and one domestic terminal. Antalya is one of the major airports in southwestern Turkey, the others being Bodrum and Dalaman. Among the top 50 busiest airports in the world by passenger numbers in 2021, Antalya saw the highest growth in passenger numbers at 125.8%. The airport's passenger numbers that year were among very few international airports to reach a level which matched or exceeded a normal operational year in the 2010s decade.
Hamad International Airport is an international airport in Qatar, and the home of the national flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways. Located east of the capital, Doha, it replaced the nearby Doha International Airport as Qatar's principal and main national airport.
Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport is an international airport serving Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located at Babatpur, 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Varanasi. Formerly known as Varanasi Airport, it was officially renamed after Lal Bahadur Shastri, the 2nd Prime Minister of India, in October 2005. It is the 20th-busiest airport in India in terms of passenger movement, and the second-busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh. The airport is awarded as the best airport in Asia-Pacific in 2020 by Airports Council International.
Swami Vivekananda Airport, formerly known as Mana Airport, is a domestic airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The airport is located at Mana, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) south-east of Raipur and 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Naya Raipur, situated conveniently between the two cities. On 24 January 2012, the airport was renamed after Swami Vivekananda, the iconic Hindu monk and philosopher who spent three years of his youth in Raipur between 1877 and 1879.
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport is an international airport serving the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and is located 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Indore. According to the statistics released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the agency responsible for the maintenance and management of the airport, it was the 18th busiest airport in India by passenger traffic in the year 2018-19. The airport is named after Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Maratha Empire. Since 24 March 2018, it has started operations 24*7 with night landing facilities.
Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is one of two international airports serving Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. Located 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city center, Sabiha Gökçen Airport is in the Asian part of the bi-continental city and serves as the hub for AnadoluJet and Pegasus Airlines. The facility is named after Sabiha Gökçen, adoptive daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the first female fighter pilot in the world. Although Istanbul Airport, located 63 km (39 mi) west of the European side of Istanbul, is larger, Sabiha Gökçen is still one of the largest airports in the country.
