Istanbul Airport (IGA) currently operates with three independent runways. Operated by IGA, this major hub in Turkey became Europe's first to implement simultaneous triple runway operations in April 2025, boosting hourly air traffic capacity from 120 to 148 movements. This milestone allows three aircraft to take off at once, reducing delays and emissions while handling massive passenger volumes—over 80 million annually as of early 2026.

Recent Milestone

In a groundbreaking demo on April 17, 2025, three Turkish Airlines planes departed simultaneously, greenlit by Turkey's Transport Minister from the control tower. IGA's master plan director noted the infrastructure was designed from 2015 for such parallel ops, with taxiways and aprons fully supporting it. By September 2025, routine three-runway flights were smoothing peak-hour congestion across terminals.

Future Expansion Plans

IGA aims for quadruple runway operations soon, with CEO comments signaling "tomorrow, we aim to do quad operations" thanks to pre-built infrastructure. This would further elevate capacity amid booming traffic, positioning Istanbul as a global aviation leader. No firm timeline exists yet, but prep work aligns with the airport's "future-proof" 2018 blueprint.

Quick Capacity Impact

Aspect| Before Triple Ops| After Triple Ops
---|---|---
Hourly Movements| 120 5| 148 (+28) 35
Key Benefit| Standard ops| Fewer delays, lower emissions 9
Europe First| N/A| IGA leads 7

TL;DR: IGA has 3 runways in active simultaneous use, with 4 planned next.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.