New EU border checks have doubled queues at major airports, adding delays for travel and logistics across Europe as Brussels' latest regulatory intervention creates bottlenecks at key transport hubs. The Financial Times reported the new border checks have lengthened queues at major airports, while Heathrow airport's chief executive said expansion is clearly needed after the London hub lost the title of Europe's busiest airport to Istanbul.
Figures published on Tuesday showed 7.9 million passengers passed through Heathrow's terminals in July, compared with Istanbul's 8.15 million. Heathrow's passenger numbers for July fell 1.5% from the same month last year, partly due to the war on Iran, while the Turkish hub recorded a 2.3% increase.
The Capacity Constraint
Heathrow's two runways operate at near full capacity, and the airport is seeking government permission to build a third. A £33bn expansion plan would enable it to accommodate 150 million passengers a year. Heathrow said: "The case for expansion has never been clearer, as Heathrow was overtaken in July by Istanbul airport as the busiest hub in Europe. Our plans will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive and will deliver all-important economic growth."
Istanbul airport's chief executive, Selahattin Bilgen, called the news "a significant milestone for our airport". He said: "Thanks to our three independent runways, which can be operated simultaneously 24 hours a day, our advanced operational capabilities and high capacity, we have successfully overcome the capacity constraints faced by many major global hub airports." He added: "With the addition of our fourth runway, which is set to become operational by the end of this year, we aim to take this growth even further by increasing the capacity we provide to airlines and passengers while elevating the quality of our services to the next level."
The current main Istanbul airport opened in late 2018 on a brand new site away from the city and residential neighbourhoods, gradually replacing the existing Ataturk airport as the main international hub. It has a vastly bigger footprint and is able to operate 24 hours a day. The Turkish boom also owes much to its location near the Gulf, which has become the crossroads of international air travel.
Heathrow's Decline
For more than two decades before the pandemic, Heathrow served more passengers than any other European airport, according to annual figures from the trade body Airports Council International. The UK's biggest airport, located in west London, lost its pre-eminent position in 2020 amid coronavirus travel restrictions before regaining it in 2023.
The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, launched a consultation on the renamed Heathrow expansion national policy statement in June, setting out the conditions for the third runway to go ahead. The then chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said at the time that she was determined to get "spades in the ground" in the current parliament, and for it to be built by 2035. Andy Burnham has previously expressed concerns over Heathrow expansion, saying the plans divert infrastructure investment "away from the north and traps it in London".
London Stansted said it had recorded the busiest month ever in July, welcoming 3.1 million passengers, a 6.3% increase year-on-year. Manchester also had a record July, serving 3.4 million passengers.
Why This Matters:
The doubling of airport queues due to new EU border checks demonstrates how Brussels-mandated regulations can create real-world bottlenecks that hurt European competitiveness. While border security is essential, the implementation shows the cost of one-size-fits-all EU policies on member states' infrastructure. Heathrow's loss of its busiest-airport status to Istanbul — a non-EU hub with four runways and 24-hour operations — highlights how regulatory constraints and planning delays have hampered British and European aviation infrastructure. The £33bn expansion question isn't just about London capacity. It's about whether Britain can build the infrastructure needed to compete with Istanbul, Dubai, and other global hubs that don't face the same planning paralysis. The tension between Heathrow expansion and regional concerns reflects a genuine trade-off: national competitiveness versus balanced regional investment. That's a debate worth having, but it can't be settled by regulatory delay.