Charles de Gaulle Airport is the biggest airport in Europe based on its land size and the third based on its estimated passenger traffic after Istanbul Atatürk Airport and Istanbul Airport. This airport is considered to be one of the busiest and biggest airports in the world as well.

No, Istanbul Airport (IST) is significantly larger than Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in terms of total land area. Istanbul Airport, which opened its first phase in 2018 and has continued expanding into 2026, covers roughly 76.5 square kilometers (about 29.5 square miles). In comparison, Charles de Gaulle covers approximately 32.4 square kilometers (about 12.5 square miles). While CDG is one of Europe's most complex and busiest hubs with its multi-terminal layout, the "mega-hub" design of Istanbul was built with massive land reserves to eventually handle up to 200 million passengers annually. Even in terms of flight volume, by 2026, Istanbul Airport has frequently surpassed CDG as the busiest airport in Europe. While CDG remains a critical gateway for the SkyTeam alliance, the sheer physical footprint and modern infrastructure of the new Istanbul facility place it in a higher size category among global aviation giants.