Editing Atatürk Airport (section)

=== Growth and development ===
In 1911, a small apron with two hangars was built in Yeşilköy, Istanbul, for the Ottoman Armed Forces.<ref name="aip_ltba">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/publicuser/protect/pu/main.jsp |access-date=29 January 2019 |title=EUROCONTROL - the European AIS Database: Introduction to EAD Basic - Home }}</ref> [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] founded Türk Tayyare Cemiyeti (Turkish Aircraft Company, today [[Turkish Aeronautical Association|Türk Hava Kurumu - THK]]) in 1925. In 1933, today's [[Turkish Airlines]], the Türkiye Devlet Hava Yolları started its flights with two [[Curtiss Kingbird]] aircraft. Flights from Istanbul to Ankara and Athens began. The small apron was expanded and a new passenger terminal was built. This is considered the beginning of the airport's 86-year history. It was originally named ''Yeşilköy Airport''. In the 1980s, it was renamed ''Atatürk International Airport''.

It served more than 60 million passengers in 2015, making it the [[World's busiest airports by passenger traffic|11th-busiest airport in the world]] in terms of total passenger traffic and the [[World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic|10th-busiest in the world]] in terms of international passenger traffic. In 2017, it was [[Europe]]'s [[List of the busiest airports in Europe|5th-busiest airport]] after [[Heathrow Airport|London–Heathrow]], [[Charles de Gaulle Airport|Paris–Charles de Gaulle]], [[Frankfurt Airport]], and [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]], having fallen from third place after a decline in passengers due to security fears.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-13/-full-heathrow-extends-european-hub-lead-as-terror-hurts-rivals|publisher=Bloomberg Business |access-date=15 January 2016|title='Full' Heathrow Extends European Hub Lead as Terror Hurts Rivals}}</ref>