A annual report released by aviation data provider OAG yesterday reveals that seven of the world’s 10 busiest international airline routes this year connect destinations within the wider Asia-Pacific region, a sign of a long-awaited travel comeback for Asia. Two more connected cities in the Middle East. And one doesn’t even feature a business travel hub at all, proving that leisure continues to outshine corporate trips four years after the COVID-19 pandemic brought it all to a standstill.
To determine the busiest international and domestic flight routes, OAG analyzed the volume of scheduled airline seats from January to December this year. The routes listed reflect round-trip flights rather than one-ways in a single direction.
“With the Asia Pacific region very close to a full recovery, the busiest routes are concentrated in the familiar major hubs of Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon and Singapore,” OAG chief analyst John Grant said in a news release.
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan International Airport Corp
The Hong Kong to Taipei route is once again the world’s busiest international flight route — a title it last claimed in 2019. This year, that single two-hour trip represented a total of 6.8 million available seats. Following in second place is Cairo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which has had a 62 percent increase over 2019 levels. In third place is Seoul to Tokyo Narita, which counts 5.4 million scheduled seats or a 69 percent increase over pre-pandemic numbers, according to the report. Dubai to Riyadh is the sixth-busiest flight route.
“One of the most interesting developments is the growth in regional Middle East markets with a particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia where the Vision 2030 project continues to drive both business and leisure demand,” Grant added. Yet it isn’t businesspeople flying between corporate hubs like Riyadh and Dubai driving the region’s largest flight volumes at OAG’s No. 2 spot; it’s travelers heading between Jeddah and Cairo, a route that seems to point mostly to leisure vacations.
Rounding out the list is a longtime high-ranking route: New York JFK to London Heathrow. It’s the only transatlantic trip to rank among the top 10 busiest flights, with four million scheduled seats — a 5 percent increase over 2019 levels — and the only listed route with points in either Europe or North America.
Here’s how the top 10 shook out this year. Consider it harbinger of where you’re most likely to find yourself—whether for work or for pleasure—in the year ahead.
Top 10 Busiest International Flight Routes of 2024
10. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (JFK)-Heathrow Airport, London (LHR): 4.01 million seats
9. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.03 million seats
8. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta (CGK)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.07 million seats
7. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK)-Hong Kong? International Airport (HKG): 4.2 million seats
6. Dubai International Airport (DXB)-King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh (RUH): 4.3 million seats
5. Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN)-Kansai International Airport, Osaka (KIX): 4.98 million seats
4. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur (KUL)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 5.38 million seats
3. Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN)-Narita International Airport, Tokyo (NRT): 5.4 million seats
2. Cairo International Airport (CAI)-King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah (JED): 5.47 million seats
1. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei (TPE): 6.8 million seats
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