SINGAPORE: Seven of the world’s 10 busiest international flight routes in 2024 connected destinations within the Asia Pacific region, according to a Dec 17 report from aviation data provider OAG.
Two other routes connected cities in the Middle East, and one of the busiest didn’t even involve a business travel hub, showing that leisure travel still outpaced corporate trips four years after the pandemic halted global travel, as reported by Yahoo News.
OAG analysed the number of scheduled airline seats from January to December 2024 to determine which international and domestic flight routes were the busiest. The rankings reflect round-trip flights, not one-way flights.
John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, said, “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.”
The Hong Kong to Taipei route reclaimed the top spot as the world’s busiest international flight route, a position it last held in 2019, with 6.8 million available seats this year. Cairo to Jeddah ranked as the second busiest, with a 62% increase over 2019 levels.
The Seoul to Tokyo Narita route came in third, with 5.4 million scheduled seats, a 69% increase from pre-pandemic levels. Dubai to Riyadh ranked as the sixth-busiest.
Mr Grant highlighted the growth of Middle Eastern markets, especially in Saudi Arabia, where the Vision 2030 project is boosting business and leisure travel.
However, he noted that the highest flight volumes in the region were not from business travellers flying between hubs like Riyadh and Dubai, which ranked second on OAG’s list. Instead, it was travellers flying between Jeddah and Cairo, mainly for leisure holidays.
The longtime high-ranking route from New York JFK to London Heathrow was last on the list.
It was the only transatlantic flight to make the top 10, with four million scheduled seats, a 5% increase over 2019 levels. It also remained the only route listed that connected points in either Europe or North America.
The following are the top ten busiest international flight routes of 2024:
- Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE): 6.8 million seats
- Cairo International Airport (CAI) to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah (JED): 5.47 million seats
- Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN) to Narita International Airport, Tokyo (NRT): 5.4 million seats
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 5.38 million seats
- Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN) to Kansai International Airport, Osaka (KIX): 4.98 million seats
- Dubai International Airport (DXB) to King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh (RUH): 4.3 million seats
- Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG): 4.2 million seats
- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta (CGK) to Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.07 million seats
- Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK) to Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.03 million seats
- John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (JFK) to Heathrow Airport, London (LHR): 4.01 million seats
/TISG
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