Hong Kong-Taipei is the busiest international air route, according to a report released Tuesday by the aviation intelligence agency OAG.
The route, which last held the spot in 2019, is once again at the top of the list despite seating capacity still being 15% below pre-pandemic levels, it said OAG report.
Seven of the world’s 10 busiest international routes are in the Asia-Pacific region, although seating capacity on many of these routes is still not at 2019 levels.
However, two routes on the list – both in the Middle East – have seen significant growth since 2019. On the second largest route, Cairo to Jeddah, there are around 5.5 million seats available, which is 62% more than in 2019, according to OAG.
The third busiest route – Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita – also saw significant growth (68%) compared to pre-pandemic levels. Several factors explain why, said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG.
“First, with the Chinese international market still slowly recovering, airlines had to reallocate their aircraft to other markets. And Japan is a very popular travel destination right now,” he said. “In addition… some new airlines have entered the market, including airlines such as Eastar and Air Japan. And finally… Haneda Airport is practically fully booked, so new capacity had to go to Narita.”
The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, the busiest international route of 2023, moved up to fourth place, with seats 3% below 2019 levels. Bangkok to Hong Kong, the seventh busiest route, is also not fully restored and remains 13% behind pre-pandemic capacity.
New York-JFK to London-Heathrow is the only route on the top 10 list that lands in North America and Europe. According to OAG, seating capacity on the route increased last year by 3% to 4 million seats.
Flights from Latin America didn’t make the top 10 list, but according to OAG, the busiest international route in the region is the one connecting Orlando, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with 2.3 million seats.
The busiest domestic routes
Domestic routes are far busier than international ones in terms of the number of scheduled seats.
The world’s busiest route runs in South Korea, connecting Seoul to Jeju Island. According to OAG, there were around 14.2 million seats available on the route in 2024, which equates to around 39,000 seats per day.
This is despite capacity on the route still being 19% below pre-pandemic levels, the company said.
According to the report, nine of the top 10 busiest domestic routes in 2024 will be in Asia Pacific.
The route connecting Hokkaido to Tokyo comes in at number 2, followed by another route in Japan – one connecting the city of Fukuoka to Tokyo Haneda.
China’s busiest airline connects its two largest cities – Beijing and Shanghai – with about 7.7 million seats, just ahead of the 7 million seats that fly between Guangzhou and Shanghai.
According to OAG, seats on the latter route fell from 2023 levels, which Grant described as a “readjustment” to 2019 schedules.
“During the pandemic, local Chinese airlines have diverted international capacity to domestic flights and there has been a sharp increase on this route,” he said. “What we are now seeing is the realignment of capacity back to more normal levels as Chinese airlines slowly begin offering more international services again.”
The biggest growth on this list is in Saudi Arabia, where the number of seats on the route between Jeddah and Riyadh increased by 9% compared to 2019.
Busiest domestic routes by region
The busiest route in Africa connects South Africa’s Cape Town with Johannesburg (5 million seats) and in Europe, Spain’s Barcelona with the island of Mallorca (2.9 million seats).
The busiest route in the United States connects Atlanta and Orlando (3.5 million seats), but the busiest route in North America is the one in Canada, connecting Vancouver and Toronto (3,498,835 seats).
