Based on OAG data, we’ve analyzed the world’s busiest airline routes. Here’s an overview of what you will find on this blog post:
- World’s Busiest Domestic Routes
- Busiest Asian Domestic Routes
- Busiest North American Domestic Routes
- World’s Busiest International Routes
- Spotlight on African International Routes
- Spotlight on Asian International Routes
- Spotlight on European International Routes
- Spotlight on American International Routes
- Spotlight on Middle East International Routes
- Spotlight on North American International Routes
World’s Busiest Domestic Routes
Although the Asian market continued to be the most vital aviation market, the list of busiest airline routes became more diversified in August. Compared to recent rankings, the Chinese dominance decreased. However, as in the previous months, Jeju-Seoul remains the world’s busiest airline route.
Besides three Chinese routes, Japan and South Korea add two routes to the top 10. With Cancun-Mexico City, we have a Latin American route in the top 10 for the first time. Moreover, Jeddah-Riyadh remains a robust domestic route. Furthermore, it is fascinating that European and North American routes are again not part of the busiest domestic routes.
| Routing | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| CJU-GMP | Jeju | Seoul | 1.5M |
| CTS-HND | Sapporo | Tokyo Haneda | 772K |
| PEK-SHA | Beijing | Shanghai Hongqiao | 718K |
| FUK-HND | Fukuoka | Tokyo Haneda | 680K |
| GMP-PUS | Seoul | Busan | 666K |
| CUN-MEX | Cancun | Mexico City | 545K |
| HND-OKA | Tokyo Haneda | Okinawa | 540K |
| JED-RUH | Jeddah | Riyadh | 539K |
| CAN-SHA | Guangzhou | Shanghai Hongqiao | 538K |
| SHA-SZX | Shanghai Hongqiao | Shenzhen | 531K |
Busiest Chinese Domestic Routes
Besides the world’s busiest airline routes, we also took a specific look at China. As shown in one of our recent blog posts, China is one of the rare airline markets that record traffic figures similar to pre-COVID times. Unsurprisingly, China’s big metropolitan areas, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Guangzhou, play the most crucial role in domestic traffic. At least one of the mentioned cities is contained in 9 of the ten busiest domestic Chinese routes.
| Routing | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEK-SHA | Beijing | Shanghai Hongqiao | 718k |
| CAN-SHA | Guangzhou | Shanghai Hongqiao | 538K |
| SHA-SZX | Shanghai Hongqiao | Shenzhen | 531K |
| CTU-PEK | Chengdu | Beijing | 429K |
| PEK-SZX | Beijing | Shenzhen | 368K |
| CTU-SZX | Chengdu | Shenzhen | 318K |
| CAN-CTU | Guangzhou | Chengdu | 316K |
| CAN-HGH | Guangzhou | Hangzhou | 313K |
| CAN-PKX | Guangzhou | Beijing Daxing | 307K |
| CKG-SZX | Chongqing | Shenzhen | 296K |
Busiest North American Domestic Routes
Compared to China, North American domestic traffic happens at a much lower level. Even the busiest North American route (Honolulu – Los Angeles) has a lower capacity than the ten-busiest Chinese route (Chongqing – Shenzhen). Like the last ranking, many routings contain holiday destinations, such as Honolulu, Kahului, or airports in Florida.
| Routing | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HNL-LAX | Honolulu | Los Angeles | 264K |
| JFK-LAX | New York | Los Angeles | 256K |
| HNL-OGG | Honolulu | Kahului | 239K |
| ATL-MCO | Atlanta | Orlando | 233K |
| DEN-ORD | Denver | Chicago O’Hare | 229K |
| EWR-MCO | Newark | Orland | 228K |
| ANC-SEA | Anchorage | Seattle | 228K |
| ATL-FLL | Atlanta | Fort Lauderdale | 225K |
| LAX-ORD | Los Angeles | Orlando | 222K |
| LAS-LAX | Las Vegas | Los Angeles | 219K |
World’s Busiest International Routes
The world’s busiest international routes are still dominated by flights to/from Simferopol. However, it is arguable whether this should be counted as an international route. Different from the busiest domestic routes, there’s not a single Asian route contained in the list. On the contrary, we have North American, European, African, and Middle East routes.
Besides Moscow, which is part of four routings, Cairo plays an important role and is part of three routings. Finally, the route New York – London Heathrow is back in the top 10!
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIP-SVO | Simferopol | Moscow Sheremetyevo | 338K |
| DME-SIP | Moscow Domodedovo | Simferopol | 304K |
| AYT-SVO | Antalya | Moscow Sheremetyevo | 224K |
| CAI-JED | Cairo | Jeddah | 212K |
| MCO-SJU | Orlando | San Juan | 188K |
| AYT-VKO | Antalya | Moscow Vnukovo | 163K |
| ORY-PTP | Paris Orly | Pointe-a-Pitre | 155K |
| CAI-DXB | Cairo | Dubai | 147K |
| CAI-RUH | Cairo | Riyadh | 141K |
| JFK-LHR | New York | London Heathrow | 138K |
Spotlight on African International Routes
Egypt’s capital Cairo plays an important role when looking at the top international African routes. Like the last ranking, flights from Cairo to Jeddah, Dubai, and Riyadh rank on positions one to three. Moreover, the route Cairo-Khartoum adds a fourth Cairo-routing to the top 10!.
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAI-JED | Cairo | Jeddah | 106K |
| CAI-DXB | Cairo | Dubai | 74K |
| CAI-RUH | Cairo | Riyadh | 71K |
| ORY-RUN | Paris Orly | St. Denis | 53K |
| CMM-ORY | Casablanca | Paris Orly | 47K |
| ADD-DXB | Addis Ababa | Dubai | 45K |
| CAI-KRT | Cairo | Khartoum | 42K |
| ABJ-ACC | Abidjan | Accra | 42K |
| JED-KRT | Jeddah | Khartoum | 41K |
| MJI-TUN | Tripoli | Tunis | 40k |
Spotlight on Asian International Routes
Looking at important Asian international routes, Singapore plays an essential role. As a result, Singapore is part of four of the top 10 routes. Besides that, Chinese airports play an important role and are part of five routings.
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HKG-TPE | Hong Kong | Taipei | 99K |
| BKK-HKG | Bangkok | Hong Kong | 94K |
| MNL-SIN | Manila | Singapur | 88K |
| MFM-PVG | Macau | Shanghai Pudong | 84K |
| BKK-SIN | Bangkok | Singapur | 80K |
| CGK-SIN | Jakarta | Singapur | 74K |
| HKG-PVG | Hong Kong | Shanghai Pudong | 71K |
| HKG-PEK | Hong Kong | Beijing | 68K |
| KUL-SIN | Kuala Lumpur | Singapur | 67K |
| DEL-DXB | Delhi | Dubai | 65K |
Spotlight on European International Routes
As already mentioned, Russia plays a dominant role when it comes to international routes. When looking at the busiest European routes, Russian airports are part of the top 5 routings. Besides that, holiday traffic continues to be a vital traffic driver. As a result, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and Larnaca are part of the busiest European airline routings.
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIP-SVO | Simferopol | Moscow Sheremetyevo | 338K |
| DME-SIP | Moscow Domodedovo | Simferopol | 304K |
| AYT-SVO | Antalya | Moscow Sheremetyevo | 224K |
| AYT-VKO | Antalya | Moscow Vnukovo | 163K |
| LED-SIP | St. Petersburg | Simferopol | 135K |
| DUS-PMI | Dusseldorf | Palma de Mallorca | 125K |
| BCN-ORY | Barcelona | Paris Orly | 122K |
| FRA-PMI | Frankfurt | Palma de Mallorca | 121K |
| AMS-BCN | Amsterdam | Barcelona | 120K |
| ATH-LCA | Athens | Larnaca | 117K |
Spotlight on Latin American International Routes
Many of the busiest Latin American airline routes are connected to the United States. Out of the top 10 busiest airline routes, six contain airports in the United States of America.
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCO-SJU | Orlando | San Juan | 94K |
| CUN-PTY | Cancun | Panama City | 79K |
| ORY-PTP | Paris Orly | Point-a-Pitre | 79K |
| IAH-MEX | Houston | Mexico City | 65K |
| BOG-PTY | Bogota | Panama City | 61K |
| CUN-DFW | Cancun | Dallas/Fort Worth | 60K |
| FDF-ORY | Fort de France | Paris Orly | 58K |
| JFK-STI | New York | Santiago (DO) | 55K |
| JFK-SJU | New York | San Juan | 53K |
| MIA-PTY | Miami | Panama City | 52K |
Spotlight on Middle East International Routes
Although Dubai is far away from pre-COVID traffic, the Middle East represents an essential airport in the region. As a result, Dubai is part of six of the busiest airline routes in the Middle East.
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMM-DXB | Amman | Dubai | 129K |
| BAH-DXB | Bahrain | Dubai | 123K |
| DXB-RUH | Dubai | Riyadh | 115K |
| BEY-DXB | Beirut | Dubai | 108K |
| CAI-JED | Cairo | Jeddah | 106K |
| AMM-DOH | Amman | Doha | 103K |
| DXB-IKA | Dubai | Tehran | 82K |
| CAI-DXB | Cairo | Dubai | 73K |
| BEY-DOH | Beirut | Doha | 71K |
| CAI-RUH | Cairo | Riyadh | 70K |
Spotlight on North American International Routes
| Route | Airport | Airport | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCO-SJU | Orlando | San Juan | 94K |
| JFK-LHR | New York | London Heathrow | 69K |
| IAH-MEX | Houston | Mexico City | 65K |
| CUN-DFW | Cancun | Dallas/Fort Worth | 59K |
| JFK-STI | New York | Santiago (DO) | 55K |
| JFK-SJU | New York | San Juan | 53K |
| MIA-PTY | Miami | Panama City | 53K |
| EWR-SJU | Newark | San Juan | 52K |
| LAX-SJD | Los Angeles | San Jose Cabo | 51K |
| LAX-MEX | Los Angeles | Mexico City | 51K |
What’s your Opinion?
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Used Data
The shown information is based on OAG data and internal data sources. Whenever stated, EMEA refers to airlines based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.
