INTERNATIONAL. Hong Kong International Airport to Taipei is this year’s busiest international airline route, with 6.8 million seats, according to OAG’s comprehensive annual review of route performance and trends.
The OAG Busiest Flight Routes of 2024 examines data spanning from January to December 2024, powered by the travel analyst’s Global Airline Schedules Data.
Hong Kong to Taipei moves up from number three position in 2023, regaining the top spot it held in pre-pandemic 2019.
OAG noted capacity on this route has grown by +48% year-on-year, yet it remains -15% lower than in 2019.
The data shows that all routes across Asia Pacific have seen strong growth in 2024, as the region continues a robust post-pandemic recovery.
Cairo International Airport to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport takes second place in the international rankings, with almost 5.5 million seats. Airline capacity on this route is +14% above 2023 levels and a whopping +62% higher than 2019.
In third place, only slightly behind, is South Korea’s Incheon International Airport to Tokyo Narita, with just over 5.4 million seats. Capacity on this route has increased by +30% compared to 2023 levels and is +68% above the 2019 level.
Last year’s busiest international route, Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Singapore Changi Airport is in fourth place this year with 5.4 million seats, just 28,293 (-0.5%) behind third position. This route is above 2023 levels by +10% and is just below the pre-pandemic level by -3%.
The majority of routes in the top ten busiest international routes for 2024 are in Asia, with seven routes in total. Only one involved European and North American airports – New York JFK International to London Heathrow, with just over 4 million seats.
Meanwhile, in the busiest domestic route list, eight of the top ten involve Asia routes. South Korea’s Jeju International Airport to Gimpo International Airport (14.2 million seats, equivalent to almost 39,000 daily seats) tops the rankings.
The route between Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport to Tokyo Haneda Airport is the second largest domestic route globally, with 11.9 million seats, a similar level to last year.
Another key Japanese domestic route is the third largest, operating between Fukuoka and Tokyo Haneda airports, with 11.3 million seats. This route is also relatively unchanged in capacity terms since last year.
Vietnam’s largest domestic route between Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport and Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport ranks fourth with 10.6 million seats. Melbourne to Sydney airports sits in fifth with 9.2 million seats. The top five remain unchanged from the 2023 rankings.
Notably, the domestic route recording the strongest growth in the top ten is in Saudi Arabia, between King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. The route has seen capacity increase in 2024 by +10% compared to 2023, and it also has +9% more seats than 2019 this year.
OAG also revealed top ten lists for the busiest domestic routes in China and USA. They were topped by routes between Beijing and Shanghai Hongqiao International (7.7 million seats), and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Orlando International (3.5 million), respectively. ✈
