World’s busiest airline routes in 2024 are largely in Asia

Aviation data provider OAG 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 connect 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 pandemic brought it all to a standstill.

To determine the busiest international and domestic flight routes, OAG analysed the volume of scheduled airline seats from January to December 2024. 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,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, in a release.

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 6.8mn available seats. Following in second place is Cairo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which has had a 62% increase over 2019 levels. In third place is Seoul to Tokyo Narita, which counts 5.4mn scheduled seats or a 69% 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,” added Grant. 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 travellers heading between Jeddah and Cairo, a route that seems to point mostly to leisure vacations.

Rounding out the list is a long-time high-ranking route: New York JFK to London Heathrow. It’s the only transatlantic trip to rank among the top 10 busiest flights, with 4mn scheduled seats — a 5% 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): 4.01mn seats

9. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.03mn seats

8. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta (CGK)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 4.07mn seats

7. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok (BKK)-Hong Kong International Airport (HKG): 4.2mn seats

6. Dubai International Airport (DXB)-King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh (RUH): 4.3mn seats

5. Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN)-Kansai International Airport, Osaka (KIX): 4.98mn seats

4. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur (KUL)-Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN): 5.38mn seats

3. Incheon International Airport, Seoul (ICN)-Narita International Airport, Tokyo (NRT): 5.4mn seats

2. Cairo International Airport (CAI)-King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah (JED): 5.47mn seats

1. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei (TPE): 6.8mn seats