British consultancy OAG has published data on the world’s busiest routes in 2024, which are based on seat availability between January and December 2024.
The route between Seoul (Gimpo) and Jeju Island, both in South Korea, was the busiest route in the world, with 14.1 million passengers between the two airports.
Despite being significant, the number is 19% lower than in 2019, before the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic.
Follow Air Data News: WhatsApp | Google News | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Asia stands out with nine of the ten busiest domestic routes in the world, due to the dynamism of the Asian economy and large population.
| TOP 10 BUSIEST DOMESTIC FLIGHT ROUTES OF 2024 | |||
| Ranking | Route | Seats | Var. 2019 |
| 1 | Seul Gimpo (GMP) – Jeju (CJU) | 14.183.719 | -19% |
| 2 | Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Sapporo (CTS) | 11.931.572 | -5% |
| 3 | Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Fukuoka (FUK) | 11.335.551 | -1% |
| 4 | Hanoi (HAN) – Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) | 10.631.435 | 4% |
| 5 | Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD) | 9.217.377 | -7% |
| 6 | Jeddah (JED) – Riyadh (RUH) | 8.700.415 | 9% |
| 7 | Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Naha Okinawa (OKA) | 8.033.641 | 4% |
| 8 | Mumbai (BOM) – Delhi (DEL) | 7.963.686 | -3% |
| 9 | Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) – Beijing (PEK) | 7.714.758 | -5% |
| 10 | Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) – Guangzhou (CAN) | 7.010.321 | 10% |
Source: OAG.
In addition, some connections do not have land options, such as the routes between Seoul and Jeju, a popular island among Korean couples, and Tokyo (Haneda) and Okinawa, also a paradise island.
Nine of the world’s ten busiest international routes are also located on the Asian continent.
The leader is the route between Hong Kong and Taipei (Chiang Kai-Shek), in Taiwan, with 6.7 million annual seats, regaining the position lost in 2019.
| TOP 10 BUSIEST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ROUTES OF 2024 | |||
| Ranking | Route | Seats | Var. 2019 |
| 1 | Hong Kong (HKG) – Taipei (TPE) | 6.781.577 | -15% |
| 2 | Cairo (CAI) – Jeddah (JED) | 5.469.274 | 62% |
| 3 | Seul Incheon (ICN) – Tokyo Narita (NRT) | 5.410.456 | 68% |
| 4 | Singapore (SIN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) | 5.382.163 | -3% |
| 5 | Seul Incheon (ICN) – Osaka Kansai (KIX) | 4.982.769 | 45% |
| 6 | Dubai (DXB) – Riyadh (RUH) | 4.306.599 | 37% |
| 7 | Hong Kong (HKG) – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) | 4.201.802 | -13% |
| 8 | Singapore (SIN) – Jakarta (CGK) | 4.069.071 | -26% |
| 9 | Singapore (SIN) – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) | 4.033.344 | 5% |
| 10 | Nova York JFK (JFK) – Londres Heathrow (LHR) | 4.011.235 | 5% |
Source: OAG.
Half of the top ten did not recover 2019 levels, with the route between Singapore and Jakarta 26% lower than that year.
On the other hand, the routes between Cairo and Jeddah, and Tokyo (Narita) and Seoul (Incheon) saw impressive increases: 68% and 62%, respectively.
Routes by region
Among the international routes in Africa and the Middle East, Cairo-Jeddah recorded the highest number of seats, while in Europe and North America the busiest route was London (Heathrow)-New York (JFK).
In Latin America, the highlight was the Orlando (Florida)-San Juan (Puerto Rico) route.
One of the largest domestic air travel markets in the world, the United States had the Atlanta-Orlando route with the largest number of seats offered, followed by Honolulu-Kahului, Hawaii.
