What Is The World’s Busiest Flight Route in 2024?

This year’s busiest international flight route was a 105-minute journey between Hong Kong (HKG) and Taipei, Taiwan (TPE). However, the number of seats between the two cities remains below pre-pandemic levels, a new report by aviation analytics company OAG revealed.

In total, seven carriers, including Cathay Pacific, Taiwan’s state-owned China Airlines, and Hong Kong Airlines, offered 6.78 million seats between the two cities this year. More than 30 flights take off each way daily, with multiple departing every hour during peak times in the morning and evening.

Photo: Hong Kong. Courtesy of Simon Zhu / Unsplash

Capacity was up 48 percent on this route compared to 2023, reflecting a widespread recovery in the aviation market across the region. However, available seats remained 15 percent below 2019, when the Hong Kong-Taipei link last topped OAG’s ranking.

Saudi Arabia Growing Strong

This year’s second busiest international route links Cairo, Egypt (CAI) to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED), a gateway to Mecca for Muslims performing Hajj.

Photo: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Courtesy of mohammed alorabi / Unsplash

The tourism boom in Saudi Arabia has also boosted the route as the Kingdom tries to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels. Tourist arrivals in the Kingdom were up 61 percent this year compared to 2019, making Saudi Arabia the third-fastest-growing global tourism market, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The sixth most trafficked international route also flies into Saudi Arabia: from nearby Dubai (DXB) to the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh (RUH).

South Korea, Japan, Singapore

In third place is the link between Seoul-Incheon (ICN) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT), where 68 percent more seats were available than in 2019. John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, attributed the route’s growth to multiple factors.

“Firstly, with the Chinese international market still slowly recovering, airlines have had to allocate aircraft to other markets. And Japan is a very popular destination at the moment,” he told CNBC.  “On top of that … a few new carriers have entered the market, including airlines such as Eastar and Air Japan. And finally … [Tokyo’s] Haneda Airport (HND) is effectively full so that new capacity has had to go to Narita. ”

Photo: Tokyo, Japan. Courtesy of Muhammad Irfan / Unsplash

The fifth busiest route also links South Korea to Japan, departing from Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Osaka Kansai (KIX).

Meanwhile, 2023’s top-ranking route, a one-hour hop between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) to Singapore (SIN), fell to fourth.

The only route in Europe or North America that ranked in the top 10 was between New York (JFK) and London Heathrow (LHR), with just over 4 million seats available.

No flight to or from South America was featured in the top ten, but OAG said the busiest international route in the region was from Orlando, Florida (MCO), to San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU).

Here is the list of the top 10 most popular travel routes:

Domestic Outpaces International Travel

But however busy these international routes may be, they’re easily surpassed by domestic links.

The busiest domestic route in the world is in South Korea, connecting Seoul’s Gimpo Airport (GMP) to Jeju Island (CJU), a popular vacation destination. Eight carriers, many of them low-cost, offer over 100 flights daily from Gimpo to the island, with 14.2 million seats available each year.

Photo: Jeju island, Korea. Courtesy of Finn / Unsplash

Two Japanese domestic routes rounded out the top three: one between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Sapporo New Chitose (CTS), in Japan’s northern Hokkaido island, and another between Haneda and Fukuoka (FUK), the most populous city on the southern Kyūshū island.

Eight of the top 10 busiest routes were in Asia, including key trunk routes in South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, India, and China.

Here is the list of the top 10 most popular domestic routes:

The Most Traveled Routes in the U.S.

The most traveled domestic route in the United States was between Atlanta (ATL), the country’s busiest airport, and theme park paradise Orlando (MCO). 3.47 million seats were available this year on a route served by low-cost carriers Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit and legacy airline Delta.

Photo: Honolulu, Hawaii. Courtesy of Cosmin Serban / Unsplash

The second busiest U.S. route was a short flight between Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL), on Oahu, and Kahului (OGG), on Maui.

The third busiest American route links Tinseltown with Sin City. This year, 3.35 million seats were on sale between Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS).

Here is the list of the top 10 most popular U.S. domestic routes: