The World’s Busiest Routes Uncovered

At OAG, we’re fascinated by data and what insights it can provide.  We’ve taken a deeper look at the world’s highest density trunk routes and their on-time performance (OTP), shining a light on some interesting findings.  In a series of rankings, we look at the biggest routes globally and by region, with a special focus on the Asia Pacific, where, not surprisingly, some of the world’s busiest routes operate.

 Asia Pacific is home to several high growth markets and 15 of the Top 20 busiest international routes globally operate there, with a cluster around the Asian hub airports of SIN, HKG, KUL and BKK.  Some of these routes are also the shortest, with a flight time of just over an hour to cover the 296km between Kuala Lumpur – Singapore, the world’s busiest international route. 

As well as being high frequency, what sets some of Asia Pacific’s routes apart are the number of carriers operating them – on average seven carriers – compared to three in other regions.  Similarly, many of Asia’s busiest routes are characterised by a high volume of seats, with Hong Kong – Taipei a striking example.  Over three quarters of the aircraft operating the second busiest international route in the world are widebody aircraft, reflecting the huge demand for air travel in this part of the world.

 Asia Pacific is also home to 13 of the Top 20 busiest domestic routes globally.  Jeju (CJU) to Seoul (GMP) is the busiest route on the planet, by a large margin. With nearly 80,000 annual flights, this route sees over 200 daily services operated by seven carriers.  Domestic routes are big business, with 15 globally which have more flights operating each year than any international routes anywhere.

Read the full analysis now.

DOWNLOAD