Busiest flight routes in the world

Busiest airline routes at a glance

• The busiest domestic airline route: Jeju International (CJU) to Seoul Gimpo (GMP) 
• The busiest international route: Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT)
• China's busiest domestic route: Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA)
• USA's busiest domestic route: New York La Guardia (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Busiest domestic airline routes

Key points

• The Busiest Domestic Route in May 2026 remains in South Korea, with Jeju International (CJU) to Seoul Gimpo (GMP) retaining the top spot with 1.12 million seats, although capacity has declined by 3% compared to May 2025.

• Japan ranks second, with Sapporo New Chitose (CTS) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) providing 1.08 million seats, recording strong growth of 8% year-on-year.

• Japan’s Fukuoka (FUK) to Haneda (HND) follows in third place with 970k seats, remaining broadly stable with a modest 1% increase.

• Vietnam’s Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) ranks fourth with 820k seats, declining by 3% versus last year, while India’s Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) completes the top five, posting the strongest growth in the top ten at 14% to reach 735k seats.

• China’s Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) records a 4% decline to 642k seats and is in eighth place. In contrast, China’s Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to Shenzhen (SZX) and Guangzhou (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) both show growth, increasing by 5% and 6% respectively.

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China’s top 10 busiest domestic airline routes

Key points

• Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) remains China’s Busiest Domestic route in May 2026, offering 642k seats, although capacity declines by 4% compared with May 2025.

• Second place is held by Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to Shenzhen (SZX) with 633k seats, recording a 5% year-on-year increase.

• Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) ranks third with 586k seats, up 6% versus last year, continuing to show strong growth among the leading routes.

• Beijing (PEK) to Shenzhen (SZX) places fourth with 463k seats, but records one of the sharpest declines in the top 10, falling 7% year-on-year.

• Hangzhou (HGH) to Shenzhen (SZX) follows in fifth with 407k seats, posting the strongest growth this month at 7%. Shanghai Hongqiao continues to play a central role in China’s domestic network, featuring in three of the top three routes.

• Further down the rankings, Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Beijing (PEK) records a 6% drop to 360k seats, one of the larger declines among the top routes and is in eighth place. In contrast, Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Beijing Daxing (PKX) grows modestly by 3% to 358k seats, while Chengdu (CTU) to Shenzhen (SZX) remains broadly flat year-on-year at 295k seats.

USA’s top 10 busiest domestic airline routes

Key points

• New York La Guardia (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) becomes the USA’s Busiest Domestic route in May 2026, offering 326k seats and recording strong growth of 12% compared with May 2025.

• Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) ranks second with 319k seats, up 9% year-on-year, while New York JFK (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) follows in third place with 308k seats, increasing by a more modest 3%. Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) moves into fourth place with 289k seats, although capacity declines by 3% compared to last year.

• Atlanta (ATL) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) completes the top five with 266k seats, posting one of the strongest increases in the top ten at 20% year-on-year.

• Strong growth is also evident on key transcontinental and hub-to-hub routes. Denver (DEN) to Phoenix (PHX) rises 5% to 264k seats, while Boston (BOS) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) records the highest growth among the top 10, increasing by 25% to 236k seats. In contrast, several western US markets see declines this month.

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) falls slightly by 2% to 240k seats, while Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX) records the largest drop, down 18% to 236k seats.

• Honolulu (HNL) to Los Angeles (LAX) shows more positive momentum, growing 6% year-on-year to 234k seats.

Busiest international airline routes

Key points

• Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) becomes the World’s Busiest International route in May 2026, offering 549k seats and recording a strong 30% increase compared with May 2025.

• Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) follows closely in second place with 547k seats, although capacity declines slightly by 2% year-on-year.

• Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Osaka Kansai (KIX) ranks third with 492k seats, up 13%, while Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) sits fourth with 424k seats, declining by 12% compared to last year.

• Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Taipei (TPE) completes the top five with 358k seats, increasing by 5% year-on-year.

• The remainder of the top 10 international routes present a mixed performance. New York JFK (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) ranks sixth and is the only non-Asia Pacific route in the top 10, with capacity broadly flat year-on-year at 354k seats.

• Jakarta (CGK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) declines by 13% to 354k seats and is in seventh place, while Fukuoka (FUK) to Seoul Incheon (ICN) sees marginal growth of 1% to 349k seats.

• Hong Kong (HKG) to Manila (MNL) records strong growth of 12% to 332k seats in ninth place, while Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) rounds out the top 10, declining by 9% to 308k seats.

• Asia Pacific continues to dominate the international market in May 2026, accounting for nine of the top 10 busiest routes, with Seoul Incheon (ICN) and Singapore Changi (SIN) featuring prominently and reinforcing their roles as key hubs in the region.

Ranking methodology

The busiest air routes are defined as those with the largest volume of scheduled airline seats in the current calendar month. Data is for flights in both directions on each route and is sourced from OAG Schedules Analyser in the first week of each month. The data reflects the most recent full calendar month for the busiest scheduled domestic and international aviation routes in each category.

For May 2026, routes in the Middle East have been excluded from these tables due to outbreak of war in late February which has disrupted airline schedules significantly