BUSIEST FLIGHT ROUTES IN THE WORLD

View and interrogate OAG’s ever-popular Busiest Airline Routes whenever you need as they evolve and change over time, regularly providing updates on the busiest flight routes in the world. These include the Top 10 Busiest Global Airline Routes, Top 10 Domestic Airline Routes and International Airline Routes by region. Our flight routes data is powered by Schedules Analyser.

Find extensive flight data and analysis for domestic and international airline routes below and discover the busiest air routes in the area of your choice.

KEY POINTS

• The top three busiest global domestic routes in May 2025 remain unchanged since last month, and are all in North East Asia.
• South Korea’s Jeju International (CJU) - Seoul Gimpo (GMP) remains in first place globally with 1.1 million seats, followed by the Japanese route connections of Sapporo New Chitose (CTS) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Fukuoka (FUK) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) in second and third place respectively.
  
• In the Top 10 busiest domestic routes Jeddah (JED) to Riyadh (RUH) has had the biggest increase in capacity compared to last year, adding 17% more seats and is in fifth place.
• The route with the largest decline in capacity is Melbourne (MEL) to Sydney (SYD) with capacity dropping by 9% taking it to sixth place.

KEY POINTS

• Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) remains the Busiest Domestic Route in China in May 2025 with 666,128 seats.
• Shanghai (SHA) to Shenzhen (SZX) is the second busiest route with 604,245 seats.
• Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) is in third place with 551,965 seats however capacity has dropped by 16% compared to last year which is the biggest decrease in capacity year on year in the Top 10.
• All of the top three routes are connecting Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to another large airport.
• Hangzhou (HGH) to Beijing (PEK) has moved up into the Top 10 busiest domestic routes in China with capacity increasing by 9% compared to May 2024 and is in 10^th place.
  
• Chongqing (CKG) to Shenzhen (SZX) has dropped out of the Top 10 compared to last year.

KEY POINTS

• Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) is the second busiest route in May 2025 with 296,751 seats with capacity 3% lower than last year. This route was the busiest domestic route in the USA in May 2024.
• Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) is the third busiest route with 293,460 seats and has increased capacity by 10% compared to last year.
  
• Denver (DEN) to Las Vegas (LAS) has had the biggest decrease in capacity in May 2025 compared to May 2024 with seats 16% lower and it is now in 9^th place.

KEY POINTS

• In May 2025, Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) continues to be the busiest international route with 557,806 seats, a 3% increase in capacity compared to May 2024. Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) has moved up a place to be the second busiest route in May 2025 with 483,848 seats, a 5% increase in capacity compared to last year. Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) is in third place with 470,024 seats but there is only 13,824 (3%) seats between second and third place.
  
  
• Jakarta (CGK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) has moved up into the top 10 busiest international routes compared to May 2024 when it ranked outside the Top 10. This route has had the biggest increase in capacity in the top 10 compared to May 2024 adding 27% more seats and the route holds sixth place this month. Fukuoka (FUK) to Seoul Incheon (ICN) has also moved up into the Top 10 busiest international routes this month compared to May 2024 in ninth place adding 12% more seats than last year. Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) and Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG) have both dropped out of the Top 10 in May 2025 compared to last year.
  
  
• Five global regions are covered in the Top 10 Busiest International Routes:
  • One within the Middle East
  • One linking North America to Europe
  • One linking Africa to the Middle East

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.