THE BUSIEST FLIGHT ROUTES OF 2024

Welcome to our yearly analysis of the world’s busiest flight routes. The Busiest Flight Routes of 2024 examines data spanning from January to December 2024, powered by OAG’s Global Airline Schedules Data, to offer a comprehensive view of route performance and trends.

Explore the busiest international and domestic flight routes globally, with comparisons to 2023 and 2019 (pre-pandemic). Additionally, we have included data on the largest aviation markets, China and the USA, by providing insights into the busiest domestic airline routes within these regions.

• The Busiest International Airline Route in 2024 was Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) with 6.8 million seats. More about this route:
  • In 2023, it ranked as the third busiest route, although it held the top spot in 2019.
  • The capacity on this route grew by 48% compared to the previous year, yet remained 15% lower than the levels seen in 2019.
  • All routes across Asia Pacific saw significant growth in 2024 as the region continues the post-pandemic recovery, with the HKG - TPE route showing the most substantial increase.
• Taking second place in the Top 10 Busiest International Airline Routes was Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) with 5.5 million seats.
  • Airline capacity on this route grew 14% above 2023 levels and 62% above 2019 levels. 
• In third place was Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) with 5.4 million seats (only 58,818 (-1.1%) seats behind second place).
  • Capacity on this route increased by 30% compared to 2023 levels and by 68% compared to 2019 levels.
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) was the Busiest International Airline Route in 2023. It was fourth place in 2024 with 5.4 million seats, just 28,293 (0.5%) behind third place.
  • This route was above 2023 levels by 10% and just below 2019 levels by 3%.
• Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG) moved up into the Top 10 Busiest International Routes in 2024 in seventh place with 4.2 million seats, a capacity increase of 29% compared to 2023 but still 13% behind 2019.
• The majority of routes in the Top 10 Busiest International Routes for 2024 were in Asia, seven routes in total. From other regions, one route was from Africa (Cairo to Jeddah), one from Europe and North America (New York JFK to London Heathrow) and two within the Middle East (Cairo to Jeddah and Dubai to Riyadh).

Listed below are the number one international airline routes per region, based on seats. Full Top 10 rankings for each of these regions, plus further breakdowns, alongside the global busiest international and domestic routes rankings, is free to download - just click on the yellow button below for instant access.

KEY POINTS

• In 2024, Jeju (CJU) to Seoul (GMP) remained the Busiest Domestic Route in the World with 14.2 million seats, equivalent to almost 39,000 daily seats.
  • Capacity on the route was 3% above 2023 levels but still 19% behind 2019.
• Eight of the Top 10 Busiest Domestic Routes were in Asia, including key trunk routes in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India and China.
• The route between Hokkaido’s Chitose Airport (CTS) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) was the second largest domestic route globally, with 11.9 million seats -a similar level to 2023. Another key Japanese domestic route was the third largest, operating between Fukuoka (FUK) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) with 11.3 million seats - also relatively unchanged in capacity terms since 2023.
• Vietnam’s largest domestic route between Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) was the fourth busiest domestic route globally with 10.6 million seats, and Melbourne (MEL) to Sydney (SYD) took fifth place with 9.2 million seats. All of the Top 5 Busiest Domestic Routes in the world in 2024 remained unchanged on 2023 with the same ranking.
• The route that recorded most growth in the Top 10 was Jeddah (JED) to Riyadh (RUH) which saw capacity increase in 2024 by 10% compared to 2023, and 9% more seats than 2019.

KEY POINTS

• The Busiest Domestic Route in China for 2024 was Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) with 7.7 million seats.
  • This route was also the busiest domestic route in China in 2023, however airline capacity in 2024 remained 8% lower than 2023.
• Guangzhou (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) took second place with 7.0 million seats, 2% lower than 2023 but 10% higher than 2019.
• Shanghai (SHA) to Shenzhen (SZX) was the third busiest domestic route in China with 6.9 million seats, 9% more than in 2019.
• Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Beijing (PEK) and Chengdu (CTU) to Beijing (PEK) had the biggest increases in capacity in the Top 10 in 2024 compared to 2023, adding 13% and 11% respectively. However, they were still considerably below 2019 levels by 36% and 26%.

KEY POINTs

• Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) was the Busiest Domestic Route in the USA in 2024 with 3.5 million seats, a similar capacity to 2023 and 2019.
• Honolulu (HNL) to Kahului (OGG) took second place with 3.4 million seats, 7% below 2023 levels but 17% higher than 2019. This route was also the busiest domestic route in the USA in 2023.
• In third place, with just 14,941 (0.4%) fewer seats than HNL-OGG route, was Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX).
• New York La Guardia (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) had the biggest increase in capacity year on year, growing by 17% in 2024 compared to 2023, and moved up into the Top 10 in seventh place.

Listed below are the number one domestic airline routes per region. Full Top 10 rankings for each of these regions, plus further breakdowns, alongside the global busiest international and domestic routes rankings, is free to download - just click on the yellow button below for instant access.

SEATS

The busiest air routes are defined as those with the largest volume of scheduled airline seats in the year 2024. Data is for flights in both directions on each route. The annual Busiest Routes report is collated from the monthly Busiest Routes Right Now reports, which are sourced from the OAG Schedules Analyser in the first week of each month. The data reflects the most recent year for the busiest scheduled domestic and international aviation routes in each category. Historical capacity data for 2019 and 2023 has been used for comparison.