OAG uncovers developing golden airport triangle in Asia; London Heathrow’s European dominance continues.

Key Findings:

• South Korea Jeju (CJU) to Seoul (GMP) is the busiest route on the planet, with 79,460 flights annually.
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN) is the busiest international route in the world, with 30,187 operating flights.
• New York (LGA) to Toronto (YYZ) is the busiest international route outside of Asia, with 17,038 annual operating flights.
• Two of the busiest international routes worldwide arrive in London Heathrow (LHR), with service from New York (JFK) and Dublin (DUB) ranking 13th and 15th, respectively.

LONDON, – March 26, 2019 – OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight, today released the Busiest Routes in the world. OAG’s analysis, which is based on operating flight volume, includes insight into on-time performance (OTP) and carrier frequency at the route level, both domestically and internationally.

The busiest routes in the world can be found in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to 15 of the top 20 international, and 13 of the top 20 domestic routes globally. The busiest route on the planet is South Korea Jeju (CJU) to Seoul (GMP), with 79,460 annual operating flights. For a second straight year, Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN) is the world’s busiest international route (30,187 flights annually), followed by Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE), with 28,447 flights.

The busiest international routes outside of Asia are from New York (LGA) to Toronto (YYZ) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ). In North America, Toronto (YYZ) is featured in five of the top 10 international markets. Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) is the busiest route in North America and ninth busiest in the world.

London Heathrow is the only European hub with routes (from New York JFK and Dublin) ranking among the top 20 busiest international. Within Europe, Amsterdam (AMS) to London (LHR) is the third-busiest international route, with 13,115 operating flights annually.

“Asia is once again home to the world’s busiest routes. In addition to the dominant role played by Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta have become Asia’s new ‘golden triangle,’ offering similar benefits to major U.S. hubs, Boston, New York and Washington,” said John Grant, senior analyst with OAG. “While Asia and North America lead the global rankings, connectivity at London Heathrow remains critical for global air travel, with seven of the region’s busiest long-haul routes ending at the airport.”

OAG’s full analysis includes regional insights for Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Middle East and Africa, with short, medium and long-haul route categorization. For OAG’s full criteria and more insights, access the complete analysis here.

About OAG 

OAG is a leading global travel data provider, that has been powering the growth and innovation of the air travel ecosystem since 1929. 

Every day, we support millions of journeys across the globe, enabling a simpler, seamless and more enjoyable travel experience. With the world’s largest network of schedules and status data, and leading-edge analytics tools, we enable our customers to make smarter decisions, better adapt to change and create exceptional customer experiences.  

We partner with some of the biggest global brands, airports, airlines, travel operators and fast-growing start-ups to design the best services available today, and the finest innovations of tomorrow.  

Headquartered in the UK, OAG has global operations in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. 

Media Contact
Caroline Mather 
OAG 
Email: pressoffice@oag.com