OAG Reveals the Busiest Airline Routes of 2024

According to the latest data from OAG, the busiest international airline route for 2024 is Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE), with an impressive 6.8 million seats. This route has reclaimed its top position, which it last held in 2019, following a 48% increase in capacity over the past year. Despite this growth, it remains 15% below pre-pandemic levels.

• 2nd Place: Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) with 5.5 million seats, up 14% from 2023 and 62% from 2019.

• 3rd Place: Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) with 5.4 million seats, showing a 30% increase over 2023 and a 68% rise compared to 2019.

• 4th Place: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN), previously the busiest route in 2023, now ranks fourth with 5.4 million seats, up 10% from last year and just 3% below 2019 levels.

Notably, seven of the top 10 busiest international routes for 2024 are located in Asia, highlighting the region's continued recovery and growth post-pandemic.

The busiest international airline routes by region for 2024, again ranked by seat capacity are…

AFRICA
Cairo to Jeddah: 5,469,274 seats

ASIA PACIFIC
Hong Kong to Taipei: 6,781,577 seats

EUROPE
New York JFK to London Heathrow: 4,011,235 seats

LATIN AMERICA
Orlando to San Juan: 2,309,653 seats

MIDDLE EAST
Cairo to Jeddah: 5,469,274 seats

NORTH AMERICA
New York JFK to London Heathrow: 4,011,235 seats

The world’s busiest domestic route in 2024 remains Jeju (CJU) to Seoul Gimpo (GMP), with 14.2 million seats, a 3% increase from 2023 but still 19% below 2019 levels. Eight of the top 10 domestic routes globally are in Asia, underscoring the region's dominance in high-demand short-haul travel.

• 2nd Place: Chitose (CTS) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) – 11.9 million seats

• 3rd Place: Fukuoka (FUK) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) – 11.3 million seats

• 4th Place: Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) – 10.6 million seats

• 5th Place: Melbourne (MEL) to Sydney (SYD) – 9.2 million seats

In the USA, Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) is the busiest domestic route with 3.5 million seats, followed closely by Honolulu (HNL) to Kahului (OGG) and Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX).

Here are the busiest domestic airline routes by region for 2024, again ranked by seat capacity:

AFRICA
Cape Town to Johannesburg: 5,084,762 seats

ASIA PACIFIC
Jeju International to Seoul Gimpo: 14,183,719 seats

EUROPE
Barcelona to Palma: 2,869,842 seats

LATIN AMERICA
Bogotá to Medellín: 6,664,812 seats

MIDDLE EAST
Jeddah to Riyadh: 8,700,415 seats

NORTH AMERICA
Vancouver to Toronto: 3,498,835 seats

Want more detail? Head over to OAG for more.