List of busiest passenger flight routes explained

These are lists of the busiest flight routes by the number of passengers flown, by seat capacity and by aircraft movements.

Global statistics

By number of passengers

Top 10 busiest flight routes

RankDepartingArrivingDistance (km)2023[1] 2022[2] 2021[3] 2019[4] 2018[5] 2017[6] Type
1 Seoul–Gimpo44913,728,78616,068,98317,082,70017,426,87314,107,41413,460,306Domestic
2 Tokyo–Haneda83511,936,30210,216,7658,171,32412,498,4689,698,6398,726,502Domestic
3 Tokyo–Haneda88911,264,2299,894,2967,562,38711,400,0188,762,5477,864,000Domestic
4 Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City117110,883,5558,562,0096,806,13110,253,5306,867,1146,769,823Domestic
5 Sydney Melbourne7059,342,3126,996,1562,119,779[7] 9,958,5009,245,3929,090,941Domestic
6 Beijing–Capital Shanghai–Hongqiao10818,355,2256,321,1947,910,7938,117,4616,518,9976,833,684Domestic
7 Tokyo–Haneda Naha15737,982,2186,910,8095,602,4087,704,0985,829,7125,269,481Domestic
8 Jeddah Riyadh8577,902,1427,371,1196,677,0978,018,2055,526,1105,091,629Domestic
9 Mumbai Delhi11507,276,4306,941,9474,891,8818,230,8227,392,1557,129,943Domestic
10 Jakarta Denpasar9917,190,9616,741,9233,939,5095,535,1084,952,852Domestic
Below this line are the former Top 11–50 flight routes. Data for popular 2019–2022 international routes might be provided, but a placement cannot be established.
Shanghai–Hongqiao Shenzhen12176,555,3654,679,2944,445,654Domestic
Guangzhou Shanghai–Hongqiao11766,350,1154,724,5144,469,990Domestic
Seoul–Gimpo Busan3286,297,916Domestic
Cancún Mexico City12945,604,0434,885,6024,656,308Domestic
Jakarta Makassar14394,895,7794,530,4284,559,737Domestic
Beijing–Capital15594,734,8345,092,4424,951,620Domestic
Tokyo–Haneda Osaka–Itami4074,728,3217,248,3005,131,7575,106,584Domestic
Jeju Busan2934,176,8763,106,2242,793,383 Domestic
Jakarta Medan14014,060,4264,512,8303,886,963Domestic
Cape Town Johannesburg12924,001,6804,508,2144,698,849Domestic
Beijing–Capital Shenzhen19793,978,1444,853,0384,496,351Domestic
Taipei–Taoyuan8023,489,5921,296,9697,965,5386,476,2686,719,030International
Jakarta Surabaya7005,649,0465,271,304Domestic
Beijing–Capital18985,076,2294,864,177Domestic
Brisbane Sydney7563,594,1841,093,2314,815,6094,742,771Domestic
Jakarta Singapore8965,480,0004,812,3424,810,602International
Bangalore Delhi17174,542,6384,183,799Domestic
Singapore2962,443,1765,560,8944,490,4634,108,824International
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont3784,234,6314,096,193Domestic
Hong Kong Shanghai–Pudong12474,463,6584,053,9094,162,347International
Los Angeles San Francisco5413,971,9223,507,702Domestic
Bogotá Medellín-Rionegro2393,930,3323,323,127Domestic
Bangalore Mumbai8343,814,4943,445,315Domestic
New York–JFK Los Angeles39823,635,6553,531,613Domestic
Bangkok–Don Mueang Phuket6983,612,3733,325,261Domestic
Brisbane Melbourne13792,806,475787,4393,565,2663,545,156Domestic
Cebu Manila5703,519,5253,233,871Domestic
Hong Kong Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi16944,826,8723,490,9883,438,628International
Mexico City Monterrey7293,474,9713,202,091Domestic
Kolkata Delhi13333,431,9993,153,548Domestic
Ho Chi Minh City6173,256,7183,210,368Domestic
Chiang Mai Bangkok–Don Mueang5693,212,1243,155,528Domestic
Seoul–Incheon Osaka–Kansai8723,210,8132,907,199 International
Cusco Lima5833,201,4143,000,513Domestic
New York–LaGuardia Chicago–O'Hare11773,198,7003,118,651Domestic
Jakarta Kuala Lumpur1142816,8103,798,5593,170,1932,812,479 International
Mexico City Guadalajara4663,170,1772,996,806Domestic
İzmir Istanbul–Atatürk3483,084,2503,496,438Domestic
Hong Kong Seoul–Incheon20803,942,8753,081,9423,198,132International
Guangzhou Chengdu12323,044,0382,944,642 Domestic
Hong Kong Manila11453,852,9913,008,8422,907,228 International
Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi Phuket6853,396,189Domestic
Dubai London–Heathrow55292,697,5931,298,7562,665,441 3,210,121International
Hong Kong Singapore25872,923,578 3,147,384International
New York–JFK London–Heathrow5562 2,848,0441,364,2863,833,7012,846,321 2,972,817International
Hong Kong Beijing–Capital20113,000,786 2,962,707International<-- Think about copyright, showing 100 of 100 list is not fair use
51 Vancouver Toronto–Pearson33582,950,8232,912,026Domestic
53 Los Angeles Chicago–O'Hare28112,927,492Domestic
56 Hangzhou Beijing–Capital11572,883,519Domestic
57 Durban Johannesburg4982,847,1562,953,851Domestic
58 Atlanta Orlando6452,836,4742,918,980Domestic
59 Las Vegas Los Angeles3882,823,4112,961,553Domestic
62 Seattle–Tacoma15402,768,035Domestic
63 Sydney6822,739,057Domestic
64 Cali2872,726,627Domestic
65 Hangzhou10372,653,7012,856,019Domestic
66 Toronto–Pearson5032,640,849Domestic
67 Kunming–Changshui4172,627,969Domestic
68 Wellington4832,617,041Domestic
69 Kuala Lumpur16222,609,151Domestic
70 Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen3642,608,469Domestic
71 Manila9752,606,945Domestic
72 Pune11582,601,764Domestic
73 Singapore3,832,494 <<2019>>14312,596,349International
74 Taipei–Taoyuan21932,592,0492,848,925International
75 Hyderabad12732,577,7432,980,730Domestic
76 Cartagena6732,573,763Domestic
77 Kagoshima9482,553,366Domestic
78 Xi'an9512,540,100Domestic
79 Goa4232,537,413Domestic
80 Christchurch7512,535,669Domestic
81 Hanoi6262,534,425Domestic
82 Taipei–Taoyuan17142,530,208International
83 Los Angeles13922,519,541Domestic
84 Hat Yai7942,518,553Domestic
85 Shenzhen13272,509,1922,873,291Domestic
86 Beijing–Capital14832,485,613Domestic
87 Chongqing9752,468,368Domestic
88 Chennai17742,456,556Domestic
89 Melbourne6462,454,637Domestic
90 Makassar7942,434,487Domestic
91 Chiang Mai5972,395,389Domestic
92 Kuwait City8572,394,192International
93 New York–LaGuardia12382,387,693Domestic
Dubai19251,977,5372,383,145 International
95 Penang3242,379,127Domestic
96 Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen3222,378,692Domestic
97 Chennai10452,377,806Domestic
98 Fort Lauderdale9432,360,786Domestic
99 Padang9142,350,206Domestic
100 Kuala Lumpur9712,341,291Domestic -->

Busiest international flight routes by origin-and-destination passenger volume (airport pairs)

RankDepartingArriving 20232022201920182017[8] [9] 2015 (in millions)[10]
1 Kuala Lumpur Singapore4,891,9522,443,1765,560,8944,490,4634,108,8242.7
2 Cairo Jeddah4,795,7123,234,683
3 Taipei-Taoyuan4,568,2807,965,538 (#9)6,476,268 (#8)6,719,030 (#8)
4 Seoul-Incheon Osaka-Kansai4,218,4843,210,8132,907,199
5 Seoul-Incheon Tokyo-Narita4,155,418
6 Dubai Riyadh3,990,0763,191,090
7 Jakarta Singapore3,910,5025,480,0004,812,3424,810,6023.4
8 London–Heathrow New York–JFK3,878,5902,848,0443,833,7012,972,817
9 Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Singapore3,478,4743,832,494
10 Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Seoul-Incheon3,362,968
Dubai London–Heathrow2,697,593(prev 4th)
Dubai Jeddah2,425,930(prev 6th)
Orlando San Juan2,099,234(prev 7th)
Mumbai Dubai1,977,537(prev 8th)
Cairo Riyadh1,913,991(prev 9th)
Delhi Dubai1,898,749(prev 10th)
Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Hong Kong4,826,8723,490,9883,438,6283
Hong Kong Shanghai–Pudong4,463,658
Hong Kong Seoul-Incheon3,942,8753,081,9423,198,132
Hong Kong Manila3,852,9913,008,8422,907,228
Jakarta Kuala Lumpur3,798,5593,170,1932,812,479
Singapore2,923,5783,147,3842.7
Taipei-Taoyuan2,848,925

Busiest routes by region

DepartingArriving202320222020201920182017
Asia
Jeju13,728,78616,068,98317,426,87314,107,41413,460,306
Oceania
Sydney9,342,3126,989,5699,958,5009,245,3929,090,941
Middle East
7,902,1427,371,119 8,018,2055,526,1105,091,629
South America
Bogotá Medellín-Rionegro5,706,480
Africa
Cape Town Johannesburg-ORT6,072,1964,508,2144,698,849
Cancun Mexico City4,803,4892,874,2675,009,2354,885,6024,656,308
3,928,203[11] 4,658,377
3,971,9223,531,613
Europe
Barcelona Palma de Mallorca2,033,205820,7422,173,9392,035,7231,944,728

By aircraft movements

The following are the lists of the world's busiest flight routes based on the number of scheduled flights in both directions. Note that these statistics do not consider the number of passengers carried.

Domestic

Domestic
RankAirport Pair
  1. of Flights[12]
    (Jan – Nov 2021)
Airlines
1 Jeju (CJU)71,388 Air Busan, Air Seoul, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, Hi Air, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air
2 Seoul (GMP)28,809Air Busan, Air Seoul, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air
3 Jeddah (JED) Riyadh (RUH)24,879 Flyadeal, Flynas, Saudia
4 Fukuoka (FUK) Tokyo (HND)23,079 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines, StarFlyer
5 Sapporo (CTS) Tokyo (HND)21,851 Air Do, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
6 Mexico City (MEX) Cancún (CUN)21,352 Aeroméxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Magnicharters, VivaAerobús, Volaris
7 Shanghai (SHA)19,945 China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Juneyao Air, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Spring Airlines, XiamenAir
8 Beijing (PEK) Shanghai (SHA)18,624 Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, OTT Airlines, Shanghai Airlines
9 Hanoi (HAN)18,342 Bamboo Airways, Pacific Airlines, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines, Vietravel Airlines
10 Bogotá (BOG) Rionegro (MDE)18,086 Avianca, LATAM, Wingo
11 Guangzhou (CAN) Shanghai (SHA)18,066 Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Spring Airlines
12 Jeju (CJU)17,630Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air
13 Mumbai (BOM) Delhi (DEL)17,069 AirAsia India, Air India, Go First, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara
14 Los Angeles (LAX) San Francisco (SFO)15,828 Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines
15 Okinawa (OKA) Tokyo (HND)15,687 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Solaseed Air
16 Cape Town (CPT) Johannesburg (JNB)15,208 Airlink, CemAir, LIFT, FlySafair, LIFT Airline, South African Airways
17 Chengdu (CTU) Beijing (PEK)15,180 Air China, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines
18 Los Angeles (LAX)15,026 Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, JSX, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Express, United Airlines
19 Chengdu (CTU) Guangzhou (CAN)14,746 Beijing Capital Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines
20 Bogotá (BOG) Cali (CLO)14,604 Avianca, LATAM, Wingo

International

The only international route to make the Top 50 busiest routes in 2021 was between Saint Barthélemy (SBH) and Sint Maarten (SXM).[13]

International
RankAirport Pair
  1. of Flights[14]

    (March 2018 - Feb 2019)
Airlines
1 Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Singapore (SIN)30,187Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, AirAsia, Jetstar Asia, Malindo Air, Scoot, Firefly, Saudia
2 Hong Kong (HKG) Taipei (TPE)28,447Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines
3 Jakarta (CGK) Singapore (SIN)27,046Singapore Airlines, Garuda, Lion Air, Jetstar Asia, Indonesia AirAsia, Scoot, Batik Air
4 Hong Kong (HKG) Shanghai (PVG)20,678China Eastern Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Spring Airline, Juneyao Airlines
5 Jakarta (CGK) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)19,741Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Lion Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Malindo Airways, Garuda Indonesia, KLM
6 Osaka (KIX) Seoul (ICN)19,711Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, Jin Air, Jeju Airlines, Peach Aviation, Easter Jet, T'way Air
7 Toronto (YYZ) New York (LGA)17,038Air Canada, Westjet, American Airlines
8 Hong Kong (HKG) Seoul (ICN)15,770Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, HK Express, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Airlines, Easter Jet, T'way Air, Jin Air, Jeju Airlines
9 Bangkok (BKK) Singapore (SIN)14,698Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Scoot, Jetstar Asia
10 Dubai (DXB) Kuwait (KWI)14,581Emirates, Flydubai, Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways
11 Hong Kong (HKG) Bangkok (BKK)14,556Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, Emirates, HK Express
12 Hong Kong (HKG) Beijing (PEK)14,537Air China, Hong Kong Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern Airlines
13 London (LHR) New York (JFK)14,195British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways
14 Tokyo (NRT) Taipei (TPE)13,902China Airlines, EVA Air, Peach Aviation, Japan Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific, Jetstar Japan
15 London (LHR) Dublin (DUB)13,855Aer Lingus, British Airways
16 Osaka (KIX) Shanghai (PVG)13,708China Eastern Airlines, Air China, Juneyao Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Spring Airlines
17 Hong Kong (HKG) Singapore (SIN)13,654Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Jetstar Asia
18 Toronto (YYZ) Chicago (ORD)13,503Air Canada, United Airlines, American Airlines
19 Tokyo (NRT) Seoul (ICN)13,420Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, Jeju Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jin Air, T'way Air, Japan Airlines
20 Osaka (KIX) Taipei (TPE)13,325All Nippon Airways, China Airlines, EVA Air, Japan Airlines, Starlux Airlines, Tigerair Taiwan

Regional statistics

Europe (2011–2022)

Busiest flight routes inside the EU, UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway*

Data retrieved from Eurostat, 2020–2022[15]
RankAirport 1Airport 2202020212022
1 820,742 1,220,540 2,033,205
2 793,794 1,140,759 1,877,938
3 918,615 1,005,775 1,839,520
4 869,489 991,026 1,737,598
5 754,090 1,013,754 1,715,592
6 648,964 1,060,641 1,541,879
7 415,465 573,206 1,538,344
8 638,092 937,084 1,430,978
9 720,102 785,512 1,392,824
10 617,739 875,428 1,291,140
11 551,914 826,643 1.204,852
549,692 741,588 1,176,181
606,927 722,576
460,765 707,707 1,371,546
744,588 699,762
504,120 650,400
427,252 622,148
368,182 610,232
377,835 608,458
382,232 574,588
495,151 574,320
492,723 570,825
294,903 569,193
353,196 557,869
728,801 508,428
521,138 497,045
392,679 485,950
398,431 480,661
402,949 467,608
359,582 458,560 1,207,458
363,665 457,430
291,571 457,135
288,463 457,111 1,291,186
332,296 442,593
297,056 435,115
229,366 430,838
294,090 428,845
274,263 427,966
454,469 425,692
348,322 420,862
295,201 413,802
304,230 413,715
413,728 412,499
279,122 410,557
278,738 410,359
344,462 406,047
405,748 405,422
445,413 404,011
319,663 403,916
343,027 402,923
Data retrieved from Eurostat, 2011–2019
RankAirport 1Airport 2201120122013201420152016201720182019
1 Madrid/Barajas Barcelona/El Prat ** 3,102,436 2,550,462 2,213,200 2,204,765 2,253,387 2,328,7262,341,2552,466,9682,572,893
2 Frankfurt Berlin/Tegel1,792,655 1,813,063 1,845,600 1,792,0061,907,218 1,935,4651,956,1282,292,0982,249,667
3 Toulouse/Blagnac Paris/Orly2,322,456 2,330,224 2,379,100 2,330,949 2,318,015 2,358,9172,325,0432,282,4072,217,892
4 Barcelona/El Prat Palma de Mallorca1,639,423 1,460,684 1,388,900 1,410,1721,576,063 1,772,6131,944,5542,035,6022,173,939
51,749,545 1,818,877 1,873,944 1,912,141 1,942,959 1,988,1052,089,8892,151,4482,106,440
6 Nice Paris/Orly2,236,436 2,175,773 2,160,300 2,072,1382,113,506 2,124,7922,217,8952,135,6342,052,649
7 Oslo/Gardermoen Bergen1,691,887 1,729,076 1,722,398 1,819,279 1,810,826 1,881,9601,985,0882,028,6802,003,406
8 Madrid/Barajas1,604,853 1,442,410 1,224,700 1,283,404 1,411,314 1,687,5471,815,3871,967,1361,995,104
9 Berlin/Tegel Munich1,667,408 1,731,145 1,831,700 1,868,8771,974,929 1,939,8201,973,0081,988,2481,933,817
10 London/Heathrow Dublin1,556,111 1,577,649 1,663,900 1,650,394 1,682,855 1,751,6891,803,4791,809,1401,855,333
11 Catania/Fontanarossa Rome/Fiumicino1,842,940 1,694,400 1,566,800 1,869,881 1,979,648 2,054,721 2,017,1721,976,230 [16] 1,824,428
12 Amsterdam/Schiphol London/Heathrow1,406,964 1,429,800 1,443,400 1,486,783 1,587,605 1,617,1701,689,9241,746,9401,747,789
13 Munich Hamburg1,717,734 1,719,351 1,713,200 1,756,9901,811,425 1,805,2111,739,2521,749,6161,739,939
14 Oslo/Gardermoen Stavanger1,434,043 1,517,195 1,536,032 1,564,631 1,515,870 1,564,1271,600,9591,675,4861,681,335
15 Madrid/Barajas Gran Canaria1,438,377 1,301,539 1,152,669 1,181,442 1,305,670 1,508,9721,510,4291,616,5401,659,106
16 London/Gatwick Barcelona/El Prat517,820 741,735 1,131,350 1,273,850 1,354,193 1,362,4881,460,3781,556,0451,586,967
17 Rome/Fiumicino Palermo/Falcone Borsellino1,499,933 1,360,400 1,264,100 1,475,957 1,481,174 1,543,4621,589,7331,663,463 1,579,946
18 Madrid/Barajas Lisbon1,169,714 1,108,931 975,389 1,026,786 1,174,116 1,299,4121,427,9291,517,6201,557,398
19 London/Heathrow Frankfurt1,459,909 1,482,649 1,488,600 1,506,826 1,530,986 1,486,2911,495,4721,552,2491,548,995
20 Palma de Mallorca Düsseldorf944,437 985,749 1,090,227 1,162,268 1,201,6641,268,8911,267,6761,495,8261,544,710
21 Madrid/Barajas Tenerife North1,337,050 1,167,731 1,102,701 1,094,815 1,149,450 1,305,1101,380,9161,487,3261,493,755
22 Munich Düsseldorf1,569,364 1,553,361 1,558,200 1,527,4161,557,442 1,565,9971,554,1841,422,7731,488,322
23 Copenhagen Oslo/Gardermoen1,206,480 1,291,018 1,322,948 1,402,753 1,427,618 1,506,3261,544,5341,509,0301,479,320
24 London/Heathrow Madrid/Barajas1,093,400 1,197,700 1,264,800 1,274,714 1,320,834 1,317,5111,382,2901,416,7951,476,551
25 Frankfurt Hamburg1,587,593 1,385,867 1,362,400 1,343,8571,361,027 1,372,1851,395,4081,440,3121,426,073
26 Barcelona/El Prat Rome/Fiumicino1,184,506 1,315,8681,225,8341,332,4011,402,757
27 Stockholm/Arlanda Copenhagen1,166,000 1,269,200 1,325,700 1,444,429 1,461,166 1,553,2761,520,2871,520,8731,387,544
28 Barcelona/El Prat Amsterdam/Schiphol1,321,5281,250,1261,186,8081,217,9771,204,814 1,307,9021,363,6261,420,2461,384,848
29 Stockholm/Arlanda Oslo/Gardermoen1,153,232 1,187,164 1,204,351 1,354,730 1,338,163 1,387,8851,406,2111,453,1051,379,312
30 Barcelona/El Prat Paris/CDG1,279,3311,373,128-Orly - Madrid 1,326,509 (2018)CDG - El prat 1,279,331 (2018)Oslo - tromso 1,254,585 (2018)
1,277,330 1,204,533 1,209,900 1,247,831 1,252,777 1,209,158(2016) 1,210,552 1,245,706 Mun - Heat 1,237,039 (2018)CDG - AMS 1,235,896 (2018)Madrid - roma 1,218,971 (2018)CDG - Rome fium 1,203,819 (2018)Bonn - Berlin 1,175,410 (2018)301,026,900 1,088,700 1,288,200 1,321,3361,259,124 1,270,452(2016)
1,524,433 1,378,800 1,416,100 1,453,610 1,366,450 1,189,090(2016)
952,400 1,182,200 1,307,900 1,346,9481,178,987 1,163,471(2016) 1,181,318 1,182,288
1,244,400 1,254,800 1,355,700 1,472,648 1,383,915 1,055,519(2016) 1,196,921
19 Athens/El. Venizelos Thessaloniki/Macedonia970,462 970,797 997,200 1,543,993 1,633,045 1,803,733(2016)1,598,499 1,543,931 1,354,892
30 London/Gatwick Dublin923,130937,378978,522993,7681,086,701 1,309,524(2016)1,367,2311,347,3031,347,219

The UK has not reported for 2021 and parts of 2020, due to Brexit, but data is available from EU/Eurostat countries for flights to/from the UK, but not for UK domestic or UK intercontinental flights. The multiple airports of London lower the airport-to-airport figures; the busiest UK domestic route was in 2019 Heathrow – Edinburgh with 1,196,921.

Among other European (non-EU, not Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) countries, based on airport statistics, no other country than Russia, Ukraine and Turkey has domestic routes with more than 1 million passengers.

The St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport – Moscow (three airports) route was used by 2,965,331 passengers in 2013.[17]

Busiest flight routes between an airport in Europe (EU, UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) and outside Europe

Eurostat
RankAirport 1Airport 22010 2012 2014 2015 2016201720182019
1 London/Heathrow New York/John F Kennedy2,551,276 2,881,390 3,002,024 3,078,693 2,960,2682,946,3293,035,2283,192,195
2 London/Heathrow Dubai/Intl1,974,098 2,067,227 2,838,717 2,862,852 3,038,9583,238,3082,732,6382,333,127
3 New York/John F Kennedy 1,190,914 1,422,259 1,367,882 1,501,416 1,424,6111,554,7931,580,6641,636,491
4 London/Heathrow Hong Kong/Chek Lap Kok1,801,520 1,638,834 1,608,980 1,584,4861,574,7411,588,8051,572,0211,612,530
5 London/Heathrow 1,419,144 1,428,040 1,481,023 1,645,0021,565,9921,618,1531,675,5771,602,892
6 London/Heathrow Singapore/Changi1,507,032 1,745,186 1,247,017 1,268,407 1,314,9761,351,9801,590,7041,526,639
7 Paris/Orly Guadeloupe/Pointe-à-Pitre1,098,322 1,077,254 1,135,945 1,166,850 1,214,9161,227,5531,299,5701,429,730
8 London/Heathrow Doha/HamadN/A N/A 653,724 1,040,3151,184,9941,287,2251,181,3451,264,687
9 London/Heathrow Chicago/O'Hare1,138,579 1,188,326 1,161,250 1,060,3321,073,5221,062,6951,158,5371,250,426
10 Paris/CDG Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau1,158,381 1,092,084 1,107,738 1,147,598 1,148,8001,183,5041,185,1831,247,300-Heathrow - Mumbai 1,121,800(2018) 724,449(2019)
Paris/CDG Dubai/Intl 716,865 843,205 1,063,559 1,076,875 1,101,5461,148,8201,167,9351,185,537
10 London/Heathrow New York/Newark Liberty1,091,804 1,167,828 1,168,357 1,000,189 952,310(2016)1,042,8681,103,984 -->
For routes from the EU, UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway to other countries inside Europe except to Turkey, the busiest was in 2019 Paris/CDG – Moscow/Sheremetyevo with 830,980.

Busiest flight routes in or from Europe by city pairs

Eurostat
RankCity 1City 2Passengers (2016)Passengers (2019)
14,771,614 5,106,040
23,836,588 5,051,518[19]
3 London 4,344,935 4,920,551
4 London 4,243,687 4,869,777
5 London 3,960,389 3,630,407
6 London 3,125,080 3,490,189
7 London 3,393,013 3,373,092
83,260,074 3,218,040
9 Paris 2,975,405 3,184,661
10 London 3,142,916

Brazil (2022)

Busiest domestic flight routes in Brazil:[20]

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2022)
12,978,669
21,630,763
31,565,820
41,545,757
51,524,626
61,494,260
71,290,367
81,234,256
91,169,156
101,142,563

Argentina (2017)

Busiest international flight routes in Argentina:[21]

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2017)
12,027,000
21,903,000
31,001,000
4938,000
5896,000
6815,000
7425,000
8372,000
9332,000
10329,000

Busiest domestic flight routes in Argentina:

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2017)
11,368,000
21,005,000
3880,000
4841,000
5828,000
6722,000
7501,000
8490,000
9462,000
10383,000

Australia (2019)

Busiest domestic flight routes in Australia[22] (all passengers including connecting):

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2019)
1 Melbourne Sydney 9,181,932
2 Brisbane Sydney 4,820,704
3 Brisbane Melbourne 3,608,479
4 Gold Coast Sydney 2,733,449
5 Adelaide Melbourne 2,538,061
6 Gold Coast Melbourne 2,122,157
7 Melbourne Perth 2,110,125
8 Adelaide Sydney 1,878,741
9 Perth Sydney 1,692,031
10 Melbourne Hobart 1,670,181

Busiest international flight routes in Australia[23] (all passengers including connecting):

RankAustralian airportOverseas airportPassengers (2019)
1 Melbourne Singapore 1,629,492
2 Sydney Auckland 1,602,232
3 Sydney Singapore 1,537,148
4 Melbourne Auckland 1,251,457
5 Sydney Hong Kong 1,195,224
6 Perth Singapore 1,131,233
7 Brisbane Singapore 964,447
8 Brisbane Auckland 955,385
9 Sydney Los Angeles 908,540
10 Perth Denpasar 893,420

Colombia (2017)

Busiest domestic flight routes in Colombia:

Busiest international flight routes in Colombia:[24]

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2017)
1698,916
2533,444
3470,514
4469,899
5447,470
6391,586
7366,904
8366,630
9333,481
10306,905

India (2019–2021)

Busiest domestic flight routes from/to Indian cities:

2020–2021[25]
RankCity PairPassengers
1 Delhi Mumbai1,430,543
2 Kolkata Bangalore1,262,780
3 Delhi Srinagar1,261,630
4 Delhi Bangalore1,240,378
5 Delhi Patna1,072,840
6 Delhi Hyderabad1,065,132
7 Delhi Kolkata938,388
8 Delhi Pune809,773
9 Delhi Goa765,398
10 Delhi Guwahati747,471
11 Delhi Chennai739,220
12 Mumbai Goa730,108
13 Delhi Ahmedabad711,690
14 Mumbai Bangalore691,598
15 Kolkata Hyderabad674,027
City Pair!Passengers
1 Delhi Mumbai6,996,834
2 Delhi Bangalore4,351,143
3 Mumbai Bangalore3,954,618
4 Delhi Kolkata3,199,982
5 Delhi Hyderabad2,936,141
6 Delhi Pune2,604,253
7 Mumbai Hyderabad2,538,612
8 Delhi Chennai2,323,511
9 Mumbai Goa2,192,536
10 Delhi Ahmedabad2,184,190
11 Mumbai Chennai2,142,980
12 Delhi Patna2,133,939
13 Mumbai Kolkata2,012,039
14 Bangalore Hyderabad2,002,020
15 Delhi Goa1,863,918

Busiest international flight routes from/to Indian cities:

City Pair!Passengers
1 Mumbai Dubai2,378,916
2 Delhi Dubai1,966,260
3 Delhi Bangkok1,093,580
4 Hyderabad Dubai1,068,343
5 Kochi Dubai1,037,314
6 Chennai Dubai1,017,254
7 Chennai Colombo940,521
8 Bangalore Dubai865,088
9 Chennai Singapore855,420
10 Delhi London850,170
11 Mumbai Singapore824,590
12 Delhi Kathmandu767,262
13 Mumbai Abu Dhabi751,112
14 Delhi Singapore750,562
15 Delhi Hong Kong743,817

Mexico (2018–2023)

Busiest domestic flight routes in Mexico (passengers):[26]

RankAirport 1Airport 2201820192020202120222023% change
14,990,647 5,009,235 2,874,267 4,546,906 4,803,489 4,335,174 -9.75%
2 Mexico City 3,452,421 3,601,937 1,563,243 2,244,156 3,180,969 3,404,529 7.03%
3 Mexico City 3,167,438 3,386,521 1,536,441 1,940,131 2,916,413 3,012,874 3.31%
4 Mexico City 1,964,460 2,151,343 1,307,478 2,133,168 2,519,260 2,300,547 -8.68%
5 Tijuana Guadalajara 1,783,149 1,748,213 1,301,775 1,825,055 2,209,718 2,142,087 -3.06%
6 Mexico City 1,686,256 1,851,414 909,396 1,416,257 1,943,683 1,896,586 -2.42%
7 Monterrey Cancún 1,282,777 1,386,056 822,601 1,458,920 1,650,289 1,810,719 9.72%
8 Mexico City 956,419 1,094,694 575,158 1,008,024 1,333,474 1,140,366 -14.48%
9 Guadalajara Cancún 947,599 885,881 635,422 1,051,887 1,026,505 1,098,997 7.06%
10 Mexico City 844,785 971,016 594,263 994,510 1,215,421 1,071,051 -11.88%
Mexico City 931,000 981,008 5.37%449,484 -54.2%-->

Busiest international flight routes from/to Mexico (passengers):

RankAirport 1Airport 2201820192020202120222023% change
1 Dallas/Fort Worth779,235 840,800 507,946 1,026,047 1,215,860 1,160,043 -4.59%
2 Cancun868,115 856,952 504,622 930,801 1,112,498 1,137,242 2.22%
3 Los Angeles993,213 994,822 530,232 787,850 903,149 1,079,804 19.56%
4779,777 880,988 265,919 504,962 900,028 1,030,882 14.54%
5 Cancun809,898 763,830 409,671 806,188 992,998 1,011,503 1.86%
6849,590 866,896 233,726 432,080 912,549 925,729 1.44%
7 Mexico City1,236,168 1,044,786 379,603 771,673 846,757 891,713 5.31%
8 Houston/Intercontinental1,049,838 831,729 332,243 961,069 879,133 889,431 1.17%
9721,936 706,409 303,913 586,573 759,622 884,252 16.41%
10 Cancun801,544 822,744 298,135 119,334 546,583 772,937 41.41%
Mexico City 1,009,024 1,037,259 2.80% 289,245 -72.1%
Mexico City663,277 770,177 336,869 723,213 825,527 41.41%
8 Los Angeles659,810 623,855 -5.45% 308,366 -50.6% 680,253120.60%
9 Cancun637,467 657,623 3.16% 197,399 -69.98% 661,150234.93%
10 Mexico City Dallas/Fort Worth658,552 703,307 6.80% 285,632 -59.39% 640,463124.23%-->

Turkey (2019)

Busiest domestic and international flight routes:

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2019)
12,751,298
22,616,991
32,329,578
42,184,197
51,849,317
61,579,391
71,524,256
81,460,900
91,448,183
101,411,924
In 2019, the AtatürkIzmir route had 728,279 passengers as the old Istanbul airport in Atatürk was also serving the traffic during this year. The new Istanbul airport in Havalimani opened on 6 April 2019.

United States (September 2014August 2015)

Busiest flight routes by city pairs within the United States:[27]

The statistics below are based on metro areas, not individual airports.

RankCity 1City 2Passengers
(Sep 2014Aug 2015)
1 Chicago, IL New York, NY 4,020,000
2 Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA 3,660,000
3 Los Angeles, CA New York, NY 3,420,000
4 Chicago, IL Los Angeles, CA 3,010,000
5 Miami, FL New York, NY 2,750,000
6 Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL 2,720,000
7 Chicago, IL Minneapolis, MN 2,720,000
8 Atlanta, GA New York, NY 2,600,000
9 Atlanta, GA Orlando, FL 2,620,000
10 Chicago, IL Washington, DC 2,620,000

See also

1 Includes very detailed statistics regarding busiest passenger flight routes to/from and within this region

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Busiest Flight Routes in the World 2023 OAG . 2024-04-20 . www.oag.com . en.
  2. Web site: Busiest Routes 2022 . OAG . 25 April 2023.
  3. Web site: World's Busiest Airline Routes of 2021 . OAG . 9 October 2022.
  4. Web site: Busiest Routes 2020 . OAG . 25 April 2023.
  5. Web site: Busiest routes in the world - the top 100. Routesonline. 22 September 2019 . en-GB. 2019-10-19.
  6. Web site: These are the top 100 busiest routes on earth. September 2018. RoutesOnline.
  7. Web site: 22 April 2022 . Australian Domestic Aviation Activity Annual Publications . bitre.gov.au.
  8. Web site: Busiest passenger flight routes in the world revealed. 13 September 2018 .
  9. Web site: Top 10 world's busiest flight routes. The Thaiger. 2018-10-19. 2018-11-05. Phuket.
  10. 60th Edition of IATA World Air Transport Statistics Released. International Air Transport Association. Montreal. July 5, 2016.
  11. Web site: SFO Fact Sheet - Calendar Year 2022 . www.flysfo.com/ . . 26 November 2023 . 12.2% of enplaned and deplaned domestic passengers.
  12. Web site: The Cirium Airline Insights Review 2021 . Cirium . 10 October 2022 . 9 . PDF.
  13. News: What Were The Busiest Routes In 2021? . 9 January 2023 . 28 December 2021.
  14. Busiest routes 2019 . OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited . 2019-04-10 . OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited . OAG (company) . 2019-04-10.
  15. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/transport/data/database Eurostat>Transport>Data>Database
  16. Web site: Dati di Traffico 2018 . ENAC . it . 2024-06-20.
  17. Web site: Airport Indicators. Pulkovo Airport.
  18. http://www.eurocontrol.int/press-releases/west-east-traffic-shift-continues-summer-2012 West-to-East traffic shift continues for summer 2012 | EUROCONTROL
  19. https://www.pulkovoairport.ru/en/about/performance/ Airport Indicators
  20. Web site: Consulta Interativa – Indicadores do Mercado de Transporte Aéreo . 2023-03-12 . Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) . pt-br.
  21. Web site: 2017 . Anuario Estadístico 2017 . 2018-12-16 . EANA - Navegación Aérea Argentina . 46.
  22. Web site: 2020 . Australian Domestic Airline Activity 2019 . 2022-07-05 . Aviation Statistics . Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics . 3.
  23. Web site: 2020 . Australian International Airline Activity 2019 . 2022-07-05 . Aviation Statistics . Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics . 10.
  24. Web site: Bases de Datos / Origen - Destino / Base de Datos Origen-Destino Enero - Diciembre 2017 / Cuadro 1.6 y 1.8. 2018-12-16. 2018. XLSX. Ministerio de Transporte.
  25. Web site: City pairwise scheduled domestic passenger traffic statistics for the year 2020-2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220729064016/https://public-prd-dgca.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/InventoryList/dataReports/aviationDataStatistics/airTransport/domestic/yearly/24/Normal/INDIAN%20CITY%20PAIR%20WISE%20PASSENGER%20TRAFFIC/CITY%20PAIR%20WISE%20SCHEDULED%20DOMESTIC%20PASSENGER%20TRAFFIC%20STATISTICS.pdf . 2022-07-29 . 2022-07-29 . www.dgca.gov.in.
  26. Web site: Traffic Statistics by City Pairs. 27 January 2024. 2024. Aviation Statistics. Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil.
  27. Web site: Bureau of Transportation Statistics . United States Department of Transportation.