© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Top 10 World’s Busiest Flight Routes in 2024: Recent projections by the Airports Council International (ACI) reported that international passenger traffic is likely to reach 4.1 billion by the end of 2024.
Total global passenger traffic is projected to increase to 9.5 billion, reflecting a growth of 10% for the same year, according to the same report.
With the aviation industry bouncing back post-pandemic, there has been a resurgence of international air travel, marking an impressive 93.8% rebound from pre-pandemic figures.
Consequently, major airports globally are investing in infrastructure upgrades and expanding flight routes to accommodate the surge in traffic.
Notably, the majority of the busiest international flight routes for 2024 are in Asia, with one route from Africa, one from Europe and North America, and two from the Middle East.
OAG, in its recent report, explored the busiest international and domestic flight routes globally, with comparisons to 2023 and 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) is set to be the world’s busiest international flight route in 2024, with a total of 6.8 million available seats, overtaking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
Following next is Cairo to Jeddah, the second-busiest international airline route for 2024, with 5.5 million seats, which witnessed a 14% increase from 2023 levels and is 62% higher than 2019.
| Rank | Route | Destination (From-To) | Seats | 2024 vs 2023 |
| 1 | HKG-TPE | Hong Kong – Taipei | 6,781,577 | 48% |
| 2 | CAI-JED | Cairo – Jeddah | 5,469,274 | 14% |
| 3 | ICN-NRT | Seoul Incheon – Tokyo Narita | 5,410,456 | 30% |
| 4 | KUL-SIN | Kuala Lumpur – Singapore Changi | 5,382,163 | 10% |
| 5 | ICN-KIX | Seoul Incheon – Osaka Kansai | 4,982,769 | 18% |
| 6 | DXB-RUH | Dubai – Riyadh | 4,306,599 | 8% |
| 7 | BKK-HKG | Bangkok – Hong Kong | 4,201,802 | 29% |
| 8 | CGK-SIN | Jakarta – Singapore Changi | 4,069,071 | 4% |
| 9 | BKK-SIN | Bangkok – Singapore Changi | 4,033,344 | 16% |
| 10 | JFK-LHR | New York JFK – London Heathrow | 4,011,235 | 3% |
Source: OAG.com
Earlier standing at eleventh in 2023, Bangkok to Hong Kong has risen to seventh position with 4.2 million seats, a 29% increase from 2023 but still 13% behind 2019.
Undoubtedly, the flight route from Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) recorded a total of 7,963,686 available seats, ranking it as one of the busiest domestic routes in the world in 2024.
Ranked 8th globally in 2024, this route saw a modest decline of 3% in capacity when comparing 2019 vs. 2024, but a 9% growth from 2023 to this year.
