World's busiest passenger air routes

The following are lists of the world's busiest passenger air routes, based on various criteria.

By number of passengers

World

Top 10 global air travel busiest routes by origin-and-destination passenger volume, according to Amadeus :[1][2]

Rank City 1 City 2 2012 Passengers
(in millions)
2011 Passengers
(in millions)
Distance[3]
1 South Korea SeoulSouth Korea Jeju 10.156 9.9 450 km
2 Japan TokyoJapan Sapporo 8.211 7.5 819 km
3 Brazil São PauloBrazil Rio de Janeiro 7.716 7.6+ 366 km
4 China BeijingChina Shanghai 7.246 6.6+ 1075 km
5 Australia SydneyAustralia Melbourne 6.943 7.0+ 706 km
6Japan TokyoJapan Osaka 6.744 7.5 405 km
7 Japan TokyoJapan Fukuoka 6.640 6.6+ 883 km
8 Hong Kong Hong KongTaiwan Taipei 5.513 6.2+ 780 km
9 Japan TokyoJapan Okinawa 4.584 4.1 1554 km
10 South Africa JohannesburgSouth Africa Cape Town 4.407 4.5 1271 km

Europe (2011)

Busiest air routes inside the EU, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway *

Data retrieved from Eurostat[4]

RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2011)
1 Spain Madrid/Barajas Spain Barcelona/El Prat 3,102,436 **
2 France Toulouse/Blagnac France Paris/Orly 2,322,456
3 France Nice/Côte d'Azur France Paris/Orly 2,236,436
4 Italy Catania/Fontanarossa Italy Rome/Fiumicino 1,842,940
5 Germany Frankfurt Germany Berlin/Tegel 1,792,655
6 Norway Oslo/Gardermoen Norway Trondheim/Værnes 1,749,545
7 Germany Munich Germany Hamburg 1,717,734
8 Norway Oslo/Gardermoen Norway Bergen/Flesland 1,691,887
9 Germany Berlin/Tegel Germany Munich 1,667,408
10 Spain Barcelona/El Prat Spain Palma de Mallorca/Son Sant Joan 1,639,423
11 Spain Madrid/Barajas Spain Palma de Mallorca/Son Sant Joan 1,604,853
12 Germany Frankfurt Germany Hamburg 1,587,593
13 Germany Munich Germany Düsseldorf 1,569,364
14 United Kingdom London/Heathrow Republic of Ireland Dublin 1,556,111
15 Italy Milan/Linate Italy Rome/Fiumicino 1,524,433
16 Italy Rome/Fiumicino Italy Palermo/Falcone Borsellino 1,499,933
17 United Kingdom London/Heathrow Germany Frankfurt 1,459,909
18 Spain Madrid/Barajas Spain Gran Canaria 1,438,377
19Norway Oslo/GardermoenNorway Stavanger/Sola 1,434,043
20 Netherlands Amsterdam/Schiphol United Kingdom London/Heathrow 1,406,964

* Figures are only available for EU countries, Switzerland, Croatia, Iceland and Norway. Among other European countries, based on airport statistics, no other country than Russia, Ukraine and Turkey can have domestic routes with more than 1 million passengers.

Based on aircraft movements statistics, Istanbul/Atatürk - Izmir/Adnan Menderes is in 2012 possibly busier than Barcelona/El Prat - Madrid/Barajas route and Istanbul/Atatürk - Antalya route is busier than Toulouse/Blagnac - Paris/Orly route.[5]

The St-Petersburg Pulkovo Airport - Moscow (three airports) route was used by 2,965,331 passengers in 2013.[6]

**Madrid-Barcelona had 4,627,000 passengers in 2007, meaning a reduction by 34% in 2010, partly because of a new high-speed railway. The decline has continued from 560 weekly flights in 2010 to 380 in 2012.[5]

Busiest air routes between an airport in Europe (EU, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) and outside Europe
[4]
RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2010)
1 United Kingdom London/Heathrow United States New York/John F Kennedy 2,551,276
2 United Kingdom London/Heathrow United Arab Emirates Dubai/Intl 1,974,098
3 United Kingdom London/Heathrow Hong Kong Hong Kong/Chep Lap Kok 1,801,520
4 United Kingdom London/Heathrow Singapore Singapore/Changi 1,507,032
5 United Kingdom London/Heathrow United States Los Angeles/Intl 1,419,144
6France Paris/Charles De Gaulle United States New York/John F Kennedy 1,190,914
7 France Paris/Charles De Gaulle Canada Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1,158,381
8 United Kingdom London/Heathrow United States Chicago/O'Hare 1,138,579
9 France Paris/Orly Guadeloupe Guadeloupe/Pointe-à-Pitre 1,098,322
10 United Kingdom London/Heathrow United States New York/Newark Liberty(NJ) 1,091,804

United States (2013)

Busiest air routes by city pairs within the United States [7]
RankCity 1City 2Passengers (2013)
1 San Francisco, CA (Metro Area) Los Angeles, CA (Metro Area) 7,733,200
2 New York City, NY (Metro Area) Miami, FL (Metro Area) 5,578,900
3 New York City, NY (Metro Area) Los Angeles, CA (Metro Area) 4,493,900
4 Chicago, IL New York City, NY (Metro Area) 3,828,600
5 Orlando, FL New York City, NY (Metro Area) 3,732,500
6 New York City, NY (Metro Area) San Francisco, CA (Metro Area) 3,329,600
7 Boston, MA (Metro Area) Washington, DC (Metro Area) 3,043,100
8 Seattle, WA Los Angeles, CA (Metro Area) 2,514,300
9 Atlanta, GA (Metro Area) New York City, NY (Metro Area) 2,495,100
10 Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA (Metro Area) 2,418,200

Australia (2013)

Busiest domestic air routes in Australia[8] (all passengers including connecting)
RankAirport 1Airport 2Passengers (2013)
1 Melbourne Sydney 8,244,000
2 Brisbane Sydney 4,425,000
3 Brisbane Melbourne 3,198,000
4 Gold Coast Sydney 2,559,000
5 Melbourne Perth 2,209,000
6 Adelaide Melbourne 2,195,000
7 Perth Sydney 1,800,000
8 Adelaide Sydney 1,751,000
9 Gold Coast Melbourne 1,751,000
10 Melbourne Hobart 1,388,000

By seat capacity

The following lists the world's top 50 busiest routes based on total number of seats per month flown in both directions as of April 2014.

RankAirport 1Airport 2SeatsAirlines Serving
1Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Sapporo-New Chitose Airport1,253,220Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Do, Skymark Airlines, Vanilla Air
2South Korea Seoul-Gimpo AirportSouth Korea Jeju International Airport848,151Air Busan, Asiana Airlines, T'way Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
3Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Fukuoka Airport811,521All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
4Australia Sydney AirportAustralia Melbourne Airport780,932Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Tigerair Australia, Virgin Australia
5China Beijing Capital International AirportChina Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport689,287Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Spring Airlines
6Hong Kong Hong Kong International AirportTaiwan Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport680,915Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Air, Hong Kong Airlines, Thai Airways International
7Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Naha Airport659,166All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Japan Transocean Air
8Brazil Congonhas-São Paulo AirportBrazil Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport624,105Avianca Brazil, Gol Airlines, TAM Airlines
9Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Osaka Itami620,460All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines
10India Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji AirportIndia Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport575,133Air India, GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Vistara
11Spain Madrid-Barajas AirportSpain Barcelona Airport461,228Air Europa, Iberia, Vueling
12Australia Sydney AirportAustralia Brisbane Airport456,540Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia
13South Africa Johannesburg OR TamboSouth Africa Cape Town International Airport453,551 Comair, Kulula.com, Mango, South African Airways
14Singapore Singapore Changi AirportIndonesia Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta442,009 Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia, Lion Air, Air France, Mandala Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Turkish Airlines
15Indonesia Jakarta Soekarno–HattaIndonesia Juanda International Airport432,091 Airfast Indonesia, Batavia Air, Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Lion Air, Tigerair Mandala, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Sriwijaya Air, Wings Air
16Hong Kong Hong Kong International AirportChina Shanghai Pudong International Airport402,528 Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways, Juneyao Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines
17Vietnam Tan Son Nhat International AirportVietnam Noi Bai International Airport366,256Air Mekong, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines
18United States Los Angeles International AirportUnited States San Francisco International Airport350,014 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin America
19China Guangzhou Baiyun International AirportChina Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport346,472 Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Spring Airlines
20China Beijing Capital International AirportChina Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport345,265 Air China, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines
21Indonesia Jakarta Soekarno–HattaIndonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport338,055 Batavia Air, Citilink, Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia AirAsia, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air
22South Africa Johannesburg OR TamboSouth Africa Durban-King Shaka337,720 1Time, Comair, Kulula.com, Mango, South African Airways, South African Express, Velvet Sky
23Hong Kong Hong Kong International AirportThailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi335,622 Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Kenya Airways, Orient Thai Airlines, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways
24China Beijing Capital International AirportChina Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport334,859 Air China, China Southern, Hainan Airlines
25China Beijing Capital International AirportChina Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport333,918 Air China, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines
26Indonesia Jakarta Soekarno–HattaIndonesia Kuala Namu International Airport328,486 Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Indonesia AirAsia, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air
27Singapore Singapore Changi AirportMalaysia Kuala Lumpur International Airport326,533 Air Asia, Jetstar Asia, Malaysia Airlines, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines, Air Mauritius, Tigerair
28Hong Kong Hong Kong International AirportSingapore Singapore Changi Airport314,422 Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Jetstar Asia, Singapore Airlines, Tigerair, United Airlines
29Saudi Arabia Riyadh King KhalidSaudi Arabia Jeddah-King Abdulaziz310,970 Nas Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines
30United States Los Angeles International AirportUnited States New York-John F. Kennedy310,856 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Virgin America
31Thailand Bangkok SuvarnabhumiThailand Phuket International Airport307,619 Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways, *Nok Air, *Orient Thai Airlines
32China Shanghai Hongqiao International AirportChina Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport298,428 China Eastern, China Southern, Juneyao Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Spring Airlines
33United States Chicago O'HareUnited States New York Laguardia298,378 American Airlines, Delta Connection/Shuttle America, United Airlines, United Express/Shuttle America
34Australia Melbourne AirportAustralia Brisbane Airport292,443 Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Tigerair Australia, Virgin Australia
35Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Kagoshima Airport291,368 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Skynet Asia Airways
36Indonesia Jakarta Soekarno–HattaIndonesia Hasanuddin International Airport290,388 Batavia Air, Express Air, Garuda Indonesia, Kartika Airlines, Lion Air, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Pelita Air Service, Sriwijaya Air
37United Kingdom London Heathrow AirportUnited States New York-John F. Kennedy282,205 American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Kuwait Airways, Virgin Atlantic
38China Beijing Capital International AirportHong Kong Hong Kong International Airport272,588 Air China, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways
39South Korea Seoul GimpoSouth Korea Gimhae International Airport271,518 Air Busan, Korean Air
40Colombia Bogotá El DoradoColombia Medellín-José María Córdova267,407 Avianca, Copa Airlines Colombia, LAN Colombia, VivaColombia
41Japan Tokyo NaritaSouth Korea Seoul Incheon265,230 All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, United Airlines, Eastar Jet
42Hong Kong Hong Kong International AirportPhilippines Manila-Ninoy Aquino260,819 Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Express Airways, Philippine Airlines
43United States Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportUnited States Orlando International Airport260,180 AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines
44Philippines Manila-Ninoy AquinoPhilippines Mactan-Cebu International Airport259,582 Airphil Express, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Zest Airways, Tigerair Philippines, Philippines AirAsia
45Saudi Arabia Jeddah-King AbdulazizEgypt Cairo International259,417 EgyptAir, Saudi Arabian Airlines
46Thailand Bangkok SuvarnabhumiSingapore Singapore Changi Airport256,418 Cathay Pacific, Jetstar Asia Airways, Myanmar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways, Tigerair
47Australia Melbourne AirportAustralia Adelaide Airport255,376 Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia
48Italy Milan LinateItaly Rome Fiumicino254,716 Alitalia, easyjet
49Japan Tokyo HanedaJapan Hiroshima Airport252,636 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines
50Canada Toronto PearsonCanada Vancouver International Airport252,587 Air Canada, WestJet

By aircraft movements

Busiest by air movements, September 2007

The following is a list of the worlds 25 busiest air routes based on the number of scheduled daily flights in both directions as of December 2013.[9] Note that these statistics do not consider the number of passengers carried. As of December 2013, Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo is the busiest route with 284 daily flights. 23 of the top 25 routes on the list are domestic routes. The busiest international route is Dublin to London (all airports), with 91 daily flights.

RankCity 1City 2Flights per dayTop Carriers
1 Rio de Janeiro São Paulo 284 Avianca Brazil, Gol Airlines, TAM Airlines
2 Jeju Seoul 209 Air Busan, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, T'way Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
3 Melbourne Sydney 192 Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Tigerair Australia
4 Chicago New York 184 American Airlines, Delta Connection, Delta Shuttle, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, United Express
5 Fukuoka Tokyo 136 All Nippon Airways, Air Nippon, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
6 Sapporo Tokyo 128 Air Do, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
7 Los Angeles San Francisco 124 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Delta Shuttle, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, United Express, US Airways Express, Virgin America
8 Jakarta Surabaya 123 Airfast Indonesia, Citilink, Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia Air Asia, Lion Air, Mandala, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Sriwijaya Air
9 Delhi Mumbai 119 Air India, Air-India Express, GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Air Vistara
10 Cape Town Johannesburg 116 Comair, Kulula.com, Mango, South African Airways, South African Express
11 Osaka Tokyo 115 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
12 Atlanta New York 106 Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines
13 Beijing Shanghai 100 Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines, Juneyao Airlines
14 Brisbane Sydney 99 Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Tiger Airways Australia
15 Los Angeles New York 98 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Qantas, United Airlines, Virgin America
16 Dublin London 91 Aer Lingus, Ryanair, British Airways, City Jet, Aer Lingus Regional, Flybe
17 Hong Kong Taipei 83 Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Air, Thai Airways International
18 Paris Toulouse 82 Air France, easyJet
19 Brisbane Melbourne 72 Alliance Airlines, Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Tigerair Australia, Virgin Australia
19 Fort Lauderdale New York 72 Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines
19 Honolulu Kahului 72 Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Go!
22 Miami New York 70 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways
22 Okinawa Tokyo 70 All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines
24 New York Orlando 69 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, JetBlue Airways
25 Las Vegas Los Angeles 68 American Airlines, Boutique Air, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, United Express, Virgin America

See also

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

References

  1. "300 world ‘super routes’ attract 20% of all air travel, Amadeus reveals in new analysis of global trends". Amadeus. 16 April 2013.
  2. "Top flights". Daily chart. The Economist. May 14, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-14. Jeju, on the South Korean island of the same name, is not one of the country's 20 biggest cities. Yet the island's allure as a domestic tourist destination resulted in 9.9m passengers flying between Seoul and Jeju (in either direction) in 2011. This makes it the busiest airline route in the world, according to Amadeus, a company that provides technology to the travel industry.
  3. "Airport Distance Calculator".
  4. 4.0 4.1 Retrieved from the "avia_par" dataset available at Eurostat
  5. 5.0 5.1 West-to-East traffic shift continues for summer 2012 | EUROCONTROL. Eurocontrol.int. Retrieved on 2013-07-16.
  6. "Airport Indicators". Pulkovo Airport.
  7. "Domestic Airline Consumer Airfare Report-2013, Table 1". US Department of Transportation.
  8. "Australian Domestic Airline Activity 2013" (PDF). Aviation Statistics. Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics. 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
  9. "Airport Movements". QuickTrip. Retrieved 2013-11-09.