List of busiest passenger flight routes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Global statistics[edit]

By number of passengers[edit]

Top 10 busiest flight routes[edit]

Rank Departing Arriving Distance (km) 2022[1] 2021[2] 2019[3] 2018[4] 2017[5] Type
1 Jeju Seoul–Gimpo 449 16,068,983 17,082,700 17,426,873 14,107,414 13,460,306 Domestic
2 Sapporo Tokyo–Haneda 835 10,216,765 8,171,324 12,498,468 9,698,639 8,726,502 Domestic
3 Fukuoka Tokyo–Haneda 889 9,894,296 7,562,387 11,400,018 8,762,547 7,864,000 Domestic
4 Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City 1171 8,562,009 6,806,131 10,253,530 6,867,114 6,769,823 Domestic
5 Jeddah Riyadh 857 7,371,119 6,677,097 8,018,205 5,526,110 5,091,629 Domestic
6 Sydney Melbourne 705 6,996,156 2,119,779[6] 9,958,500 9,245,392 9,090,941 Domestic
7 Mumbai Delhi 1150 6,941,947 4,891,881 8,230,822 7,392,155 7,129,943 Domestic
8 Tokyo–Haneda Naha 1573 6,910,809 5,602,408 7,704,098 5,829,712 5,269,481 Domestic
9 Jakarta Denpasar 991 6,741,923 3,939,509 5,535,108 4,952,852 Domestic
10 Beijing–Capital Shanghai–Hongqiao 1081 6,321,194 7,910,793 8,117,461 6,518,997 6,833,684 Domestic
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 Shenzhen 1217 6,555,365 4,679,294 4,445,654 Domestic
Guangzhou Shanghai–Hongqiao 1176 6,350,115 4,724,514 4,469,990 Domestic
Seoul–Gimpo Busan 328 6,297,916 Domestic
Cancún Mexico City 1294 5,604,043 4,885,602 4,656,308 Domestic
Jakarta Makassar 1439 4,895,779 4,530,428 4,559,737 Domestic
Chengdu Beijing–Capital 1559 4,734,834 5,092,442 4,951,620 Domestic
Tokyo–Haneda Osaka–Itami 407 4,728,321 7,248,300 5,131,757 5,106,584 Domestic
Jeju Busan 293 4,176,876 3,106,224 2,793,383 #61 Domestic
Jakarta Medan 1401 4,060,426 4,512,830 3,886,963 Domestic
Cape Town Johannesburg 1292 4,001,680 4,508,214 4,698,849 Domestic
Beijing–Capital Shenzhen 1979 3,978,144 4,853,038 4,496,351 Domestic
Hong Kong Taipei–Taoyuan 802 1,296,969 7,965,538 6,476,268 6,719,030 International
Jakarta Surabaya 700 5,649,046 5,271,304 Domestic
Guangzhou Beijing–Capital 1898 5,076,229 4,864,177 Domestic
Brisbane Sydney 756 3,594,184[6] 1,093,231[6] 4,815,609 4,742,771 Domestic
Jakarta Singapore 896 5,480,000 4,812,342 4,810,602 International
Bangalore Delhi 1717 4,542,638 4,183,799 Domestic
Kuala Lumpur Singapore 296 2,443,176 5,560,894 4,490,463 4,108,824 International
São Paulo–Congonhas Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont 378 4,234,631 4,096,193 Domestic
Hong Kong Shanghai–Pudong 1247 4,463,658 4,053,909 4,162,347 International
Los Angeles San Francisco 541 3,971,922 3,507,702 Domestic
Bogotá Medellín-Rionegro 239 3,930,332 3,323,127 Domestic
Bangalore Mumbai 834 3,814,494 3,445,315 Domestic
New York–JFK Los Angeles 3982 3,635,655 3,531,613 Domestic
Bangkok–Don Mueang Phuket 698 3,612,373 3,325,261 Domestic
Brisbane Melbourne 1379 2,806,475[6] 787,439[6] 3,565,266 3,545,156 Domestic
Cebu Manila 570 3,519,525 3,233,871 Domestic
Hong Kong Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi 1694 4,826,872 3,490,988 3,438,628 International
Mexico City Monterrey 729 3,474,971 3,202,091 Domestic
Kolkata Delhi 1333 3,431,999 3,153,548 Domestic
Da Nang Ho Chi Minh City 617 3,256,718 3,210,368 Domestic
Chiang Mai Bangkok–Don Mueang 569 3,212,124 3,155,528 Domestic
Seoul–Incheon Osaka–Kansai 872 3,210,813 2,907,199 #55 International
Cusco Lima 583 3,201,414 3,000,513 Domestic
New York–LaGuardia Chicago–O'Hare 1177 3,198,700 3,118,651 Domestic
Jakarta Kuala Lumpur 1142 816,810 3,798,559 3,170,193 2,812,479 #60 International
Mexico City Guadalajara 466 3,170,177 2,996,806 Domestic
İzmir Istanbul–Atatürk 348 3,084,250 3,496,438 Domestic
Hong Kong Seoul–Incheon 2080 3,942,875 3,081,942 3,198,132 International
Guangzhou Chengdu 1232 3,044,038 2,944,642 #52 Domestic
Hong Kong Manila 1145 3,852,991 3,008,842 2,907,228 #54 International
Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi Phuket 685 3,396,189 Domestic
Dubai London–Heathrow 5529 2,697,593 1,298,756 2,665,441 #74 3,210,121 International
Hong Kong Singapore 2587 2,923,578 #55 3,147,384 International
New York–JFK London–Heathrow 5562 2,848,044 1,364,286 3,833,701 2,846,321 #61 2,972,817 International
Hong Kong Beijing–Capital 2011 3,000,786 #51 2,962,707 International

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

Rank Departing Arriving 2022[1] 2019[3] 2018[4] 2017[7][8] 2015 (in millions)[9]
1 Cairo Jeddah 3,234,683
2 Dubai Riyadh 3,191,090
3 London–Heathrow New York–JFK 2,848,044 3,833,701 2,972,817
4 Dubai London–Heathrow 2,697,593
5 Kuala Lumpur Singapore 2,443,176 5,560,894 4,490,463 4,108,824 2.7
6 Dubai Jeddah 2,425,930
7 Orlando San Juan 2,099,234
8 Mumbai Dubai 1,977,537
9 Cairo Riyadh 1,913,991
10 Delhi Dubai 1,898,749
Hong Kong Taipei-Taoyuan 7,965,538 (#9) 6,476,268 (#8) 6,719,030 (#8)
Jakarta Singapore 5,480,000 4,812,342 4,810,602 3.4
Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Hong Kong 4,826,872 3,490,988 3,438,628 3
Hong Kong Shanghai–Pudong 4,463,658
Hong Kong Seoul-Incheon 3,942,875 3,081,942 3,198,132
Hong Kong Manila 3,852,991 3,008,842 2,907,228
Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Singapore 3,832,494
Jakarta Kuala Lumpur 3,798,559 3,170,193 2,812,479
Seoul-Incheon Osaka-Kansai 3,210,813 2,907,199
Hong Kong Singapore 2,923,578 3,147,384 2.7
Tokyo-Narita Taipei-Taoyuan 2,848,925

Busiest routes by region[edit]

Departing Arriving 2022 2020 2019[3] 2018[4] 2017[7]
Asia
Jeju Seoul-Gimpo 16,068,983[1] 17,426,873 14,107,414 13,460,306
Oceania
Sydney Melbourne 6,989,569 9,958,500 9,245,392 9,090,941
Middle East
Jeddah Riyadh 7,371,119 8,018,205 5,526,110 5,091,629
South America
Bogotá Medellín-Rionegro 5,706,480
Africa
Cape Town Johannesburg-ORT 6,072,196 4,508,214 4,698,849
North America
Cancun Mexico City[10] 4,803,489 2,874,267 5,009,235 4,885,602 4,656,308
Los Angeles San Francisco 3,928,203[11] 4,658,377
New York JFK Los Angeles 3,971,922 3,531,613
Europe
Barcelona Palma de Mallorca[12] 2,033,205 820,742 2,173,939 2,035,723 1,944,728

By aircraft movements[edit]

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[edit]

Domestic
Rank Airport Pair # of Flights[13]
(Jan – Nov 2021) 		Airlines
1 Jeju (CJU) Seoul (GMP) 71,388 Air Busan, Air Seoul, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, Hi Air, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air
2 Seoul (GMP) Busan (PUS) 28,809 Air 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) Shenzhen (SZX) 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) Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) 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) Busan (PUS) 17,630 Air 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) Las Vegas (LAS) 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[edit]

The only international route to make the Top 50 busiest routes in 2021 was between Saint Barthélemy (SBH) and Sint Maarten (SXM).[14]

International
Rank Airport Pair # of Flights[15]

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

Regional statistics[edit]

Europe (2011–2022)[edit]

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

Data retrieved from Eurostat, 2020–2022[12]
Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 2020 2021 2022
1 Barcelona/El Prat Palma de Mallorca 820,742 1,220,540 2,033,205
2 Madrid/Barajas Palma de Mallorca 793,794 1,140,759 1,877,938
3 Oslo/Gardermoen Trondheim 918,615 1,005,775 1,839,520
4 Oslo/Gardermoen Bergen 869,489 991,026 1,737,598
5 Madrid/Barajas Barcelona/El Prat 754,090 1,013,754 1,715,592
6 Rome/Fiumicino Catania 648,964 1,060,641 1,541,879
7 Madrid/Barajas Lisbon 415,465 573,206 1,538,344
8 Madrid/Barajas Gran Canaria 638,092 937,084 1,430,978
9 Oslo/Gardermoen Stavanger 720,102 785,512 1,392,824
10 Madrid/Barajas Tenerife Norte 617,739 875,428 1,291,140
11 Athens/El. Venizelos Thessaloniki/Macedonia 551,914 826,643 1.204,852
Rome/Fiumicino Palermo/Falcone Borsellino 549,692 741,588 1,176,181
Oslo/Gardermoen Tromsø 606,927 722,576
Madrid/Barajas Paris/Orly 460,765 707,707 1,371,546
Paris/CDG Nice 744,588 699,762
Athens/El. Venizelos Heraklion 504,120 650,400
Athens/El. Venizelos Larnaca 427,252 622,148
Madrid/Barajas Ibiza 368,182 610,232
Amsterdam Barcelona/El Prat 377,835 608,458
Berlin/Brandenburg Frankfurt/Main 382,232 574,588
Amsterdam Paris/CDG 495,151 574,320
Paris/CDG Amsterdam/Schiphol 492,723 570,825
Athens/El. Venizelos Santorini 294,903 569,193
Aalborg Copenhagen 353,196 557,869
Berlin/Brandenburg Palma de Mallorca 728,801 508,428
Paris/CDG Toulouse 521,138 497,045
Larnaca Athens/El. Venizelos 392,679 485,950
Oslo/Gardermoen Bodø 398,431 480,661
Stockholm/Arlanda Luleå 402,949 467,608
Amsterdam/Schiphol Madrid/Barajas 359,582 458,560 1,207,458
Rome/Fiumicino Cagliari, Sardinia 363,665 457,430
Rome/Fiumicino Madrid/Barajas 291,571 457,135
Madrid/Barajas Rome/Fiumicino 288,463 457,111 1,291,186
Amsterdam/Schiphol Lisbon 332,296 442,593
Athens/El. Venizelos Paris/CDG 297,056 435,115
Amsterdam/Schiphol Málaga/Costa del Sol 229,366 430,838
Athens/El. Venizelos Rhodes 294,090 428,845
Athens/El. Venizelos Chania, Crete 274,263 427,966
Madrid/Barajas London/Heathrow 454,469 425,692
Paris/CDG Barcelona/El Prat 348,322 420,862
Paris/CDG Bordeaux 295,201 413,802
Madrid/Barajas Frankfurt/Main 304,230 413,715
Copenhagen Oslo/Gardermoen 413,728 412,499
Brussels Madrid/Barajas 279,122 410,557
Madrid/Barajas Brussels 278,738 410,359
Rome/Fiumicino Paris/CDG 344,462 406,047
Oslo/Gardermoen Copenhagen 405,748 405,422
Dublin London/Heathrow 445,413 404,011
Oslo/Gardermoen Harstad/Narvik 319,663 403,916
Paris/CDG Rome/Fiumicino 343,027 402,923
Data retrieved from Eurostat, 2011–2019[12]
Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
1 Madrid/Barajas Barcelona/El Prat ** 3,102,436 2,550,462 2,213,200 2,204,765 2,253,387 2,328,726 2,341,255 2,466,968 2,572,893
2 Frankfurt Berlin/Tegel 1,792,655 1,813,063 1,845,600 1,792,006 1,907,218 1,935,465 1,956,128 2,292,098 2,249,667
3 Toulouse/Blagnac Paris/Orly 2,322,456 2,330,224 2,379,100 2,330,949 2,318,015 2,358,917 2,325,043 2,282,407 2,217,892
4 Barcelona/El Prat Palma de Mallorca 1,639,423 1,460,684 1,388,900 1,410,172 1,576,063 1,772,613 1,944,554 2,035,602 2,173,939
5 Oslo/Gardermoen Trondheim 1,749,545 1,818,877 1,873,944 1,912,141 1,942,959 1,988,105 2,089,889 2,151,448 2,106,440
6 Nice Paris/Orly 2,236,436 2,175,773 2,160,300 2,072,138 2,113,506 2,124,792 2,217,895 2,135,634 2,052,649
7 Oslo/Gardermoen Bergen 1,691,887 1,729,076 1,722,398 1,819,279 1,810,826 1,881,960 1,985,088 2,028,680 2,003,406
8 Madrid/Barajas Palma de Mallorca 1,604,853 1,442,410 1,224,700 1,283,404 1,411,314 1,687,547 1,815,387 1,967,136 1,995,104
9 Berlin/Tegel Munich 1,667,408 1,731,145 1,831,700 1,868,877 1,974,929 1,939,820 1,973,008 1,988,248 1,933,817
10 London/Heathrow Dublin 1,556,111 1,577,649 1,663,900 1,650,394 1,682,855 1,751,689 1,803,479 1,809,140 1,855,333
11 Catania/Fontanarossa Rome/Fiumicino 1,842,940 1,694,400 1,566,800 1,869,881 1,979,648 2,054,721 2,017,172 1,976,230 [16] 1,824,428
12 Amsterdam/Schiphol London/Heathrow 1,406,964 1,429,800 1,443,400 1,486,783 1,587,605 1,617,170 1,689,924 1,746,940 1,747,789
13 Munich Hamburg 1,717,734 1,719,351 1,713,200 1,756,990 1,811,425 1,805,211 1,739,252 1,749,616 1,739,939
14 Oslo/Gardermoen Stavanger 1,434,043 1,517,195 1,536,032 1,564,631 1,515,870 1,564,127 1,600,959 1,675,486 1,681,335
15 Madrid/Barajas Gran Canaria 1,438,377 1,301,539 1,152,669 1,181,442 1,305,670 1,508,972 1,510,429 1,616,540 1,659,106
16 London/Gatwick Barcelona/El Prat 517,820 741,735 1,131,350 1,273,850 1,354,193 1,362,488 1,460,378 1,556,045 1,586,967
17 Rome/Fiumicino Palermo/Falcone Borsellino 1,499,933 1,360,400 1,264,100 1,475,957 1,481,174 1,543,462 1,589,733 1,663,463 [16] 1,579,946
18 Madrid/Barajas Lisbon 1,169,714 1,108,931 975,389 1,026,786 1,174,116 1,299,412 1,427,929 1,517,620 1,557,398
19 London/Heathrow Frankfurt 1,459,909 1,482,649 1,488,600 1,506,826 1,530,986 1,486,291 1,495,472 1,552,249 1,548,995
20 Palma de Mallorca Düsseldorf 944,437 985,749 1,090,227 1,162,268 1,201,664 1,268,891 1,267,676 1,495,826 1,544,710
21 Madrid/Barajas Tenerife North 1,337,050 1,167,731 1,102,701 1,094,815 1,149,450 1,305,110 1,380,916 1,487,326 1,493,755
22 Munich Düsseldorf 1,569,364 1,553,361 1,558,200 1,527,416 1,557,442 1,565,997 1,554,184 1,422,773 1,488,322
23 Copenhagen Oslo/Gardermoen 1,206,480 1,291,018 1,322,948 1,402,753 1,427,618 1,506,326 1,544,534 1,509,030 1,479,320
24 London/Heathrow Madrid/Barajas 1,093,400 1,197,700 1,264,800 1,274,714 1,320,834 1,317,511 1,382,290 1,416,795 1,476,551
25 Frankfurt Hamburg 1,587,593 1,385,867 1,362,400 1,343,857 1,361,027 1,372,185 1,395,408 1,440,312 1,426,073
26 Barcelona/El Prat Rome/Fiumicino 1,184,506 1,315,868 1,225,834 1,332,401 1,402,757
27 Stockholm/Arlanda Copenhagen 1,166,000 1,269,200 1,325,700 1,444,429 1,461,166 1,553,276 1,520,287 1,520,873 1,387,544
28 Barcelona/El Prat Amsterdam/Schiphol 1,321,528 1,250,126 1,186,808 1,217,977 1,204,814 1,307,902 1,363,626 1,420,246 1,384,848
29 Stockholm/Arlanda Oslo/Gardermoen 1,153,232 1,187,164 1,204,351 1,354,730 1,338,163 1,387,885 1,406,211 1,453,105 1,379,312
30 Barcelona/El Prat Paris/CDG 1,279,331 1,373,128

* Figures are only available for EU countries, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.

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]

** 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.[18]

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

Eurostat[12]
Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 2010 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
1 London/Heathrow New York/John F Kennedy 2,551,276 2,881,390 3,002,024 3,078,693 2,960,268 2,946,329 3,035,228 3,192,195
2 London/Heathrow Dubai/Intl 1,974,098 2,067,227 2,838,717 2,862,852 3,038,958 3,238,308 2,732,638 2,333,127
3 Paris/CDG New York/John F Kennedy 1,190,914 1,422,259 1,367,882 1,501,416 1,424,611 1,554,793 1,580,664 1,636,491
4 London/Heathrow Hong Kong/Chek Lap Kok 1,801,520 1,638,834 1,608,980 1,584,486 1,574,741 1,588,805 1,572,021 1,612,530
5 London/Heathrow Los Angeles/Intl 1,419,144 1,428,040 1,481,023 1,645,002 1,565,992 1,618,153 1,675,577 1,602,892
6 London/Heathrow Singapore/Changi 1,507,032 1,745,186 1,247,017 1,268,407 1,314,976 1,351,980 1,590,704 1,526,639
7 Paris/Orly Guadeloupe/Pointe-à-Pitre 1,098,322 1,077,254 1,135,945 1,166,850 1,214,916 1,227,553 1,299,570 1,429,730
8 London/Heathrow Doha/Hamad N/A N/A 653,724 1,040,315 1,184,994 1,287,225 1,181,345 1,264,687
9 London/Heathrow Chicago/O'Hare 1,138,579 1,188,326 1,161,250 1,060,332 1,073,522 1,062,695 1,158,537 1,250,426
10 Paris/CDG Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1,158,381 1,092,084 1,107,738 1,147,598 1,148,800 1,183,504 1,185,183 1,247,300

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[12]
Rank City 1 City 2 Passengers (2016) Passengers (2019)
1 London Dublin 4,771,614 5,106,040
2 Moscow Saint Petersburg 3,836,588 5,051,518[19]
3 London Amsterdam 4,344,935 4,920,551
4 London New York 4,243,687 4,869,777
5 London Dubai 3,960,389 3,630,407
6 London Barcelona 3,125,080 3,490,189
7 London Edinburgh 3,393,013 3,373,092
8 Paris Toulouse 3,260,074 3,218,040
9 Paris Nice 2,975,405 3,184,661
10 London Madrid 3,142,916
  • London includes City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and Southend airports
  • New York includes Kennedy and Newark airports
  • Paris includes Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly airports
  • Barcelona includes El Prat and Girona airports
  • Berlin includes Schönefeld (from 2020 Brandenburg) and Tegel airports
  • Moscow includes Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports
  • Turkey is not included even if Istanbul – Izmir has (as of 2019) more passengers than London – Dublin, because all its domestic routes are mostly or entirely inside Asia

Brazil (2022)[edit]

Busiest domestic flight routes in Brazil:[20]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2022)
1 Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont São Paulo-Congonhas 2,978,669
2 Porto Alegre São Paulo-Congonhas 1,630,763
3 Brasília São Paulo-Congonhas 1,565,820
4 Recife São Paulo-Guarulhos 1,545,757
5 Porto Alegre São Paulo-Guarulhos 1,524,626
6 Belo Horizonte São Paulo-Congonhas 1,494,260
7 Salvador São Paulo-Congonhas 1,290,367
8 Belo Horizonte São Paulo-Guarulhos 1,234,256
9 Recife São Paulo-Congonhas 1,169,156
10 Brasília Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont 1,142,563

Argentina (2017)[edit]

Busiest international flight routes in Argentina:[21]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2017)
1 Buenos Aires Santiago de Chile 2,027,000
2 Buenos Aires São Paulo 1,903,000
3 Buenos Aires Miami 1,001,000
4 Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro 938,000
5 Buenos Aires Lima 896,000
6 Buenos Aires Madrid 815,000
7 Mendoza Santiago de Chile 425,000
8 Buenos Aires Bogotá 372,000
9 Buenos Aires Rome 332,000
10 Buenos Aires New York 329,000

Busiest domestic flight routes in Argentina:[21]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2017)
1 Buenos Aires Córdoba 1,368,000
2 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Bariloche 1,005,000
3 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Mendoza 880,000
4 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Iguazú 841,000
5 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Salta 828,000
6 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Neuquén 722,000
7 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Tucumán 501,000
8 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Ushuaia 490,000
9 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque Comodoro Rivadavia 462,000
10 Buenos Aires - Aeroparque El Calafate 383,000

Australia (2019)[edit]

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

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (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):

Rank Australian airport Overseas airport Passengers (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)[edit]

Busiest domestic flight routes in Colombia:[24]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2017)
1
Bogotá
Medellín		 3,013,297
2
Bogotá
Cartagena		 2,433,483
3
Bogotá
Cali		 2,083,833
4
Bogotá
Barranquilla		 1,435,766
5
Bogotá
Santa Marta		 1,151,101
6
Bogotá
Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina		 951,880
7
Bogotá
Bucaramanga		 942,793
8
Bogotá
Pereira		 849,118
9
Cartagena
Medellín		 738,699
10
Bogotá
Montería		 568,500

Busiest international flight routes in Colombia:[24]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2017)
1 Bogotá Panama City 698,916
2 Bogotá Mexico City 533,444
3 Bogotá Lima 470,514
4 Bogotá Miami 469,899
5 Bogotá Madrid 447,470
6 Bogotá Quito 391,586
7 Bogotá Santiago de Chile 366,904
8 Medellín Panama City 366,630
9 Bogotá Buenos Aires 333,481
10 Bogotá Cancún 306,905

India (2019–2021)[edit]

Busiest domestic flight routes from/to Indian cities:

2020–2021[25]
Rank City Pair Passengers
1 Delhi Mumbai 1,430,543
2 Kolkata Bangalore 1,262,780
3 Delhi Srinagar 1,261,630
4 Delhi Bangalore 1,240,378
5 Delhi Patna 1,072,840
6 Delhi Hyderabad 1,065,132
7 Delhi Kolkata 938,388
8 Delhi Pune 809,773
9 Delhi Goa 765,398
10 Delhi Guwahati 747,471
11 Delhi Chennai 739,220
12 Mumbai Goa 730,108
13 Delhi Ahmedabad 711,690
14 Mumbai Bangalore 691,598
15 Kolkata Hyderabad 674,027
2019–2020[26]
Rank City Pair Passengers
1 Delhi Mumbai 6,996,834
2 Delhi Bangalore 4,351,143
3 Mumbai Bangalore 3,954,618
4 Delhi Kolkata 3,199,982
5 Delhi Hyderabad 2,936,141
6 Delhi Pune 2,604,253
7 Mumbai Hyderabad 2,538,612
8 Delhi Chennai 2,323,511
9 Mumbai Goa 2,192,536
10 Delhi Ahmedabad 2,184,190
11 Mumbai Chennai 2,142,980
12 Delhi Patna 2,133,939
13 Mumbai Kolkata 2,012,039
14 Bangalore Hyderabad 2,002,020
15 Delhi Goa 1,863,918

Busiest international flight routes from/to Indian cities:

2019[27][28][29][30]
Rank City Pair Passengers
1 Mumbai Dubai 2,378,916
2 Delhi Dubai 1,966,260
3 Delhi Bangkok 1,093,580
4 Hyderabad Dubai 1,068,343
5 Kochi Dubai 1,037,314
6 Chennai Dubai 1,017,254
7 Chennai Colombo 940,521
8 Bangalore Dubai 865,088
9 Chennai Singapore 855,420
10 Delhi London 850,170
11 Mumbai Singapore 824,590
12 Delhi Kathmandu 767,262
13 Mumbai Abu Dhabi 751,112
14 Delhi Singapore 750,562
15 Delhi Hong Kong 743,817

Mexico (2018–2023)[edit]

Busiest domestic flight routes in Mexico (passengers):[10]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 % change
1 Mexico City Cancun 4,990,647 5,009,235 2,874,267 4,546,906 4,803,489 4,335,174 Decrease -9.75%
2 Monterrey Mexico City 3,452,421 3,601,937 1,563,243 2,244,156 3,180,969 3,404,529 Increase 7.03%
3 Mexico City Guadalajara 3,167,438 3,386,521 1,536,441 1,940,131 2,916,413 3,012,874 Increase 3.31%
4 Tijuana Mexico City 1,964,460 2,151,343 1,307,478 2,133,168 2,519,260 2,300,547 Decrease -8.68%
5 Tijuana Guadalajara 1,783,149 1,748,213 1,301,775 1,825,055 2,209,718 2,142,087 Decrease -3.06%
6 Mexico City Mérida 1,686,256 1,851,414 909,396 1,416,257 1,943,683 1,896,586 Decrease -2.42%
7 Monterrey Cancún 1,282,777 1,386,056 822,601 1,458,920 1,650,289 1,810,719 Increase 9.72%
8 Puerto Vallarta Mexico City 956,419 1,094,694 575,158 1,008,024 1,333,474 1,140,366 Decrease -14.48%
9 Guadalajara Cancún 947,599 885,881 635,422 1,051,887 1,026,505 1,098,997 Increase 7.06%
10 San José del Cabo Mexico City 844,785 971,016 594,263 994,510 1,215,421 1,071,051 Decrease -11.88%

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

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 % change
1 Cancun Dallas/Fort Worth 779,235 840,800 507,946 1,026,047 1,215,860 1,160,043 Decrease -4.59%
2 Cancun Houston/Intercontinental 868,115 856,952 504,622 930,801 1,112,498 1,137,242 Increase 2.22%
3 Guadalajara Los Angeles 993,213 994,822 530,232 787,850 903,149 1,079,804 Increase 19.56%
4 Mexico City Madrid 779,777 880,988 265,919 504,962 900,028 1,030,882 Increase 14.54%
5 Cancun Chicago/O'Hare 809,898 763,830 409,671 806,188 992,998 1,011,503 Increase 1.86%
6 Mexico City Bogotá 849,590 866,896 233,726 432,080 912,549 925,729 Increase 1.44%
7 Mexico City Los Angeles 1,236,168 1,044,786 379,603 771,673 846,757 891,713 Increase 5.31%
8 Mexico City Houston/Intercontinental 1,049,838 831,729 332,243 961,069 879,133 889,431 Increase 1.17%
9 Cancun Atlanta 721,936 706,409 303,913 586,573 759,622 884,252 Increase 16.41%
10 Cancun Toronto-Pearson 801,544 822,744 298,135 119,334 546,583 772,937 Increase 41.41%

Turkey (2019)[edit]

Busiest domestic and international flight routes:[12]

Rank Airport 1 Airport 2 Passengers (2019)
1 Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen Izmir 2,751,298
2 Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen Antalya 2,616,991
3 Antalya Moscow/Vnukovo 2,329,578
4 Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen Ankara 2,184,197
5 Istanbul/Havalimani Izmir 1,849,317
6 Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen Trabzon 1,579,391
7 Istanbul/Havalimani Antalya 1,524,256
8 Istanbul/Havalimani Tehran 1,460,900
9 Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen Adana 1,448,183
10 Istanbul/Havalimani Ankara 1,411,924

In 2019, the Atatürk – Izmir 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 2014 – August 2015)[edit]

Busiest flight routes by city pairs within the United States:[31]

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

Rank City 1 City 2 Passengers
(Sep 2014 – Aug 2015)
1 Illinois Chicago, IL New York (state) New York, NY 4,020,000
2 California Los Angeles, CA California San Francisco, CA 3,660,000
3 California Los Angeles, CA New York (state) New York, NY 3,420,000
4 Illinois Chicago, IL California Los Angeles, CA 3,010,000
5 Florida Miami, FL New York (state) New York, NY 2,750,000
6 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, GA Illinois Chicago, IL 2,720,000
7 Illinois Chicago, IL Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 2,720,000
8 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, GA New York (state) New York, NY 2,600,000
9 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, GA Florida Orlando, FL 2,620,000
10 Illinois Chicago, IL Washington, D.C. Washington, DC 2,620,000

See also[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Busiest Routes 2022" (PDF). OAG. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ "World's Busiest Airline Routes of 2021". OAG. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Busiest Routes 2020" (PDF). OAG. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Busiest routes in the world - the top 100". Routesonline. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  5. ^ "These are the top 100 busiest routes on earth". RoutesOnline. September 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Australian Domestic Aviation Activity Annual Publications". bitre.gov.au. 22 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Busiest passenger flight routes in the world revealed". 13 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Top 10 world's busiest flight routes". Phuket: The Thaiger. 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  9. ^ "60th Edition of IATA World Air Transport Statistics Released" (Press release). Montreal: International Air Transport Association. July 5, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Traffic Statistics by City Pairs". Aviation Statistics. Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil. 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  11. ^ "SFO Fact Sheet - Calendar Year 2022". www.flysfo.com/. San Francisco International Airport. Retrieved 26 November 2023. 12.2% of enplaned and deplaned domestic passengers
  12. ^ a b c d e f Eurostat>Transport>Data>Database Search the "avia_par_fr", "avia_par_no" etc datasets (accessed May 2022)
  13. ^ "The Cirium Airline Insights Review 2021" (PDF). Cirium. p. 9. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  14. ^ "What Were The Busiest Routes In 2021?". 28 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. ^ OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited (2019-04-10). Busiest routes 2019 (PDF) (Report). OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  16. ^ a b https://www.enac.gov.it/sites/default/files/allegati/2019-Giu/Dati_di_traffico_2018.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  17. ^ "Airport Indicators". Pulkovo Airport.
  18. ^ West-to-East traffic shift continues for summer 2012 | EUROCONTROL. Eurocontrol.int. Retrieved on 2013-07-16.
  19. ^ Airport Indicators (refers to 2019)
  20. ^ "Consulta Interativa – Indicadores do Mercado de Transporte Aéreo". Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  21. ^ a b "Anuario Estadístico 2017" (PDF). EANA - Navegación Aérea Argentina. 2017. p. 46. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  22. ^ "Australian Domestic Airline Activity 2019" (PDF). Aviation Statistics. Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics. 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  23. ^ "Australian International Airline Activity 2019" (PDF). Aviation Statistics. Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics. 2020. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  24. ^ a b "Bases de Datos / Origen - Destino / Base de Datos Origen-Destino Enero - Diciembre 2017 / Cuadro 1.6 y 1.8" (XLSX). Ministerio de Transporte. 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  25. ^ "City pairwise scheduled domestic passenger traffic statistics for the year 2020-2021" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  26. ^ "City pairwise scheduled domestic passenger traffic statistics for the year 2019-2020" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  27. ^ "City pairwise international passenger and freight statistics to & from the Indian territory [Jan - Mar 2019]" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  28. ^ "City pairwise international passenger and freight statistics to & from the Indian territory [April - June 2019]" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  29. ^ "City pairwise international passenger and freight statistics to & from the Indian territory [July - Sep 2019]" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  30. ^ "City pairwise international passenger and freight statistics to & from the Indian territory [Oct - Dec 2019]" (PDF). www.dgca.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  31. ^ "Bureau of Transportation Statistics". United States Department of Transportation.
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