Two GCC Airline Routes Are Busiest Among Top 10 Globally

Two GCC countries figure in the Top 10 Busiest International Airline Route in 2024, according to OAG, the world’s leading provider of digital flight information, intelligence and analytics for airports, airlines and travel tech companies.

While the Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) international airline route jumped two places to retain the top spot with 6.8 million seats in the list, Cairo to Jeddah was ranked the second busiest international airport route with 5.5 million seats in 2024.

The Dubai to Riyadh international airline route was ranked sixth in the list with little over 4.03 million seats. This route was placed 19^th in 2019 but improved its position by occupying sixth place in 2023 and retain the same this year.

The Hong Kong to Taipei route, which held the top spot in 2019, was placed third with 6.8 million seats in 2023. The capacity on this route has grown by 48% compared to the previous year, yet it remains 15% lower than the levels seen in 2019, OAG said.

The Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) route was ranked third with 5.4 million seats. The capacity on this route has increased by 30% compared to 2023 levels and is 68% higher than 2019, OAG said.

This was followed by Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) with 5.4 million seats just 28,293 (0.5%) behind third place. This route was the busiest international airline Route in 2023 but dropped to fourth place in 2024. This route is still above 2023 levels by 10% and is just below 2019 levels by 3%.

Seoul Incheon to Osaka Kansai route was in the fifth place with 4.9 million seats.

Bangkok-Hong Kong Moves Up

Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG) has moved up into the Top 10 Busiest International Routes in 2024 in seventh place with 4.2 million seats, a capacity increase of 29% compared to 2023 but still 13% behind 2019.

The Jakarta-Singapore was ranked eighth with 4.06 million seats and was followed by Bangkok-Singapore (4.03 million seats) and New York-London Heathrow route (4.01 million seats) in the ninth and tenth places respectively, OAG said.

The majority of routes in the Top 10 Busiest International Routes for 2024 are in Asia, seven routes in total. From other regions, one route is from Africa (Cairo to Jeddah), one from Europe and North America (New York JFK to London Heathrow) and two operate within the Middle East (Cairo to Jeddah and Dubai to Riyadh).

OAG also said that all routes across Asia Pacific have seen significant growth in 2024, as the region continued the post-pandemic recovery.