Did you fly on any of the busiest international or domestic flight routes in 2023? The Official Airline Guide (OAG) has unveiled its latest report on the Busiest Flight Routes of 2023 which includes the flight routes that saw the highest number of passengers this year, based on the number of passenger seats flown.
Seven of the top 10 busiest international routes in the world during 2023 are in the Asia-Pacific region, with Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) taking the top position with 4.9 million seats. The flight time for this 185-mile (297 km) sector is only one hour. According to Aviation Week, the sector is currently served by seven carriers, led by AirAsia with a 30% capacity share of the market. Overall, there are about 36 return flights per day between KUL and SIN.
Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) is in second place with 4.8 million seats. This route was the busiest in 2022.
Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) is the third busiest international route in 2023 with 4.6 million seats. This was the busiest route in 2019. Capacity jumped by 130% this year compared with 2022. Despite the increase, the total represents a 43% drop on pre-pandemic levels.
The world’s busiest airline routes in 2023
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 4.9 million seats
- Cairo, Egypt (CAI) to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED): 4.8 million seats
- Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei, Taiwan (TPE): 4.6 million seats
- Seoul Incheon, Korea (ICN) to Osaka Kansai, Japan (KIX): 4.2 million seats
- Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita, Japan (NRT): 4.15 million seats
- Dubai, UAE (DBX) to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH): 3.99 million seats
- Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 3.9 million seats
- New York City (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR): 3.88 million seats
- Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 3.5 million seats
- Bangkok (BKK) to Seoul Incheon (ICN): 3.4 million seats
Busiest global domestic flight routes of 2023
The busiest domestic airline route of 2023 is again the idyllic island of Jeju (CJU) to the Korean capital city of Seoul (GMP) with 13.7 million seats on this 280-mile sector. This was also the busiest domestic route in both 2019 and 2022. OAG data shows that seven carriers currently operate flights between these two Korean destinations, collectively providing about 96 return flights per day.
The second- and third-busiest routes are both Japanese domestic flights, with Hokkaido’s Chitose Airport (CTS)-Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) taking second place with 11.9 million seats, followed by Fukuoka (FUK)-Tokyo Haneda with 11.3 million seats.
Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) in Vietnam is the fourth-busiest route globally with 10.9 million seats and Melbourne (MEL) to Sydney (SYD) in Australia is the fifth with 9.3 million seats.
China’s busiest domestic airline routes of 2023
The busiest domestic route in China for 2023 is Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) with 8.4 million seats. Guangzhou (CAN) to Shanghai (SHA) is in second position with 7.2 million seats and Shenzhen (SZX) to Shanghai (SHA) is in third with 7 million seats.
Most of the domestic routes in China for 2023 have increased capacity compared to 2019, ranging from 3% to 31%. However, routes from Beijing (PEK) have decreased capacity by 16% to 43% due to the opening of Beijing Daxing (PKX) airport in September 2019.
USA’s busiest domestic airlibne routes of 2023
In the U.S., the domestic Hawaiian route of Honolulu (HNL)-Kahului (OGG) is the busiest domestic service with 3.6 million seats, narrowly ahead of Atlanta (ATL)-Orlando (MCO) with 3.51 million. Las Vegas (LAS)-Los Angeles (LAX) is in third place with 3.5 million seats.
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) is in fourth place with 3.2 million seats. In fifth place is Denver (DEN) to Las Vegas (LAS) with 3.198 million seats.
