The world's busiest international flight route carried more than 3.2 million passengers in the last year. See which other routes made the top 10.
- The Asia-Pacific region had many of the world's busiest international flight routes, pre-pandemic.
- However, since the pandemic has waned, the Middle East is now dominating the list.
Before COVID-19 crippled global aviation, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the list of the busiest international flight routes.
Eight of the top 10 busiest routes by scheduled seats flew into the region, according to travel data firm OAG. The route between Taiwan and the financial hub of Hong Kong was the busiest, with nearly 8 million seats a year.
However, as global aviation continues to bounce back, the makeup of the world's busiest routes looks very different.
Asia-Pacific carriers have had their ability to bounce back hampered by the generally slower pace at which the governments in the region have loosened strict pandemic travel restrictions.
At the same time, ambitious plans by governments like those in Saudi Arabia, whose Vision 2030 wants to increase the flow of passengers into the country over the next decade, have seen routes in the Middle East gain ground.
According to OAG's latest Busiest Routes report, here are the 10 busiest airline routes over the past 12 months, based on the number of seats scheduled, as of September 2022. It features two US routes.
10. Indira Gandhi International Airport, Dehli, India to Dubai International, UAE
Seats: 1,898,749
9. Cairo International Airport, Egypt to Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia
Seats: 1,913,991
8. Mumbai International Airport, India to Dubai International Airport, UAE
Seats: 1,977,537
7. Orlando International Airport, USA to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, Puerto Rico
Seats: 2,099,234
6. Dubai International, UAE to King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Seats: 2,425,930
5. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia to Singapore Changi Airport
Seats: 2,443,176
Dubai International Airport, UAE to London Heathrow Airport, UK
Seats: 2,697,593
3. New York JFK, USA, to London Heathrow Airport, UK
Seats: 2,848,044
2. Dubai International Airport, UAE to Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia
Seats: 3,191,090
1. Cairo International, Egypt, to King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Seats: 3,234,683
OAG also keeps a record of the world's 10 longest flights by miles. At 9,527 miles, New York to Singapore is currently the longest route in the world, as of September 2022.