BUSIEST FLIGHT ROUTES IN THE WORLD

View and interrogate OAG’s ever-popular Busiest Airline Routes whenever you need as they evolve and change over time, regularly providing updates on the busiest flight routes in the world. These include the Top 10 Busiest Global Airline Routes, Top 10 Domestic Airline Routes and International Airline Routes by region. Our flight routes data is powered by Schedules Analyser.

Find extensive flight data and analysis for domestic and international airline routes below and discover the busiest air routes in the area of your choice.

KEY POINTS

• The busiest domestic airline route in the world in October 2025 remains South Korea’s Jeju International (CJU) to Seoul Gimpo (GMP) with 1.34 million seats - a 10% increase compared to October 2024.
• Japan’s Sapporo New Chitose (CTS) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) is the second busiest route with 1.01 million seats, and Fukuoka (FUK) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) is in third place with 961k seats - a 2% decline compared to the same month last year.
  
• Saudi’s key trunk route from Jeddah (JED) to Riyadh (RUH) continues to be the fastest-growing domestic route, with a 16% increase in capacity compared to last year, and remains in fifth place globally.
• Australia’s busiest route, Melbourne (MEL) to Sydney (SYD), grew 8% compared to October 2024 to 817k seats and is in sixth place.
  
  
• Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) and Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) are continuing to see a decrease in capacity, with seats declining by 7% and 6% respectively. Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) is in eighth place, with 651k seats, and Mumbai (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) is in ninth place, with 632k seats.
  

KEY POINTS

• Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) remains the busiest domestic route in China in October 2025 with 650,983 seats, though capacity has decreased by 7% compared to October 2024.
• Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to Shenzhen (SZX) is in second place with 584,136 seats, a 3% increase on last year.
• Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) ranks third with 528,753 seats, with a 12% drop in capacity compared to October 2024. 
• All the top three routes continue to involve Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA), underlining its central role in China’s domestic air network.
  
• Of those in the Top 10, Chengdu (CTU) to Shenzhen (SZX) saw the largest year-on-year growth, increasing by 5% to 285,866 seats and placing it in tenth position.
• Two routes originating from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport (CAN) experienced the steepest declines in capacity in the Top 10; Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) and Beijing Daxing (PKX) both fell by 12% compared to October 2024.

KEY POINTS

• In October 2025, New York La Guardia (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is the busiest domestic route in the US with 319,712 seats - a 13% increase in capacity from October 2024 when it ranked fourth. 
• The transcontinental route between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) ranks second with 306,453 seats, a 9% increase in capacity compared to October 2024.
• Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO), which was the busiest route in October 2024, is in third place this year with 288,339 seats - a 10% decline in capacity compared to the same month last year.
  
• Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX) has seen the biggest drop in capacity compared to October 2024, reducing seats by 13%, and is in fifth place.
• Honolulu (HNL) to Kahului (OGG) has also seen a sharp decline in capacity, dropping 12% year on year, and is in eighth place. 
  

KEY POINTS

• In October 2025, Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) remains the busiest global international route with 561,085 seats. This represents a 4% decrease in capacity compared to October 2024.
• Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) is in second place with 474,722 seats - it has seen the largest growth in capacity in the Top 10, adding 22% more seats this month compared to October 2024.
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) is in third place with 454,842 seats, a 5% drop in capacity compared to last year.
  
  
• Jakarta (CGK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) has seen strong capacity growth, growing 13% year on year, and is in seventh place with 382,279 seats.
• Dubai (DXB) to Riyadh (RUH) has also experienced significant growth, adding 9% more seats compared to October 2024 - reaching 407,004 seats in October 2025 and taking it to sixth place.
• Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) has seen the biggest drop in capacity in the Top 10 with seats decreasing by 11% compared to last year, placing it in fifth position.
  
  
• Overall, Asia Pacific dominates the Top 10 busiest global international flight routes, included in seven of the routes in the rankings. The remaining routes include one within the Middle East, one connecting North America and Europe, and one connecting Africa and the Middle East.
• Seoul Incheon (ICN), Hong Kong (HKG), Tokyo Narita (NRT), Singapore Changi (SIN) and Taipei (TPE) all appear twice in the Top 10, more than any other airports. Two Saudi Arabian destinations are also included in the Top 10; Riyadh and Jeddah. 
  

The busiest air routes are defined as those with the largest volume of scheduled airline seats in the current calendar month. Data is for flights in both directions on each route and is sourced from OAG Schedules Analyser in the first week of each month. The data reflects the most recent full calendar month for the busiest scheduled domestic and international aviation routes in each category.