Here are the world’s top most busiest airline routes, according to aviation experts.

Of all means of transport, traveling through the air seems to be the most revolutionary invention during the 20th century, all thanks to the Wright brothers. This has ever been an industry of its own with millions of flights each year. However, not all parts of the sky are viable routes of air traffic, with others being highways in the sky. Here are the most busiest airline routes in the world.

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Related media: How Pilots Find Their Way In The Sky

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Once Upon The Sky

The Official Airline Guide (OAG) is an air travel intelligence reference that provides data on airline schedules, cargo and aviation analytics. In a 2019 study, it compiled all flight data around the world and found (you guessed it) the most busiest airline routes. In the study, they analyzed the frequency in both domestic and international flights prior to February 2019 that represented the total number of flights. The study looked at flights that were 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) long were listed as short-hauls, flights that were between 1,500 to 4,000 kilometers (932 to 2,485 miles) long were listed as mid-hauls, and flights over 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) long were listed as long-hauls.

The top ten of the long-haul routes all originate in North America, with flights between New York and San Fransisco leading the list at 15,587 flights annually, with  flights between New York and London operates 14,195 flights annually. The list of mid-haul flights is dominated by China, with three of the busiest routes originating in Beijing. Here’s the kicker: the most busiest of all air routes is between Seoul Gimpo and Jeju, with nearly 80,000 flights annually.

According to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 20-year forecast of both domestic and international flights, China will surpass the United States as the world’s largest aviation hub in 2024. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at a rate of 4.8 percent each year (compared with the 2.4 percent of North America), and could even be nearly half of all air traffic by 2037. As the economies of Asian countries like China and India grow rapidly, more of their business will take to the skies, surpassing that of North America and Europe for good.

To see more on this and OAG’s other findings, you can find its full report here.

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Domestic Air Travel

Here are the list of the most busiest domestic air routes in the world:

1. Seoul Gimpo to Jeju, South Korea: 79,640 flights
2. Melbourne to Sydney, Australia: 54,102 flights
3. Mumbai to New Delhi, India: 45,188 flights
4. Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 39,747 flights
5. Fukuoka to Tokyo Haneda, Japan: 39,406 flights
6. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: 39,291 flights
7. Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda, Japan: 39,271 flights
8. Jakarta to Surabaya, Indonesia: 37,762 flights
9. Los Angeles to San Francisco, United States: 35,365 flights
10. Jeddah to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 35,149 flights
11. Cape Town to Johannesburg, South Africa: 33,708 flights
12. Brisbane to Sydney, Australia: 33,443 flights
13. Cusco to Lima, Peru: 32,095 flights
14. Jakarta to Denpasar, Indonesia: 31,958 flights
15. Bogota to Medellín, Colombia: 31,279 flights
16. Shanghai to Shenzhen, China: 29,401 flights
17. Beijing to Shanghai, China: 29233 flights
18. Jakarta to Makassar, Indonesia: 28,903 flights
19. Bengaluru to New Delhi, India: 28,716 flights
20. New York JFK to Los Angeles, United States: 26,286 flights

Did you find your city or country in this list?

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International Air Travel

And to no surprise, the most busiest international air route in the world is between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with over 30,187 flights over the course of a year. This is enough evidence that the Asian airline industry’s rapid growth rate has 15 of the top 10 international flights in the Asia-Pacific region alone.

Here are the list of the most busiest international air routes in the world:

1. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore: 30,187 flights
2. Hong Kong to Taipei, Taiwan: 28,447 flights
3. Jakarta, Indonesia to Singapore: 27,046 flights
4. Hong Kong to Shanghai, China: 20,678 flights
5. Jakarta, Indonesia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 19,741 flights
6. Seoul Incheon, South Korea to Osaka, Japan: 19,711 flights
7. New York LaGuardia, US to Toronto, Canada: 17,038 flights
8. Hong Kong to Seoul Incheon, South Korea: 15,770 flights
9. Bangkok, Thailand to Singapore: 14,698 flights
10. Dubai, UAE to Kuwait: 14,581 flights
11. Bangkok, Thailand to Hong Kong: 14,556 flights
12. Hong Kong to Beijing, China: 14,537 flights
13. New York JFK, US to London Heathrow, UK: 14,195 flights
14. Tokyo Narita, Japan to Taipei, Taiwan: 13,902 flights
15. Dublin, Ireland to London Heathrow, UK: 13,855 flights
16. Osaka, Japan to Shanghai, China: 13,708 flights
17. Hong Kong to Singapore: 13,654 flights
18. Chicago O’Hare, US to Toronto, Canada: 13,503 flights
19. Seoul Incheon, South Korea to Tokyo Narita, Japan: 13,517 flights
20. Osaka, Japan to Taipei, Taiwan: 13,325 flights

Did you find your city or country in this list?

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Written by: Nana Kwadwo, Mon, Dec 28, 2020.