Travel Data


Busiest air routes show gradual return to normality

Travel data and insights provider OAG provides a snapshot of seat bookings data for key domestic and international air routes in January, which show recovery in some key domestic markets and the international latest trends.

Photo by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash

January data from travel analyst OAG shows that some of the world’s traditionally busiest air routes have re-established themselves in the top ten, and represent one more signal of emerging recovery in global aviation. Worldwide, eight of the busiest domestic airline routes in January (based on seat bookings) operate in Asia Pacific, led by Seoul Gimpo to Jeju. Jakarta returns to the top ranked airports in this category, with two routes, one each to Bali and Makassar. This leaves two Chinese routes in the top ten, between Shanghai Hongqiao and Beijing and Shanghai Hongqiao and Shenzhen. The strength of the Japanese domestic market is underlined by the presence of three routes, all from Tokyo Haneda, while Saudi Arabia’s sustained growth is represented by the Jeddah-Riyadh route.

DXB retains its position as the leading International airport, with four major routes in the global top ten (by seat count)

The return of Jakarta-Bali means that the top ten more closely resembles the picture in December 2019, according to OAG, with the notable exception of Vietnam’s biggest domestic route serving Hanoi to and from Ho Chi Minh City. Within China, as the Lunar New Year travel period approaches, Beijing to Shanghai Hongqiao remains the busiest route despite a -9% drop in seats month on month. Chengdu-Shenzhen rises to fourth with a +16% increase. In the US market, the New York LaGuardia to Chicago O’Hare route was ranked first, with seat bookings up +21%, ahead of New York JFK to Los Angeles and Atlanta to Orlando.

Top 10 busiest domestic routes worldwide in January 2022 (OAG)

International rankings

Dubai retained its rankings as the world’s biggest international airport in January with four routes in the top ten. These include Riyadh (number one), London Heathrow (three), Jeddah (four) and Bahrain (seven). Jeddah-Cairo and Riyadh-Cairo, each in the top ten, also underlined the strength of the Saudi travel market. The return of transatlantic travel continues to boost traffic on the vital New York JFK-London Heathrow (ranked fifth). US leisure travel to regional destinations remains strong, with Orlando-San Juan also in the top ten. January also saw the return of Hong Kong-Taipei to the upper levels of these rankings. *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 Analyzer in the first week of each month.

Cairo-Jeddah and Cairo-Riyadh routes are among the top ten in January, as the Saudi travel market maintains its strong growth

Top 10 busiest international routes January 2022 (OAG)

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The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 305 | 31 January 2022

The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com

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