In a new study published by Routes, organiser of aviation network development conferences and events, the Asia-Pacific dominates the top 100 busiest routes by passenger numbers, accounting for more than 70% of the world’s total.
Hong Kong – Taiwan Taoyuan is the busiest international route and features as the eighth most popular overall, with 6.7 million passengers flying the 802km journey in 2017. Hong Kong features in six of the top 10 international routes.
With more than 13.4 million people travelling on the shorthaul domestic service, the 450km journey from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport to the island of Jeju off the coast of the Korean Peninsula has once again claimed the title as the most in-demand air route in the world. The route has an average of 180 scheduled flights per day – one every eight minutes.
As well, a total of 13.5 million passengers flew between Seoul and Jeju in 2017, an increase of 9.4% on the previous 12 months when the route was also ranked as the busiest in the world. It carried a staggering 4.4 million more people than the second busiest, Melbourne – Sydney Kingsford Smith.
The study also found that the Thai domestic route of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Chiang Mai is the fastest-growing route in the top 100. Two-way passenger numbers grew by 36% year-on-year to almost 2.4 million.
Steven Small, brand director of Routes, said: “This research backs up forecasts that the Asia-Pacific region will be the biggest driver of passenger demand over the next 20 years.”
