SINGAPORE is on three of the world’s busiest international flight routes this year, said a report released by global travel data platform OAG on Wednesday (Dec 18).
Globally, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route is the fourth-busiest international airline route for 2024, with the capacity on this route up 10 per cent – to 5.4 million seats – compared with that in 2023, according to the report.
Singapore also appeared on two more of the top 10 busiest international airline routes for 2024. That is the Jakarta to Singapore route, which ranked eighth with a 4.1 million seat volume, as well as the Bangkok to Singapore route in ninth place with a seat volume of four million.
The list ranks flight routes based on their number of seats, and is part of OAG’s annual Busiest Routes report. According to OAG’s website, the busiest air routes are defined as those with the largest volume of scheduled airline seats for 2024, and the data accounts for flights in both directions on all routes.
Capacity for some routes jumped compared with that in 2023 and the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
In first place was the Hong Kong to Taipei route with a seat volume of 6.8 million, rising from third place last year. The capacity on the Seoul to Tokyo route – in third place – jumped 30 per cent compared with that in 2023, and 68 per cent higher versus 2019.
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The Bangkok to Hong Kong route moved into the top 10 in seventh place, a capacity increase of 29 per cent compared with that in 2023.
“All routes across Asia-Pacific have seen significant growth in 2024, as the region continues the post-pandemic recovery, with the Hong Kong to Taipei route showing the most substantial increase,” said OAG in the report.
This year’s busiest airline routes were once more dominated by Asia-Pacific, OAG numbers showed. The region claimed spots in seven of the 10 busiest international routes.
OAG’s chief analyst John Grant said: “With the Asia-Pacific region very close to a full recovery, the busiest routes are concentrated in the familiar major hubs of Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon and Singapore, although the composition of the supply on those routes is changing as the low-cost sector continues its growth at a faster rate than legacy.” Legacy refers to full service carriers.
The Cairo to Jeddah route came in second with a seat volume of 5.5 million – one of two routes operating in the Middle East that have entered the top 10 since 2019. The capacity on this route is 14 per cent above 2023 levels, and 62 per cent higher than that in 2019.
“One of the most interesting developments is the growth in regional Middle East markets with a particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia, where the Vision 2030 project continues to drive both business and leisure demand,” said Grant. Vision 2030 refers to the kingdom’s initiative to diversify the economy beyond oil, and transform the country into a destination for investment and tourism.
A recent report by global market intelligence provider BMI forecast that tourism arrivals for Asia are expected to recover to their pre-pandemic levels in 2025 and rise by 4.7 per cent from 2019.
