CHICAGO– OAG, the leading data platform for the global travel industry, today revealed its 2023 Busiest Routes in the world. The analysis is powered by OAG’s Global Airline Schedules Data and provides an overview of route performance and trends, both internationally and domestically.

New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) is the only international route originating in the U.S. to be featured in the Top 10 Busiest Global International Airline Routes list, ranking #8 with 3,878,590 seats in 2023. JFK – LHR is also the only 2023 international route with capacity above 2019 levels, with 3.5 million seats from London to New York, an increase of 1% over 2019.

Three routes that are featured in this year’s top 10 U.S. domestic routes did not appear in the top 10 in 2019. These are #1 ranking Honolulu (HNL) to Kahului (OGG), #5 ranking Denver (DEN) to Las Vegas (LAS), and #8 ranking Denver (DEN) to Phoenix (PHX). Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) ranks #6 this year after ranking #1 in 2019.

U.S. airports dominate the Top 10 Busiest Global Airports list this year. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) ranks #1 with 61 million seats and was the busiest global airport in 2022 and 2019. Two U.S. airports in this year’s top 10 did not appear in the 2019 top 10: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), ranking #5 and Denver International Airport (DEN), ranking #6. Rounding out the U.S. airports featured in this year’s Top 10 are Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), ranking #8 and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), ranking #9.

“New York’s JFK now offers more international connections than any other U.S. airport,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. “But domestic travel in the U.S. remains competitive. Navigating ongoing supply chain challenges successfully will be key for airlines and airports in the U.S. looking to attract more passengers and get capacity levels back to where they were in 2019.”

Outside of the U.S., Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN) ranks as the #1 busiest global international route in the world, and Dubai International Airport (DXB) ranks as the #2 busiest global airport in the world.

The busiest routes are defined as those with the largest volume of scheduled airline seats in 2023. Data is for flights in both directions on each route. The annual Busiest Routes report is collated from the monthly Busiest Routes reports, which are sourced from OAG’s Schedules Analyzer in the first week of each month. The data reflects the most recent year for the busiest scheduled domestic and international aviation routes in each category. Historical capacity data for 2019 and 2022 have been included for comparison.

The Top 10 Busiest Global Airports in the world are calculated using total airline capacity (domestic and international flights). The Top 10 Busiest International Airports are calculated using international airline capacity only. The rankings are based on scheduled one-way airline capacity for the year 2023. Historical capacity data for 2019 and 2022 have been included for comparison. The annual Busiest Airports report is collated from the monthly Busiest Airports reports, which are sourced from OAG’s Schedules Analyzer in the first week of each month.

For more insights on the world’s busiest international and domestic routes, view the full analysis here.

About OAG

OAG is the leading data platform for the global travel industry, powering the growth and innovation of the air travel ecosystem since 1929. It has the largest and most established independent network of flight schedules and flight status data in the world. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has operations in the USA, Singapore, Japan, China, and Lithuania. For more information, visit: www.oag.com and follow us on Twitter @OAG Aviation.