In a statement, OAG said the Asia Pacific region once again has the busiest routes in the world, claiming 7 of the top 10 international routes and 9 domestic travel routes.

It said following closely is the Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED) route with 4.8 million seats, an increase from 3.4 million in 2019, while Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) ranks third.

“Asia continues to have the busiest routes in the world due to its popularity as a tourism hotspot. Although capacity is not back to 2019 levels, London Heathrow remains a pivotal hub for global air travel,” said OAG chief analyst John Grant.

London Heathrow (LHR) stood as the fourth busiest airport globally this year with 49,370,859 seats, while, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) took first place, followed by Dubai International Airport (DXB) in second spot.

In domestic travels, OAG said Beijing (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) leads in China, while Honolulu (HNL) to Kahului (OGG) is the busiest in the US.

OAG’s global airline schedules data provides an overview of route performance and trends, both internationally and domestically.

Headquartered in the UK, OAG has operations in the US, Singapore, Japan, China and Lithuania.