One of the busiest airports in the world, Changi Airport in Singapore is frequently praised as the best in the world.
According to travel intelligence company OAG, three of the top ten international flight routes involve connecting in Singapore: the eighth-ranked route connects with Bangkok, the seventh-ranked route lands in Jakarta, and the top-ranked route connects with Kuala Lumpur.
This information is solely based on the quantity of tickets sold for flights in 2023. With 4.9 million seats booked overall, the busiest route was from the capital of Malaysia to Singapore. Commuters who would rather travel by air rather than by car between the two neighboring countries are drawn to the short one-hour flight.
The New York-London route is the only one outside of Asia and the Middle East among the top ten busiest routes—all but one are in these regions. According to OAG, the JFK to Heathrow route was the only one among the top 10 flight routes with an increase in total capacity from 2019.
Asia also holds a dominant position in the ranking of the busiest domestic air routes, with Japan at the top. The top three destinations for flights from Tokyo to popular vacation spots were Okinawa, also referred to as “the Hawaii of Japan,” Sapporo, a popular winter sports destination, and Fukuoka, a major foodie hub and gateway to South Korea.
Major cities in larger nations, like Australia’s Melbourne and Sydney, and China’s Beijing and Shanghai, were connected by a few of the busiest routes.
In addition, OAG flagged a few routes that weren’t in the top 10. Not New York to Los Angeles, but Honolulu to Kahului in Hawaii, which connects the islands of Oahu and Maui, was the busiest domestic flight route in the United States. Although it’s unknown if the devastating fires in Maui had an impact on a decline in ticket sales at the end of 2023, 3.6 million seats were sold along that route overall.
While it was the top US route in 2019 for travel within California, the San Francisco to Los Angeles route dropped to sixth place in 2023.
The top ten most popular international flight paths in 2023
1. Singapore (SIN) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
2. Jeddah (JED) to Cairo (CAI)
3. Taipei (TPE) to Hong Kong (HKG)
4. Osaka Kansai (KIX) – Seoul Incheon (ICN)
5. Tokyo Narita (NRT) – Seoul Incheon (ICN)
6. Riyadh (RUH) – Dubai (DXB)
7. Singapore (SIN) – Jakarta (CGK)
8. London Heathrow (LHR) – New York Kennedy (JFK)
9. Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Singapore (SIN)
10. Seoul Incheon (ICN) – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
The ten most popular routes for domestic flights in 2023
1. Seoul Gimpo (GMP) to Jeju (CJU)
2. Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Sapporo New Chitose (CTS)
3. Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Fukuoka (FUK)
4. Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) – Hanoi (HAN)
5. Sydney (SYD) – Melbourne (MEL)
6. Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA)-Beijing (PEK)
7. Okinawa Naha (OKA) – Tokyo Haneda (HND)
8. Riyadh (RUH) – Jeddah (JED)
9. Delhi (DEL) – Mumbai (BOM)
10. Bali Denpasar (DPS) – Jakarta (CGK)
