New data reveals which airports offer the most international connections, with London’s Heathrow Airport retaining the top position. On its busiest day in 2018, Heathrow provided more than 66,000 potential international connections within a six-hour window, counting both inbound and outbound flights.
The findings come from air travel intelligence firm OAG’s Megahubs International Index 2018, which measures the number of scheduled international connections based on destinations served from the world’s 200 largest airports.
Chicago O’Hare (ORD) ranked second, followed by Frankfurt (FRA), Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) in the top five.
“Strong demand for international travel is making the Asia-Pacific region increasingly important for connecting flights, and continued growth in Chinese outbound travel is a key driver,” said Mayur Patel, regional sales director for JAPAC at OAG.
Patel added that Asia’s influence on global connectivity is evident and that the opening of Beijing’s new Daxing airport could shift rankings. He noted that China’s expanding travel market and significant growth in Hong Kong—supported by mainline carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon—are likely to reshape hub connectivity in the coming years.
The report also listed the world’s busiest airports by passenger numbers. Atlanta (ATL) remained the busiest, handling about 104 million passengers in 2017, followed by Beijing Capital International Airport and Dubai International Airport.