A domestic flight in South Korea is the world’s busiest airline route, according to data from aviation industry analyst OAG.
The 282-mile route between Seoul and Jeju, a popular beach destination, was operated nearly 65,000 times last year — an average of about 178 flights per day.
Other frequently flown routes included Melbourne (MEL)–Sydney (SYD) in Australia, which recorded 54,519 flights in 2017, and Mumbai (BOM)–Delhi (DEL) in India, with 47,462 flights. In the United States, the busiest domestic corridor was Los Angeles (LAX)–San Francisco (SFO), flown 34,897 times.
Across international services, the Hong Kong (HKG)–Taipei (TPE) route led in 2017 with 29,494 flights. Kuala Lumpur (KUL)–Singapore (SIN) followed closely with 29,383 flights, and Jakarta (CGK)–Singapore recorded 26,872 flights. The five busiest international routes that year were all within Asia.
For U.S. carriers, the most-traveled international route was New York (JFK)–Toronto (YYZ), served by American Airlines, Air Canada and WestJet a combined 17,116 times in 2017.
Other notably busy routes worldwide included:
- Fukuoka (FUK)–Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Rio de Janeiro (GIG)–São Paulo (GRU)
- Sapporo (CTS)–Tokyo (TYO)
- Brisbane (BNE)–Sydney (SYD)
- Cape Town (CPT)–Johannesburg (JNB)
Additionally, the Beijing (PEK)–Shanghai (PVG) corridor remains one of the busiest air links globally, reflecting heavy demand on domestic business and leisure travel within China.