Atlanta (USA) could have the busiest airport and Asia could have the preferred air routes, but relating to the best-connected mega-hubs on this planet, London Heathrow Airport reigns supreme.
A brand new report from British air travel analytics company OAG shows that on the busiest day for global aviation in 2018, 66,000 international connections were possible between planes arriving and departing at Heathrow over a six-hour period.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport moved as much as second place within the rating, while European airports in Frankfurt and Amsterdam are third and fourth.
Singapore Changi Airport – voted the world’s best six years in a row – is ranked the best in Asia (and eighth overall), but one other Asian airport, Beijing, is the world’s largest by way of scheduled airline capability or variety of flights seated in flights.
However, the relative lack of international connections means Beijing only ranks thirty second overall.
Toronto International Airport is the second most connected airport in North America and ranks fifth overall.
LAX (No. 6), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (No. 7) and JFK (No. 16) are the opposite North American airports to crack the highest 20, while Mexico City, at No. 20, is the highest-ranking airport in Latin America American airport.
Frenchman Charles de Gaulle (No. 9), Munich of Germany (No. 11), Ataturk of Istanbul (No. 17) and Dubai International (No. 18) are the opposite highly placed places from Europe and the Middle East.
Strong in Southeast Asia
Apart from South Korea’s Incheon (No. 15), the entire top-ranked airports within the Asia-Pacific region are in Southeast Asia: Jakarta (No. 10), Kuala Lumpur (No. 12), Hong Kong (No. 13) and Bangkok (No. 13). 14).
OAG’s 2018 Megahubs International Index pits the world’s largest and busiest airports against one another to find which of them excel as each regional and global hubs by comparing the variety of scheduled connections to and from international flights against the variety of destinations served from every airport.
The index also highlights the highest airlines operating at each mega-hub, with lots of the 50 largest airports having a single airline serving 40% or more of its flights.
It is unlikely that Heathrow’s dominance will go unchallenged any time soon.
Already having a powerful competitive advantage, in June 2018 British lawmakers made the controversial decision to greenlight the development of a 3rd runway, which could increase passenger capability at Heathrow Airport from almost 80 million passengers a 12 months to 110 million in 2030.
- Heathrow Airport (LHR): Connectivity Index: 333. Dominant carrier: British Airways (52% share).
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): Connectivity Index: 306. Dominant Carrier: United Airlines (48% share).
- Frankfurt Airport (FRA): Connectivity Index: 302. Dominant carrier: Lufthansa (63% share).
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS): Connectivity index: 286. Dominant carrier: KLM (51% share).
- Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ): Connectivity Index: 271. Dominant carrier: Air Canada (60% share).
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): Connectivity Index: 257. Dominant carrier: American Airlines (21% share).
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): Connectivity Index: 256. Dominant Carrier: Delta Airlines (79% share).
- Singapore Changi Airport (SIN): Connectivity Index: 253. Dominant carrier: Singapore Airlines (share 23%).
- Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG): Connectivity index: 250. Dominant carrier: Air France (51% share).
- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK): Connectivity Index: 249. Dominant carrier: Garuda Indonesia (28% share).
- Munich Airport (MUC): Connectivity Index: 237. Dominant carrier: Lufthansa (59% share).
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL): Connectivity Index: 233. Dominant carrier: AirAsia (40% share).
- Hong Kong International Airport (HKG): Connectivity Index: 230. Dominant carrier: Cathay Pacific Airways (26% share).
- Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok) (BKK): Connectivity index: 230. Dominant carrier: Thai Airways International (share 21%).
- Incheon International Airport (ICN): Connectivity Index: 216. Dominant Carrier: Korean Air (21% share).
Source: OAG Megahub Index 2018 | CNN
