The latest rankings of the ten busiest domestic routes on this planet based on the variety of scheduled seats between October 2021 and September 2022 have been published by aviation industry experts OAG. The Asia-Pacific region is home to nine of the ten busiest domestic routes. With the exception of Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah-Riyad (JED-RUH) route, nine of those routes are within the Asia-Pacific area.
Impact of Covid-19
The top 10 busiest domestic routes in 2019 included city pairs in Brazil (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) and the United States (Los Angeles – San Francisco). A 12 months later, they were faraway from the list and replaced with flights to the Asia-Pacific region.
Since then, the identical few routes have dominated the list: although some rankings have modified, Jeju International – Seoul Gimpo in South Korea still stays at the highest of the list.
Caused by regional holidays
Some of the routes on the list take you thru a number of the hottest tourist destinations on this planet. These routes connect tourist destinations with major cities and are extremely popular with domestic tourism, making connecting flights for international visitors extremely popular.
– Jeju International – Seoul Gimpo International Airport (CJU-GMP)
For a few years this route was the busiest domestic route worldwide. Throughout the pandemic, CJU-GMP has been in first place, flying a median of 224 flights per day. Jeju, sometimes called the “Hawaii of South Korea”, is a preferred tourist destination for each domestic and foreign tourists.
Most foreign visitors arrive in Jeju through Seoul Gimpo International Airport, which is situated within the capital, Seoul. This route is served by Korean Air, Asiana, Jin Air, Jeju Air and Asiana.
– Sapporo New Chitose Airport – Tokyo International (Haneda) (CTS-HND)
Japan, with three of the world’s busiest domestic routes, dominates this rating. Hokkaido, the biggest and capital of Japan, Sapporo is legendary for beer, skiing and picturesque mountains. An average of 15 million tourists visit the town every year, a lot of them arriving via Tokyo, the capital of Japan, on airlines reminiscent of Spring Japan, Jetstar Japan, ANA and Japan Airlines.
– Fukuoka – Tokyo International (Haneda) (FUK-HND)
Fukuoka, the subsequent Japanese route on the list, is just not only a vital trade hub but additionally a preferred tourist destination. The second largest port city in Japan, it attracts tourists and visitors alike. With the addition of StarFlyer, an area airline that flies to seven domestic and one international destination, the identical airline as CTS-HND (Taipei, Taiwan) also flies on this route.
– Tokyo International (Haneda) – Okinawa Naha Airport (HND-OKA)
The holiday destination of Okinawa is well-known for its contrast with snowy Sapporo. Okinawa, a bunch of over 160 islands situated between Taiwan and the Japanese mainland, attracts tourists with its tropical climate, beaches and coral reefs. Flights on this route are operated by Jetstar Japan, Peach Aviation, Japan Airlines, ANA, Skymark Airlines and native carrier Solaseed Air.
– Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport – Denpasar Bali (CGK-DPS)
It’s no surprise that certainly one of the Indonesian routes made the list, provided that the country’s domestic market shall be the world’s fourth largest by 2030. Although Bali is probably the most popular tourist destinations on this planet, virtually all tourists are domestic Indonesian residents.
Numerous airlines operating within the country, including national carrier Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Batik Air and Citilink Indonesia, fly this route.
On the worldwide stage
Domestic air travel within the Asia-Pacific region appears to be doing well, however the recovery in international air travel might not be encouraging. According to airports council international (ACI) projections within the Asia-Pacific region, passenger traffic will only increase by around 55% by the top of 2022 in comparison with pre-pandemic levels.
Compare this to other locations where recovery is predicted to be much higher, between 70% and 80%. This 12 months, China’s stringent border controls and Japan’s cautious approach to easing foreign travel restrictions could challenge Asia’s dominance within the Pacific region because the world’s largest marketplace for air passengers.
Stefano Baronci, Director General of the Airports Council International (ACI) for Asia-Pacific, said:
“Traffic in the region will not be able to fully return to 2019 levels unless all countries keep their borders open to facilitate freedom of movement. China and Japan – some of the largest contributors to overall traffic in the region – are slowly lifting travel and pandemic restrictions.”
Source: OAG report, SimpleFlying.com
