Hong Kong has secured two spots in the world’s Top 10 busiest cross-border airline routes this year, according to data from OAG. The Hong Kong–Taipei route tops the global list with nearly 6.83 million seats scheduled in 2025. Another Hong Kong route, Bangkok–Hong Kong, ranks eighth with over 4.1 million seats.
Seven of the Top 10 routes are within Asia, highlighting the region’s continued dominance in international travel. High competition, strong demand for regional movement, and an expanding presence of low-cost carriers are fuelling capacity across many of these markets.
Here are the busiest international airline routes in 2025, ranked by total seat capacity:
| Rank | Route | Seats in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong – Taipei | 6,832,683 |
| 2 | Cairo – Jeddah | 5,753,491 |
| 3 | Kuala Lumpur – Singapore Changi | 5,574,409 |
| 4 | Seoul Incheon – Tokyo Narita | 5,069,779 |
| 5 | Seoul Incheon – Osaka Kansai | 4,959,596 |
| 6 | Jakarta – Singapore Changi | 4,619,323 |
| 7 | Dubai – Riyadh | 4,465,632 |
| 8 | Bangkok – Hong Kong | 4,169,125 |
| 9 | Tokyo Narita – Taipei | 4,021,181 |
| 10 | New York JFK – London Heathrow | 3,971,000 |
Hong Kong’s strong showing underlines its position as a major aviation hub in Asia. While regional routes dominate the Top 10, the long-standing New York–London corridor remains the only long-haul transcontinental route featured.
For comparison, the busiest domestic airline route in the world is South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul Gimpo, with over 14.38 million seats in 2025. In China, the busiest domestic route is Beijing to Shanghai Hongqiao, operating 7.45 million seats. In the United States, New York JFK to Los Angeles leads the domestic market with 3.43 million seats this year.
In December, Hong Kong was also ranked the world’s second most visited city in 2025, according to Euromonitor’s annual index, while HKIA has been named World’s Leading Airport for Customer Experience at the World Travel Awards.
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