The route N1 in the world in terms of number of departures is a 454 km air link between the capital city of South Korea, Seoul, and Jeju island, a favourite destination of South Korean holidaymakers. During the 12 month between March, 2018 and February, 2019, seven carriers served the route between Seoul and Jeju and all together operated 79,460 departures.
It is of interest that all of the world's 10 busiest air routes are domestic routes. The closest to the top-10 busiest international route is from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with 30,187 departures divided between eight different carriers.
None of the long-haul routes (i.e. routes longer than 3,500 km) is among the busiest ones, what is actually not surprising. The busiest of them is also a domestic route from New York JFK to San Francisco (15,587 departures).
Here is the full top-10 world's busiest routes by departure numbers:
1. Seoul–Jeju (South Korea) – 79,460
2. Melbourne–Sydney (Australia) – 50,102
3. Mumbai–Delhi (India) – 45,188
4. Rio de Janeiro–San Paulo Congonhas (Brazil) – 39,747
5. Fukuoka–Tiokyo Haneda (Japan) – 39,406
6. Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) – 39,291
7. Sapporo–Tokyo Haneda (Japan) – 39,271
8. Jakarta–Surabaya (Indonesia) – 37,762
9. Los Angeles–San Francisco (USA) – 35,365
10. Jeddah–Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) – 35,149
Seven Out of 10 World's Busiest Air Routes Are in Asia-Pacific
News in Asia
The results of the latest report might come as a surprise as seven out of 10 busiest air routes in the world are in Asia-Pacific. While both Los Angeles and San Francisco are mentioned on the list, but none of the European major cities made it up to the top-10.