Which is world's busiest international air route this year?

By Hoang Vu December 24, 2025 | 10:03 pm PT

People walk near the check-in counters at Hong Kong International Airport on March 24, 2020. Photo by AFP

Hong Kong-Taipei continued to be the world's busiest international route this year with 6.8 million seats, a modest 1% increase compared with 2024, according to data from British aviation firm OAG.

There are seven carriers operating on this route in 2025, when capacity is still 14% below pre-Covid levels in 2019.

The flight time between the two cities is about two hours and the average fare is US$115, down 6% from last year.

Following closely behind are the Cairo-Jeddah route, with 5.8 million seats, and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, with 5.6 million seats scheduled for the year.

Seoul Incheon and Tokyo Narita route ranked fourth with 5 million seats, followed by Seoul Incheon- Osaka Kansai route with 4.9 million seats.

The rest of top 10 were Jakarta - Singapore Changi, Dubai - Riyadh, Bangkok - Hong Kong, Tokyo Narita - Taipei and New York JFK - London Heathrow.