Mumbai-Delhi route ranked the world’s eighth busiest domestic flight route in 2024 | Business News
India’s busiest flight route—Mumbai-Delhi—has been ranked as the eighth busiest domestic route globally in the 2024 rankings released by international aviation and travel data and analytics firm OAG. Within the Asia Pacific region, the Mumbai-Delhi route was ranked as the sixth busiest. International routes from India, however, did not make it to OAG’s list of busiest international flight routes.
The Mumbai-Delhi route improved its ranking by one spot vis-à-vis last year’s standings, and is the only domestic route from India in the top 10 domestic routes by seat capacity globally. However, in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic brought global aviation to a grinding halt, the route was ranked even higher at the sixth spot.
According to OAG data, the seat capacity deployed by airlines on the Mumbai-Delhi route in 2024 rose 9 per cent over last year to 7.96 million seats. However, the seat capacity on the route in 2024 was still 3 per cent lower than in 2019. While all major Indian carriers operate flights between India’s financial capital and the national capital, Air India and IndiGo account for a bulk of the seat capacity on the trunk route.
Top 10 Domestic Routes.
It is worth noting that the Mumbai-Delhi trunk route has been at near saturation levels for a while now, which partly explains why the seat capacity on the route is still a tad lower than in 2019, even as India’s domestic market has expanded considerably with a wider network which has been expanding beyond the major cities. The country’s domestic passenger traffic has exceeded the pre-pandemic levels, and is setting new records with every passing travel season since the pandemic ebbed.
TOP 10 BUSIEST DOMESTIC FLIGHT ROUTES OF 2024
| 2024 RANK | ROUTE | 2023 RANK | SEATS IN 2024 (mn) |
| 1 | Jeju International – Seoul Gimpo | 1 | 14.18 |
| 2 | Sapporo New Chitose – Tokyo Haneda | 2 | 11.93 |
| 3 | Fukuoka – Tokyo Haneda | 3 | 11.34 |
| 4 | Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City | 4 | 10.63 |
| 5 | Melbourne – Sydney | 5 | 9.22 |
| 6 | Jeddah – Riyadh | 8 | 8.70 |
| 7 | Tokyo Haneda – Okinawa Naha | 7 | 8.03 |
| 8 | Mumbai – Delhi | 9 | 7.96 |
| 9 | Beijing – Shanghai Hongqiao | 6 | 7.71 |
| 10 | Guangzhou Baiyun – Shanghai Hongqiao | 11 | 7.01 |
India is the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market, and also among the fastest-growing major aviation markets globally.
The Jeju International-Seoul Gimpo route in South Korea, with a seat capacity of 14.18 million in 2024, maintained its position as the busiest domestic flight route in Asia Pacific as well as globally. In fact, the top five domestic routes globally in 2024 were the same as last year.
The Asia Pacific region dominated the list of the 10 busiest domestic flight routes in the world for 2024. The list includes three routes from Japan, two from China, and one each from India, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.
No route from India in top international routes
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The Asia Pacific region also dominated the list of the top 10 busiest international routes, although none of those routes were to or from India. The title of the busiest international flight route in 2024 went to Hong Kong-Taipei, which was ranked at the third spot in 2023, per OAG’s rankings. Kuala Lumpur-Singapore, which was ranked the busiest international route last year, slipped to the fourth spot in the 2024 rankings.
Top 10 International Routes.
Other top international flight routes included: Cairo-Jeddah (second spot), Seoul Incheon-Tokyo Narita (third spot), Seoul Incheon-Osaka Kansai (fifth spot), Dubai-Riyadh (sixth spot), Bangkok-Hong Kong (seventh spot), Jakarta-Singapore (eighth spot), Bangkok-Singapore (ninth spot), and New York JFK-London Heathrow (tenth spot).
“The majority of routes in the Top 10 Busiest International Routes for 2024 are in Asia, seven routes in total. From other regions, one route is from Africa (Cairo to Jeddah), one from Europe and North America (New York JFK to London Heathrow) and two operate within the Middle East (Cairo to Jeddah and Dubai to Riyadh),” OAG said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
