Melbourne to Sydney is the second busiest domestic flight route in the world according to figure released this week by the International Air Transport Association.
Ground crew prepare for arrival. Picture: Shutterstock
7.8 million passengers flew from Melbourne to Sydney in 2017, up 0.4 per cent since 2000.
So what was the busiest domestic flight route in the world?
That title goes to Korea. The Jeju-Seoul route had 13.5 million passengers in 2017.
The five busiest domestic flight routes in the world
- Jeju to Seoul Korea 13.5 million passengers
- Melbourne to Sydney Australia 7.8 million passengers
- Fukuoka to Tokyo Haneda Japan 7.6 million passengers
- Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda Japan 7.4 million passengers
- Beijing Captial to Shanghai Hongqiao 6.4 million passengers
When it comes to international flights, the top five busiest flight routes were all in Asia. Although no-one in our office picked the number one.
The five busiest international flight routes in the world
- Hong Kong to Taipei 5.4 million passengers
- Jakarta to Singapore 3.3 million passengers
- Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Hong Kong 3.1 million passengers
- Kuala Lumpur to Singapore 2.8 million passengers
- Hong Kong to Seoul Incheon 2.7 million passengers
The figures also show we are travelling more than ever before. More than 4.1 billion passengers travelled globally in 2017.
“In 2000, the average citizen flew just once every 43 months,’’ IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said in releasing the 62nd World Air Transport Statistics yearbook.
“In 2017, the figure was once every 22 months. Flying has never been more accessible. And this is liberating people to explore more of our planet for work, leisure and education.”
And who were the biggest travellers? We’d like to say that it was Australians, but given our small population, that wasn’t the case. The top travellers were Americans.
The biggest fliers by nationality
- The United States
- China
- India
- The UK
- Germany
Inspired to travel? Check out some of these stories:
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Travel allows you to get outside your bubble. It makes you realise there are other ways to do things, and that’s OK. Plus, I am a huge fan of skiing and for the best powder – you need to head overseas.