Heathrow International Airport (LHR) continues to be the most connected airport in the world, while Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport has jumped into second place globally in terms of the number of connecting flights available, according to the new OAG Megahubs 2024 report.
Heathrow’s ranking is based upon its “extensive range of destinations and the number of potential connecting opportunities on the busiest day of the year for global aviation”—in this case, a snapshot of the airport’s connections on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.
The London airport led the OAG rankings in 2023, as well.
Heathrow had 61,356 connections to 227 destinations globally to place it atop the rankings. Several other airports had higher numbers of connections, destinations or both, but the London airport won out based on its superior ratio of connections to destinations served.
Kuala Lumpur is now the most connected airport in the Asia Pacific region, according to the OAG rankings, jumping from fourth place in the 2023 report.
British Airways is the dominant airline at Heathrow, accounting for half of all fights from the airport, while low-cost carrier Air Asia is the top airline at Kuala Lumpur.
Heathrow & Kuala Lumpur Followed Closely Behind By…
The report, based on OAG’s flight data from the 100 largest airports and the 100 largest international airports in the world, ranked Tokyo Haneda International Airport the third most connected airport globally, followed by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, Istanbul International Airport, Chicago O’Hare and Frankfurt International Airport in Germany rounded out OAG’s rankings, now in their 10th year.
OAG noted that three of the top five ‘megahubs’ are in the Asia Pacific region, “providing reassurance that these markets are back in business and pursuing growth,” according to the report.
“Connectivity continues to rebuild as airlines and airports across markets respond to high travel demand,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. “Despite ongoing geopolitical events, each new route creates new connectivity opportunities, showcasing aviation’s importance to the global economy.”
