Dubai-Riyadh route among world's top 10 busiest in 2024, with 4.3 million seats

Inter-GCC air traffic has grown exponentially over the past few years in terms of 'revenge travel'

Waheed Abbas

Published: Wed 18 Dec 2024, 10:29 AM

Dubai-Riyadh route has been ranked among the world’s top 10 busiest routes in 2024.

According to the UK-based global travel data provider OAG, the Dubai-Riyadh route was the sixth busiest globally in 2024, with 4.306 million seats, an increase of 8 per cent from last year and 34 per cent higher than in 2019.

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Inter-GCC air traffic has grown exponentially over the past few years in terms of “revenge travel” due to restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The UAE airlines increased frequency in order to accommodate increased traffic as both UAE and Saudi Arabia are aggressively promoting tourism to woo tourists. Dubai is the traditional regional tourism hub, while Saudi Arabia promotes Neom and Al Ula as tourist destinations.

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In November, Dubai International Airport (DXB) said it was on track to break records in 2024 after a stellar performance in the first 9 months.

“This year has highlighted the very best of DXB — showcasing its continued growth, resilience, and commitment to service excellence, qualities that have become synonymous with the airport... DXB continues to be our core focus, with ongoing investment in customer service and technological advancements, to ensure our success in delivering a superior hospitality experience,” Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, has said in a statement.

Globally, the majority of routes in the top 10 busiest international routes for 2024 are in Asia, with seven routes in total. From other regions, one route is from Africa, one from Europe and North America, and two operate within the Middle East.

The busiest international airline route in 2024 is Hong Kong to Taipei, with 6.8 million seats.

Taking second place in the top 10 busiest international airline routes is Cairo to Jeddah, which has 5.5 million seats. In third place is Seoul Incheon, compared to Tokyo Narita, which has 5.4 million seats.

Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi was the fourth busiest route, with 5.4 million seats and just 28,293 behind third place.

Seoul to Osaka was the fifth busiest route, followed by Dubai-Riyadh, Jakarta-Singapore, Bangkok-Singapore and New York JFK-London Heathrow.

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