Examined: How The Busiest Air Travel Days Of The Calendar Year Have Varied In Recent Times

A new record was set this year in the aviation industry – Friday, August 2nd, 2024, was the busiest day ever for air travel, with a staggering 17,987,792 seats scheduled around the world. Based on data from OAG from 2009 to the present day, how does this incredible figure compare to previous years? Are the busiest days always in summer? And what happened during the pandemic?
Firstly, the table below shows the busiest day for air travel in each year, as per the number of seats scheduled:
Year Busiest day for air travel Year Busiest day for air travel 2009 August 14th 2017 August 11th 2010 July 9th 2018 July 27th 2011 August 5th 2019 August 9th 2012 July 20th 2020 January 3rd 2013 August 9th 2021 December 17th 2014 August 1st 2022 August 12th 2015 July 31st 2023 August 11th 2016 August 5th 2024 August 2nd
The busiest day for air travel every year has been a Friday. Interestingly, August 9th has appeared twice in the list (in 2013 and 2019), highlighting the increase in air traffic at the end of July and the start of August. In the Northern Hemisphere, this period traditionally marks the start of school holidays, as families heading off on their annual getaway boost passenger numbers significantly.
Anomalies during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on commercial aviation across the world, and unsurprisingly, the figures around that period are slightly skewed, representing the changes in travel behaviors.
Photo: bluerprintt | Shutterstock
January 3rd, 2020
January 3rd was the Friday after the Christmas and New Year holidays, as people traveled home from visiting loved ones. It also marked the last Friday before news of the COVID-19 virus started to circulate worldwide. We all know the story of what happened just a few weeks later.
December 17th, 2021
December 17th was the last Friday before Christmas, traditionally a very busy travel day. However in 2021, it marked the first Christmas that people were able to travel more freely (albeit with significant vaccination and testing restrictions still in place).
You might also like: Over The Years: 5 Major Crises That Have Defined Global Aviation The air transport industry has been affected by many economic, political, and health issues.
The world’s busiest airports
How has the list of the world’s busiest airports changed over the years, when looking at the busiest day for air travel in each year? The five busiest airports on August 14th, 2009 were:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) London Heathrow Airport (LHR) Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
Photo: Mikhalis Makarov | Shutterstock
Meanwhile, 15 years later, the five busiest airports on August 2nd, 2024 were:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Dubai International Airport (DXB) Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) Denver International Airport (DEN).
Atlanta has been almost consistently in first place throughout the last 15 years. The opening of Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) in 2019, splitting the city’s traffic between two airports, coupled with China’s generally slower recovery from the pandemic, has pushed Beijing Capital International Airport out of the Top 5. Over the same period, the rapid growth of Emirates as a dominant global airline has helped to propel Dubai International Airport up the leaderboard.
The world’s busiest routes
The Asia-Pacific region dominated in 2009, with the world’s five busiest routes by available seats on August 14th, 2009, being:
Sapporo (CTS) – Tokyo Haneda (HND) Fukuoka (FUK) – Tokyo Haneda (HND) Jeju (CJU) – Seoul Gimpo (GMP) Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD) Hong Kong (HKG) – Taipei (TPE).
Photo: Suparat Chairatprasert | Shutterstock
Curiously, when comparing the above with August 2nd, 2024, not much has changed. Four of the world’s five busiest routes by available seats remain the same, albeit in different positions:
Jeju (CJU) – Seoul Gimpo (GMP) Sapporo (CTS) – Tokyo Haneda (HND) Fukuoka (FUK) – Tokyo Haneda (HND) Hanoi (HAN) – Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD).
In fact, the Jeju – Seoul Gimpo route has been the world’s busiest air route every year since 2014. By August 2024, the number of available seats on the route has grown to more than 1.2 million per month. Currently, eight airlines operate direct flights between Jeju and Seoul Gimpo:
Air Busan
Air Seoul
Asiana Airlines
Eastar Jet
Jeju Air
Jin Air
Korean Air
T’way Air.
The busiest day for air travel in 2024 has already happened, and although there will be further peaks throughout the winter (primarily around the Christmas and New Year holiday period), passenger numbers are unlikely to pass those seen on August 2nd, at least until next summer.