Dublin-London Heathrow: Second Busiest European Air Route

Dublin to London Heathrow was the second busiest international air route in Europe in 2022, serving over 2.35 million passengers, according to aviation data consultancy OAG. Only the Rome Fiumicino to Madrid route, with 2.41 million seats, surpassed it.

Key European Air Routes

This popular route, connecting Ireland and the UK, was operated by Aer Lingus and British Airways. While schedules faced disruption due to Aer Lingus pilot strikes last summer, the route remains a vital connection for travellers and businesses. Within Europe, the busiest domestic route was Barcelona to Palma, carrying nearly 2.9 million passengers. Reaching beyond Europe, the top route from Europe to a destination outside the region was Heathrow to New York, handling just over 4 million seats, ranking tenth globally.

Global Air Route Rankings

Globally, Hong Kong to Taipei topped the list for busiest air route in 2024, boasting 6.8 million seats. Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi, which led the ranking in 2023, slid to fourth place with just under 5.4 million seats in 2024.

It’s important to note that these rankings are based on the volume of scheduled airline seats available, encompassing both directions on each route.

Cancelled Flights in Europe

Meanwhile, Ryanair ranked ninth in Europe for cancelled flights last year, with 2,932 cancellations out of over a million flights. German carrier Lufthansa topped the list with 12,220 cancellations, followed by British Airways with 7,117 cancellations.

This data comes from aviation analytics group Cirium.

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