Dubai, Doha and Riyadh rank among top...

DXB ranks highest in OAG Mega Hubs 2024 report

Three international airports in the Middle East have ranked among the world’s top 50 hubs, according to OAG Mega Hubs’ 2024 report.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the UAE, Qatar's Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha, and Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh all made the list.

DXB maintained its 2023 position in 2024, taking out 16th spot, while DOH dropped three spots to 36 and RUH climbed six, ranking at 42.

Of all the international destinations listed, Dubai had a 38% share of flights with 45,084 connections.

Doha clocked up a 79% flight share with 22,190 connections, while Riyadh had a 42% share and just over 12,000 connections.

Overall, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) remains the most internationally connected airport this year, retaining first place.

LHR is the 4th biggest airport in the world in terms of scheduled one-way capacity in the year up to August 2024. British Airways remains the dominant airline at London Heathrow operating 50% of all flights.

Kuala Lumpur (KUL) moved up to second this year and is the most connected airport in Asia Pacific.

KUL does not have the highest volume of connections by comparison to some of the biggest hubs in the index, but it does have a high ratio of connections to destinations served, which is what pushes it up the rankings, from 12th place in 2019 and 4th place in 2023.

Asia’s largest low-cost carrier (LCC), Air Asia, is the dominant carrier at the airport, operating 35% of KUL’s flights in the 12 months to August 2024.

Istanbul (IST) proudly offers more destinations than any other mega hub, however, based on the OAG connectivity methodology, it doesn’t offer as many potential connections as those mega hubs ahead of it hence its place at number eight.

Tokyo Narita (NRT) in Japan has seen significant improvement, entering the top 50 this year as the Japan inbound market has made a strong comeback. NRT packs a punch in connecting terms, with a relatively small number of potential connections across just 117 destinations pushing it into 15th place.

The major European airport hubs – Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA) and Paris (CDG) – remain in the top 10. Other major European airports have experienced some reductions in services to Asia due to the continued impact of restrictions on flying over Russia and Ukraine.

For more information, visit www.oag.com/megahubs-airports-2024#top-50-global

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