Global Air Travel Hubs: World's Leading Airport Megahubs of 2023

Welcome to the rapidly evolving world of aviation! With numerous innovations and significant advancements, air travel has always been an attractive option for many people around the world. One of the key aspects of air travel is the airport, and in this article, we will introduce you to the World's Leading Airport Megahubs of 2023.

Megahub airports are international air transportation hubs that play a critical role in global connectivity. They are not only transit hubs for passengers but also play an important role in connecting different destinations around the world. 

The data used is from OAG, a leading provider of global travel data platforms. The OAG Megahubs Index 2023 ranks the world's most internationally connected airports by region.

The ranking was created by comparing the number of international flights scheduled to arrive and depart from an airport during the peak period between September 2022 and August 2023.

OAG analyzed flight data for the world's 100 largest airports based on total scheduled seats and then calculated the potential connectivity between inbound and outbound flights within six hours. Flights can be inbound, outbound, or both, as long as they fall under the international category.

In the top 10 International Airport Megahubs, from the Asia-Pacific region, Kuala Lumpur Airport (KUL) ranked 4th, Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) ranked 5th, and Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) ranked 8th. These airports are considered the most connected among the hub centers. Their presence also indicates the ongoing economic recovery in the region. 

Meanwhile, if we focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, five of the 10 Most Connected Megahubs in the Region are located in Southeast Asia. 

On the other hand, if we look at the top 10 Low-Cost Carrier Airport Megahubs, Kuala Lumpur Airport (KUL) tops the Megahubs Airport Index with more than 11,188 possible low-cost connections to more than 100 destinations. AirAsia dominates with 34% of the flights. Airports in the Asia-Pacific region dominate this ranking with 13 airports (52%).

The dominance of the Asia-Pacific region reflects the high penetration of low-cost carriers in parts of Asia. In particular, South Asia stands out with the world's highest share of low-cost carrier capacity at 63%. Southeast Asia follows with the second highest share of low-cost carriers, with 53% of the region's total capacity operated by such carriers.