London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has been ranked as the most connected global megahub by data provider OAG, having also finished in first place in 2019.
The company said LHR was the 4th biggest airport in the world in terms of total scheduled capacity in the year to August 2023.
The dominant airline at Heathrow is British Airways, which operates 50% of all flights.
OAG said the number of potential connections at Heathrow in the period remains slightly below 2019 levels, but
London Heathrow ranks highest this year in terms of the ratio of those connections to destinations served.
Second in OAGs list was New York’s JFK Airport (JFK). The data firm said JFK “punches above its weight with high volumes of potential connecting options across its extensive network, and sits just outside the Top 10 largest global airports by scheduled seat capacity”.
JFK has moved up the rankings considerably from 18th position in 2019, in part driven by American Airlines operating seven more international destinations in 2023, and new services from several carriers including Qantas, Air New Zealand and Air Senegal, OAG said.
The Global Top 20 Megahubs are evenly distributed across the regions with:
- 6 in EMEA
6 in North America
7 in Asia Pacific
London Heathrow leads European hubs
Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), Istanbul (IST) and Paris (CDG) join London Heathrow (LHR) in the Top 10 European megahubs.
OAG said: “The presence of seven Asian airport hubs in the Global Top 20 is significant considering the region is still on the path towards a full recovery.
“Most connected of these hubs is Kuala Lumpur (KUL) ranking 4th, closely followed by Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) which ranks 5th.
“This does follow a period of fleet expansion from Istanbul’s dominant carrier – Turkish Airlines – who have been adding both destinations in Central Asia and the US, and increasing frequency to some points.
“Other Megahubs of significance in the Top 20 include Atlanta (ATL), the World’s Busiest Airport, which ranks 14th and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) which sits in position 10, down from 3rd place in 2019.”
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