London Heathrow Is Most Connected Airport

London’s Heathrow Airport has maintained its position as the world’s most connected airport, according to air travel data company OAG.

OAG’s Annual Megahubs International Index for 2018 measures the ratio of scheduled international connections to the number of destinations served by the airport in a six-hour window.

Heathrow offered 66,000 connections on the busiest day for aviation. The UK hub was followed by Chicago O’Hare which moved up to second place this year, followed by Frankfurt in third.

The other airports in the top ten for connectivity are Amsterdam, Toronto, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Singapore, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Jakarta.

The United States improved its rankings with three airports in the top ten and a total of thirteen in the top 50 International Megahubs.

The fast growing Asia-Pacific region had six airports in the top 20 with Singapore Changi in 8th overall, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta in 10th, Kuala Lumpur 12th, Hong Kong 13th, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi 14th and Seoul Incheon 15th.

China’s top airport for connectivity was Shanghai Pudong which came in at 24th, while Guangzhou Baiyun reached 31st place and Beijing Capital 32nd.

“Robust demand for international air travel is making Asia-Pacific a pivotal region for connecting flights,” OAG regional sales director for JAPAC Mayur Patel said. “With China driving air travel growth, we expect hub connectivity to Hong Kong… will undoubtedly see further evolution.”

The top three in the low cost connections area were Kuala Lumpur due to the large contribution made by Air Asia. Jakarta was second and Singapore third.