Mumbai-Dubai air route among top 10 busiest international sectors in the world, check FULL list here

As per the recently released traffic data by IATA (International Air Transport Association), the nodal body looking after global air travel, the international aviation has made an incredible recovery since COVID-19 pandemic. While the aviation industry has slowly garnered back the pre-coronavirus numbers, the ranking of the world's busiest routes has changed significantly. Looking at the traffic data of August 2022, the peak of the IATA summer season, Mumbai-Dubai has emerged as the sixth busiest international air travel route globally.

The data comes as a surprise as Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport is the busiest international airport in the country from where most of the flights operate. However, what's not surprising is the destination country of Dubai. Recently, Dubai International Airports stated that Indians are the top travellers to the Middle Eastern nation and part of UAE.

Dubai as a preferred location

Such a high influx of travellers in Dubai can be attributed to two main reasons, 1) Dubai is one of the major employer of Indians who work in a country that is growing leaps and bounds. Since many Indian ex-pat workers live in and around Dubai, they travel on the India-Dubai route more than any other air route and 2) Dubai is a large transfer hub in the Middle East its international airport connects major cities across the globe, more importantly, in Europe and America.

Indian airlines operating to Dubai

Many Indian airlines have recently started services on the India-Dubai route, including Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Vistara. International airlines like Emirates and flydubai operate regular flights on this route as well. While Emirates and Air India operate widebodies on this route, including Emirates' flagship Airbus 380 and Boeing 777, and Air India's Boeing 787-8, other airlines operate single-aisle aircrafts like Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320 among others.

Top 10 busiest international routes

1. Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN)

2. Cairo (CAI) to Jeddah (JED)

3. Dubai (DXB) to Riyadh (RUH)

4. Antalya (AYT) to Moscow/Vnukovo (VKO)

5. New York/JFK (JFK) to London/Heathrow (LHR)

6. Mumbai (BOM) to Dubai (DXB)

7. Dubai (DXB) to London/Heathrow (LHR)

8. Manila (MNL) to Singapore (SIN)

9. Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE)

10. Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore (SIN)