London Heathrow has sunk to 22nd place in a list of the world’s best-connected airports compiled by global aviation data group OAG.
Chicago’s O’Hare has seized Heathrow’s former crown with the Illnois hub boasting 66 international destinations. Chicago is followed by Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson.
The OAG report said: “While Heathrow has maintained almost the same number of destinations served as it had in 2019, the number of possible connections on the busiest day has fallen by 40% as a result of schedule reductions which particularly affected high-frequency short-haul routes.”
Despite the drop in its global ranking, Heathrow retained its position as the best-connected airport in Europe. Paris Charles De Gaulle and Frankfurt which ranked second and third place on the continent, also saw their ranking on the global list fall – dropping out of the top 10 to 27th and 30th positions.
Mexico City’s Juarez International Airport is the most connected non-US airport on the list, ranking in eighth place. Meanwhile, the top connected hub in Asia Pacific is Indira Gandhi International Airport after Hong Kong International Airport dropped out of the Top 50.
“The global market has yet to fully recover post-pandemic. While the U.S. currently dominates due to its strong domestic market, we could see Europe and other global hubs catch up in the next 12 months as the industry works towards a full recovery,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG.
OAG calculates an airport’s connectivity by an index of the total number of possible international flight connections between inbound and outbound services within a certain time frame.
