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Busiest Air Routes from the U.S.

Name the cities that get the most international air traffic from the United States.
Source: US Dept of Transportation - 12 months ending June 2016
Quiz by relessness
Rate:
Last updated: December 22, 2019
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First submittedJuly 31, 2012
Times taken51,601
Average score57.6%
Rating4.50
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Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Passengers
Growth
City
16.2 mil
4%
London
11.3 mil
5%
Toronto
8.00 mil
14%
Cancun
7.85 mil
0%
Tokyo
6.98 mil
14%
Mexico City
6.81 mil
6%
Paris
6.63 mil
2%
Frankfurt
5.49 mil
1%
Seoul
5.20 mil
3%
Vancouver
4.90 mil
2%
Amsterdam
3.71 mil
5%
Montreal
3.17 mil
18%
Guadalajara
3.11 mil
13%
Beijing
3.06 mil
1%
Hong Kong
3.03 mil
10%
Dubai
3.00 mil
-8%
Sao Paulo
2.94 mil
-4%
Calgary
Passengers
Growth
City
2.82 mil
0%
Panama City
2.75 mil
25%
Shanghai
2.72 mil
14%
Punta Cana
2.56 mil
12%
Taipei
2.45 mil
3%
Montego Bay
2.44 mil
24%
San Jose del Cabo
2.26 mil
9%
Madrid
2.17 mil
15%
Dublin
2.12 mil
2%
Santo Domingo
2.09 mil
1%
Nassau
2.04 mil
14%
San Jose
2.04 mil
-1%
Bogota
2.03 mil
0%
Munich
1.89 mil
8%
Lima
1.86 mil
7%
Rome
1.85 mil
24%
Istanbul
+6
Level 28
Jul 15, 2012
Nice quiz!
+2
Level 47
Aug 19, 2015
If you like this, then take my British version
+1
Level 62
Jul 15, 2012
Indeed. Excellent quiz
+1
Level 77
Jun 4, 2013
Munich and Frankfurt but no Berlin? Very surprised by that.
+4
Level 82
Nov 20, 2013
Also big US military presence around Frankfurt. Berlin, not so much.
+14
Level 47
Nov 20, 2013
Also Lufthansa has a hub in Frankfurt and Munich but not in Berlin
+10
Level 82
Jan 12, 2014
Yeah that's probably a bigger reason. Europe is a bit far from the US so there are not that many direct flights. A lot of people going through Frankfurt are probably just in transit to somewhere else.
+1
Level 77
Oct 24, 2014
You are probably right. I flew in to Germany in high school on a trip to France (which I thought was weird). I don't remember which airport I flew into, but I know it wasn't Berlin.
+1
Level 67
Jan 23, 2018
Europe's not that far - you get direct flights from New York to Beijing and Tokyo.
+3
Level 82
Apr 15, 2019
It's a bit far compared to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or other parts of the continental United States. If Europe can't even qualify as a "bit" far then nowhere in the world would be far away.
+2
Level 75
Apr 11, 2021
I think the two biggest reasons for Frankfurt being here is it is one of the biggest airports in the world and the more important reason being connecting flights, as kal said. I have taken many connecting flights from America to Frankfurt to another European location and back.
+2
Level 45
Jul 28, 2014
Could also be historical. Since Berlin was split east/west and was deep in east Germany, it probably wasn't an ideal place for an air hub post WWII, making other Germany cities in the west get the investment and infrastructure instead.
+2
Level 43
Sep 7, 2019
My friend goes to Germany every year to visit family and they always fly to Frankfurt via Philly (from Chicago). I think that's a big international hub. Sometimes the most busy airports can be surprising also. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world and doesn't even have a million people
+2
Level 53
Oct 22, 2021
metro atlanta has around 6 mil I think
+1
Level 63
Mar 4, 2022
Yep, Atlanta is the 9th largest metro area in the US.
+3
Level 51
Aug 13, 2014
totally forgot canada
+2
Level 27
Feb 19, 2015
me too... I added all the major world cities and the Caribbean holiday hotspots, then when I had one second left, I suddenly remembered Canada :D
+1
Level 58
Oct 24, 2014
I can't believe I forgot about Montreal.
+4
Level 58
Sep 8, 2017
3 years later, I can't believe I forgot about Montreal... AGAIN!
+1
Level 68
Sep 9, 2017
Your'e not the only one.
+1
Level 76
Oct 24, 2014
Great quiz! Looking at the stats, it looks like these numbers are for passenger numbers from the States to the named cities PLUS passengers from those cities into the US - ie total travel in both directions.
+1
Level 86
Oct 25, 2014
Hard one. I was not even aware of the existence of San Jose del Cabo and Punta Cana, and barely of that of Montego Bay. I didn't think of San Jose (Costa Rica I guess ?) and Panama City as possible answers and discarded Munich... It is indeed surprising that it scores higher than Berlin. Frankfurt is logically ahead of them, it really has a big airport ;).
+1
Level 57
Oct 10, 2015
Only got Punta Cana because I went there over the summer
+1
Level 67
Feb 22, 2018
Same here.
+2
Level 74
Feb 11, 2017
Guessed Kingston, didn't think of Montego Bay. Not really knowledgeable about that. Also, I guessed a bunch of German cities but not the two correct ones--Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne--my mind went blank.

Got Nassau though.

+1
Level 72
Jun 19, 2021
Kingston is where actual Jamaicans fly to. No resorts there. Montego Bay is where all the resorts are.
+2
Level 87
Apr 20, 2017
Almost always, the picture at the top of the quiz gives a clue to one of the answers, but you're showing a Qantas plane up there and none of these routes is to Australia.
+1
Level 84
Apr 21, 2017
Beat me to it
+1
Level 82
Apr 23, 2017
But it's the only airline used by Rain Man.
+1
Level 89
Sep 8, 2017
Ha!
+2
Level 72
Apr 26, 2017
Good quiz, it takes a fair bit of thinking. It could probably do with a bit more time, especially for those non American's among us
+1
Level 74
Aug 15, 2017
Wait... flights to Sao Paulo decreased by eight percent in the months leading up to the 2016 olympics? and rio isn't even here?
+1
Level 67
Sep 8, 2017
Zika
+1
Level 78
Sep 8, 2017
Surprised that Singapore didn't make the cut.
+1
Level 45
Sep 8, 2017
Singapore Airlines is too expensive for most people. Way cheaper to fly the Japanese airlines or Air China and connect in Tokyo / Shanghai or Beijing when going to Asia.
+1
Level 82
Sep 11, 2017
That is probably true coming from Canada (or the US) but I've found good deals with Singapore on flights originating from other areas like the Middle East. Sometimes it's slightly more expensive that airlines like Qatar but I feel it's worth it since it's a good airline and they've got hands down the best airport in the world.
+1
Level 73
May 14, 2018
Kalbahamut... I thought you were an English teacher?

"slightly more expensive that airlines"

THAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+3
Level 82
Apr 2, 2019
All those exclamation marks for a single letter typo? Also, your second sentence should not end in a question mark. But maybe you exhausted your supply of punctuation and that's all you had available.
+1
Level 49
Sep 17, 2020
The economics of long haul air travel means that it is very difficult to run ultra long haul routes such as US-Singapore, plus the fact that Singapore is poorly positioned for connecting flights from the US (unless one is going to Indonesia). That's why the vast majority of US-Asia flights are to the main East Asian hubs (Tokyo, Seoul, HK etc).
+1
Level 74
Feb 6, 2022
Singapore is definitely a major east Asian air hub, along with Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai etc. Seems a bit of an anomaly that US-Asia flights don't go there much, but does seem to be more focused on Europe-SE Asia/Australia
+3
Level 60
Jan 26, 2019
I forgot Montreal... Wouldnt be that bad if I didnt LIVE in Montreal
+1
Level 48
Apr 11, 2019
No Buenos Aires or Rio?
+1
Level 46
May 18, 2020
Got Montego Bay, missed Rome.

*facepalm*

+1
Level 46
Aug 22, 2021
Pretty tough one because u have to think of business and holiday routes.
+1
Level 66
Jul 6, 2023
So I missed Toronto...daughter lives in Ontario...Missed Panama City...lived in the zone for 8 years, back and forth almost every year. scuba dived in Bahamas, rented motorbikes in Nassau. Guadalajara...been there but not by plane. Duh...............
+1
Level 61
Jul 8, 2023
I got Santo Domingo but missed Paris? Yikes
+1
Level 64
Mar 25, 2024
This is a beautiful quiz, congratulations! It desperately needs an update. 2016 is so far away...
+1
Level ∞
Mar 25, 2024
It's scheduled for an update. The pandemic put all our travel quizzes on hold.

We'll see if we can find good data.