Which airports will gain and lose the most long-haul international capacity in Q2?
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Which major airports will gain and lose the most long-haul international capacity this quarter, relative to Q2 2019? First, let’s define long-haul as journeys of greater than 3,000 miles. That takes in most transatlantic routes, for example, and certainly transpacific routes. For a frame of reference, Dubai-Frankfurt is about 3,000 miles.
Looking at the 100 largest airports in the world by international seats based on data from Diio by Cirium, none will see a greater percentage increase in long-haul seats this quarter (versus pre-pandemic levels) than Tokyo Haneda. That’s mostly thanks to slot expansion, resulting in new routes to the US, Europe, Australia, India, and Turkey. Haneda’s Q2 long-haul seats will be up 43% from Q2, 2019.
Athens, though off a much smaller base of long-haul capacity, ranks second for most long-haul seats gained (up 42%). Delta, United, American, and Air Canada have all added flights to the Greek capital, seeking to take advantage of booming leisure demand. On the opposite end of the scale is Beijing’s Capital Airport, still 73% below its pre-crisis level. The city’s new airport partly explains the decline, but Shanghai Pudong is down almost as much.
London Heathrow, Dubai, and New York JFK, by the way, are the airports with the most long-haul international seat capacity this quarter.
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