The São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro route, now the most flown in Latin America, underscores Brazil’s position as the region’s largest domestic market.
This flight path, connecting Congonhas and Santos Dumont airports, surpasses the second most frequent route, Bogotá-Medellin in Colombia, by almost 20%.
In the first half of 2023 (January-June), according to data from the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (Alta), flights between Congonhas and the airports of Brasilia, Porto Alegre, and Belo Horizonte also ranked among the most popular routes.
Below are the top routes in Latin America by flight frequency from January to June 2023:
Congonhas – Santos Dumont: 18.768
Bogotá – Medelín (Colômbia): 15.365
Cancún – Cidade do México (México): 13.246
Bogotá – Cáli (Colômbia): 11.716
Belize – São Pedro (Belize): 11.508
Bogotá – Cartagena (Colômbia): 10.981
Cidade do México – Monterrey (México): 10.506
Guadalajara – Cidade do México (México): 10.164
Brasília – Congonhas: 8.962
Cusco – Lima (Peru): 8.444
Congonhas – Porto Alegre: 8.308
Guayaquil – Quito (Equador): 7.890
Congonhas – Confins: 7.765
Belize – Dangriga (Belize): 7.763
St. Jean (Saint Barthélemy) – Sint Maarten (Países Baixos): 7.551
Belize – Placencia (Belize): 7.381
Barranquilla – Bogotá (Colômbia): 7.200
Cidade do México – Tijuana (México): 6.806
La Paz – Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolívia): 6.617
Guadalajara – Tijuana (México): 6.602
These data reinforce the strength of the Brazilian domestic market.
As per the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), in June alone, the market transported 7.2 million passengers – the highest June tally since 2015.
Alta’s CEO, José Ricardo Botelho, noted that while Brazil has rebounded in domestic traffic, it still lags in international connections compared to other regional markets.
Despite Brazil having the most diverse regional connections in Latin America, Mexico has nearly triple the number of international routes, indicating untapped potential for Brazil.
In comparison, Brazilian airlines serve 27 countries across six regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific) with 114 international and over 400 domestic routes.
Meanwhile, Colombian companies connect 27 countries across three regions with 109 international and 105 national routes, and Mexican airlines serve 31 countries across four regions with 305 international and 216 domestic routes.