Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (tempo.co)

The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) in Jakarta has been named the largest megahub in Asia, ranked the 17th most-connected airport in the world, just ahead of Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Sydney Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

To rank the connectivity of airports for the Megahubs Index 2015, air travel intelligence provider OAG calculated the total number of all possible connections between inbound and outbound flights within an eight hour window at each airport on 7 August 2015, the busiest day for global aviation this year.

In the top 50 megahubs list, CGK has a connectivity index of 652, which is measured by the ratio of scheduled connections to the number of destinations served by the airport. It is reportedly a very constrained airport, with a burgeoning domestic market and rising low-cost carriers (LCC). Lion Air is mentioned as CGK's largest LCC and contributes to its being ranked sixth in the study's top 25 low-cost megahubs.

Meanwhile, the global leader in megahubs is the US with 22 of the 50 most connected airports in the world, eight of which rank in the top 10.

'€œWe are witnessing massive consolidation in the US market and although the megahubs in the US still rank highly, the level of connectivity is actually decreasing. Compare this with the Asia Pacific, and we can see the reverse is true as LCCs have established new norms in terms of consumer behavior and passengers choosing, in many cases, to self-connect," said OAG regional director for Asia Pacific region, Mark Clarkson, in a press release on Tuesday.

The Megahubs Index also acknowledged Istanbul Ataturk Airport (IST) as the airport which has risen most rapidly, with the number of possible connections there on the busiest day of 2015 four times greater than five years ago '€“ an increase of over 100,000 connections.

Construction of a third airport is currently underway in Turkey's most populous city, which is planned to be the biggest in the world and ultimately replace IST. (kes)

Top 10 Megahubs

1. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, US, (connectivity index) 2503

2. Chicago O'Hare International Airport, US, 2280

3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, US, 1940

4. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, US, 1585

5. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, US, 1028

6. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, US, 903

7. Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport, Brazil, 880

8. Denver International Airport, US, 877

9. Mexico City Juarez International Airport, Mexico, 826

10. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, US, 778

Top 10 Megahubs in Asia Pacific

1. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia, 652

2. Haneda (Tokyo) International Airport, Japan, 643

3. Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Australia, 623

4. Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, India, 599

5. Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore, 582

6. Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, India, 545

7. Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China, 482

8. Melbourne Airport, Australia, 457

9. Surabaya Juanda Airport, Indonesia, 447

10. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, 416

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