Cancún Airport Posts Worst Day in Decades as Tourism Slump Deepens

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Cancún International Airport handled its fewest daily flights in at least two decades on Tuesday, the latest evidence of a deepening slump in the tourism industry that powers Quintana Roo’s economy.

ASUR, the airport operator, counted 286 operations for Tuesday, Sept. 15 — far below the roughly 715 recorded on busy days just a few years ago. Officials said the figure was the lowest of any comparable period in the past 20 years, excluding disruptions caused by the pandemic or hurricanes.

The day’s traffic totaled 143 arrivals, split between 73 domestic and 70 international flights, and 143 departures, also divided into 73 domestic and 70 international flights.

Passenger numbers are falling just as sharply. ASUR reported that traffic between January and August 2026 dropped 5.7% compared with the same period in 2025, a loss of more than 1.2 million passengers.

The decline accelerated in August. Measured against August 2025, traffic fell 9.3%, with roughly 115,000 passengers lost in a single month.

The figures underscore the pressure on Quintana Roo’s tourism sector, which remains the state’s economic engine even as political attention shifts to the 2027 governor’s race. Eugenio “Gino” Segura is campaigning for the governorship and is widely expected to take office in September 2027.