Construction at Cancun Airport Terminal 4 Causes Heavy Traffic and Tourist Complaints

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Ongoing construction at Cancun International Airport is turning the roadways and parking areas of Terminal 4 into a maze of barriers and confusion, frustrating tourists and transport operators alike.

Travelers arriving at the terminal this week said the reduced access lanes and lack of clear signage made it difficult to find drop-off points and parking. “I know there is construction and the airport needs to be modernized, but there aren’t enough signs and it’s very confusing to find the drop-off area or parking,” said Claudia Hernández, who was traveling with Sofía Conrrado and José Antonio Álvarez.

Workers from tourist transport companies and travel agencies who regularly pick up passengers also voiced their frustration over the prolonged timeline of the works. “For months now, we’ve seen wooden walls going up everywhere and barriers limiting traffic flow,” they said.

The airport’s operator, Asur (Aeropuertos del Sureste), said the disruption is part of a long-planned expansion aimed at accommodating sustained growth in international passenger traffic. The centerpiece of the project is the full reconstruction and reopening of Terminal 1, which has been largely idle for years and currently serves only private and limited operations. Terminal 4 is also being enlarged.

Asur had told investors that construction was in an advanced phase and that Terminal 1 would reopen by the end of the second quarter of 2026, but that deadline passed without the work being completed. Once operational, the renovated terminal is expected to add much-needed capacity and help redistribute passenger flow from Terminals 2, 3 and 4. Asur has not yet specified which airlines or routes will be assigned there.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the Terminal 4 expansion is nearly finished, with some areas — including new boarding gates and a connecting taxiway — described as virtually complete. The improvements are designed to ease congestion while work on Terminal 1 continues.

The broader infrastructure plan also includes widening the airport’s access roads to improve landside traffic. For now, however, visitors continue to struggle with the roughly five-kilometer stretch of airport grounds, where signage remains patchy. At Terminal 4, parking is currently limited to a single interconnecting corridor, while the rest of the perimeter remains blocked by wooden structures and barriers.