Copa Airlines, a Panamanian airline, has announced its plans to discontinue flights to and from Tulum Airport and the International Airport of Santa Lucia (AIFA) in Mexico. The decision comes just over four months after the inauguration of the two new airports. According to an update from the airline's reservation system, these routes have become unprofitable.
Both Tulum and AIFA airports were launched in 2022 and 2023 respectively. At the time, the flights were managed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Copa Airlines, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and part of the global Star Alliance airline network, has also announced the suspension of four other international routes for 2025. These include flights to Cibao Airport in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, and to Armenia, Colombia.
The airline's reservation system indicates that the Tulum route will be discontinued on January 10, following its inauguration in July 2024. The AIFA route will be cancelled a day later, after its launch in September 2022. Both routes were operating with three weekly flights.
In the case of Tulum, Avianca will take over the route from December 10, 2024, ensuring continued connectivity with South America. The cancellation of these routes follows the discontinuation of two other routes in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, and the cessation of flights to Venezuela due to the Venezuelan government's decision to disallow connections with Panama.
Copa Airlines will now focus on redirecting its aircraft to destinations with higher demand. According to the Platform Cirium, an increase in frequencies on various routes is expected in the coming months. At present, Copa Airlines operates flights to six destinations in Mexico, including Mexico City, State of Mexico, Cancun, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tulum.
In 2023, Tocumen Airport, which is administered by Copa Airlines, reported that it had handled over 1.3 million passengers, making it the third most important market for the Panamanian airline.
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