Mexico Air Traffic Rises 1.7% in August as Domestic Travel Grows, but US Routes Fall 6.1%

Mexico City — Mexico’s air passenger traffic rose 1.7% in August, its second consecutive month of growth, as a stronger domestic market offset another sharp drop in travel to and from the United States, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) reported.

Mexican airports handled 10.38 million passengers in August, an increase of about 172,000 travelers compared with the same month a year earlier. The result followed four months of contraction and topped the 0.7% growth recorded in July.

The improvement was driven entirely by domestic travel, which rose 5.2% and added roughly 293,000 passengers. International traffic fell 2.6%, a loss of about 120,000 passengers.

Mexico-US Routes Post Eighth Straight Decline

The drop in international traffic was concentrated on US routes. Travel between Mexico and the United States fell 6.1%, equivalent to 193,000 fewer passengers, after a 5.4% decline in July. That marked eight consecutive months of contraction on the corridor.

Other international markets performed better. Traffic to and from Canada grew 10.6%, Spain 7.6%, Panama 21.5% and Colombia 6.7%. The Mexico-Panama route posted the strongest percentage gain among the region’s ten largest markets, while Mexico-Canada traffic recorded a second straight month of growth after a decline in June.

Several other US corridors also weakened. Dominican Republic-United States traffic fell 5.7%, its second consecutive decline following a 2% drop in July, and Colombia-United States traffic slipped 4.6%, its fifth contraction this year.

Regional Traffic Up 0.8% in August

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, airlines carried 40.9 million passengers in August, up 0.8% from a year earlier, or about 343,000 additional travelers.

Domestic flights accounted for 56.5% of the total and grew 1.9% year on year. Travel between countries in the region rose 3.1%, while traffic between the region and other parts of the world fell 1.9%.

From January through August, the region moved 324 million passengers, a 1.8% increase over the same period of 2025.

Brazil, Panama and Mexico recorded the largest absolute gains. Brazil added 324,000 passengers (2.9%), Panama added 294,000 (15.9%) and Mexico added 172,000 (1.7%). ALTA noted that Colombia also stayed in positive territory, while Argentina and Chile continued to decline.

Fuel Prices Weigh on Airline Profitability

ALTA said jet fuel prices in Latin America and the Caribbean were relatively stable through 2025 but have climbed since March 2026, pushed higher by the conflict in the Middle East.

“In the week ended October 16, the average price in the Latin America and Caribbean region was $4.61 per gallon, 108.6% above the 2025 average. High fuel prices remain a challenge for the sector’s profitability,” the association said.