Tulum Airport passenger growth defies flight cancellations

Tulum, Mexico — Tulum International Airport closed 2025 with 1.2 million passengers mobilized, achieving growth despite the cancellation of routes throughout last year, representing an increase compared to its first year of operation.

The terminal mobilized 586,612 domestic passengers and 639,657 international passengers, which represents a growth of 4.3% in the number of foreign travelers. Grupo Mundo Maya reports that these numbers allowed the terminal to increase total traffic volume by 0.9% compared to 2024, which is an achievement, considering that the airport suffered the cancellation of air routes from Europe, Canada, and the United States.

For 2026, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, head of the Quintana Roo Tourism Secretariat (Sedetur), assured that there will be recovery of the lost flights, as many airlines seek to capitalize on the tourism boom that the soccer World Cup will bring to destinations like the Mexican Caribbean.

“Tulum’s situation responds to seasonal flights that are already returning; we will be sharing information about many flights that are returning,” said the official.

Among the flights canceled during 2025 to Tulum are those of Delta Air Lines from Detroit and Minneapolis, maintaining only its Atlanta-Tulum route with six weekly flights. United Airlines also suspended flights from Los Angeles, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark for several periods, while Copa Airlines suspended its route from Panama City.

The Colombian airline Avianca also suspended the direct Bogotá-Tulum route that had begun in December 2024, while Air Canada eliminated flights from Ottawa and Quebec City, in addition to reducing frequencies from Montreal.

Also, Discover Airlines (a subsidiary of Lufthansa) announced the withdrawal of its Frankfurt-Tulum route, and will transfer it to Cancún.

The international destinations that Tulum maintains are JetBlue from New York; American Airlines from Miami and Dallas; Air Canada lands from Montreal and Toronto; Delta Airlines flies from Atlanta; United Airlines does so from Houston and Newark; Air Transat arrives from Quebec and Montreal, while WestJet flies from Toronto and Calgary.

Tulum Airport Operations

• 2023 (December): 39,768 passengers
• 2024: 1,233,459 passengers
• 2025: 1,244,660 passengers
• Total: 2,517,888 passengers