Arrivals At Tulum Airport Are Down and So Are Other Airports

Tulum International Airport (TQO), officially named Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Carrillo Puerto, commenced operations on December 1, 2023. At first, the airport started with domestic flights and later with international flights on March 28th, 2024. The first full year of operation saw better then estimated numbers in regard to passengers. In terms of capacity, the airport’s facilities were designed to accommodate around 5.5 million passengers annually. The airport’s opening significantly improved access to the Riviera Maya region, reducing travel time for tourists and alleviating congestion at Cancun International Airport.

While official numbers of passengers are still being compiled, there are some bad omens for 2025 in regard to the Tulum area and airport. Airlines have been reducing flights or cutting service all together for Tulum as demand has dropped. Various factors, such as tourism trends, the economy, and others, have impacted tourism in the Riviera Maya and Tulum area. Here is a look at some of the numbers and what is happening in Tulum now.

How many people used the Tulum Airport in the first year?

In 2024, Tulum International Airport handled a total of 1,237,248 passengers, according to data from Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC).

This figure significantly surpassed the initial projection of 700,000 passengers for the airport’s first year of operations. The airport achieved its one-millionth passenger milestone by early November 2024. This was very good news for Tulum since many thought this airport would never be built.

Airline promotions contributed to the promotion of the Tulum Airport in 2024

Several U.S. airlines offered promotional fares to Tulum International Airport in 2024 to celebrate the launch of new routes and attract travelers to the newly inaugurated airport.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue introduced daily nonstop flights from New York’s JFK Airport to Tulum starting June 13, 2024. The airline offered limited-time one-way fares as low as $99 and $149, available through their website.

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines commenced daily flights from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando to Tulum on March 28, 2024. They offered promotional one-way fares starting at $149.

United Airlines

United Airlines launched nonstop flights to Tulum from several U.S. cities, including Newark, Houston, and Chicago, beginning in March 2024. Additionally, United offered a 10% discount on flights to Tulum for MileagePlus members aged 18 to 23.

These promotional fares were part of the airlines’ strategies to introduce the new Tulum International Airport as a convenient gateway to Mexico’s Riviera Maya, aiming to attract both new and returning visitors to the region. But as we entered into 2025, the promotions were over, and demand started to decline.

How are arrivals for 2025 so far?

In the first quarter of 2025, Tulum International Airport recorded a total of 129,812 international passenger arrivals. Specific data on domestic arrivals for the same period isn’t readily available. It is also hard to compare 2024 to 2025 since the airport was just opening. It does seem to appear that traffic peaked around December 2024/January 2025 and has been slowing since. There is also a lot of antidotal evidence that tourism in Tulum is showing signs of weakness:

Tulum ruins have seen a drop in visitors. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the archaeological site experienced a 23.6% drop in visitors in 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Transportation providers that we have talked to say that reservations from Tulum Airport to Tulum have seen a significant drop-off in 2025.
Occupancy rates for hotels and rentals are down. Actual percentages are hard to come by. The Riviera Maya (which includes Tulum) is said to be down 2.4%-17% depending on what statistics you look at. Hotel statistics are notoriously deceptive. But if you talk to owners of rental properties, you hear very similar experiences of lower-than-normal stays.
And lastly, airlines are reducing or cutting service to Tulum Airport, as you will see in the next section.

What airlines have cut service or reduced service to Tulum Airport?

Several airlines have reduced or discontinued their services to Tulum International Airport in 2025, adjusting their operations based on demand and strategic considerations. Here’s a summary of the changes:

Avianca: The Colombian airline will discontinue its Bogota–Tulum route, with the last flight scheduled for July 1, 2025. Passengers with bookings beyond that date will be rerouted via Cancun.

United Airlines: United has made several adjustments to its Tulum services:

Los Angeles (LAX): Service canceled indefinitely.
Chicago O’Hare (ORD): Suspended from March 30 to October 26, 2025. Newark (EWR): Suspended from May 20 to October 26, 2025. (It should be noted that airlines often have seasonal service changes. These months are usually a slower travel season to the Riviera Maya and even Cancun sees seasonal changes to flights).

American Airlines: The airline ended its Charlotte–Tulum route on February 13, 2025, but continues to operate flights from Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami.

Copa Airlines: Copa suspended its Panama City–Tulum flights starting January 11, 2025, due to aircraft delivery delays. The airline has not provided a restart date for this route.

Air Canada: The carrier canceled plans to resume seasonal winter flights from Ottawa and Quebec City to Tulum. However, it continues to serve Tulum from Toronto and Montreal.

JetBlue Airways: JetBlue adjusted its New York JFK–Tulum route to a seasonal service, with the last scheduled flight on April 29, 2025.

Spirit Airlines: Spirit canceled its planned services from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando to Tulum before they commenced, citing aircraft availability issues.

These adjustments reflect the airlines’ responses to market demand and operational considerations.

How are other local airport faring?

It is not just Tulum Airport that is seeing less passengers arriving. Two other local airports are seeing a decline in arrivals. Asur (Airports of the Southeast), which manages several airports including Cancun International Airport, and the Cozumel Airport has had these reports put out.

From 2024 to 2025 year-to-date show:

International arrivals to Cancun were down 6.9%. Domestic arrivals were down .02%.

International arrivals to Cozumel Airport were down 22.3%. Domestic arrivals were down 2%.

You might say, well the Cancun &Cozumel Airports are seeing less arrivals because the Tulum Airport started service. This can be part of the reason, but these are based on year-to-date numbers from January to April in both 2024 to 2025. Between the Cancun Airport and the Cozumel Airport there was a drop in arrivals of 563,423 persons.

We only have the international arrivals to Tulum Airport for the first quarter of 2025 which was 129,812. Since we do not have the numbers of domestic arrivals, we can roughly estimate the number because international arrivals are usually 70% of airport traffic in the Riviera Maya. So, the total number of passenger arrivals could be near 185,445. Both the Cancun & Cozumel Airport were down a combined 22.3% or 617,773 passenger arrivals over the first quarter of 2024. So, if you added the arrivals together of the three airports, this would mean the area still lost 432,328 passengers arriving to the area.

Cancun Airport — Cancun International Airport.

Are low international arrivals happening everywhere in Mexico?

It should be noted that this trend of lower arrivals is not happening in all parts of Mexico. For example, Merida (MID) Airport in Yucatan State saw and increase in international arrivals of 10.3%. It should be noted that the Merida International Airport recently was renovated and at least two new international routes were opened in 2025.

Oaxaca Airport also saw a rise in international arrivals. Year to date numbers show a 26.1% increase over the same period in 2024. It should also be noted that the Oaxaca Airport is undergoing an expansion now and is increasing its appeal to international visitors.

So, what’s going on with the Riviera Maya and why are less people traveling?

A lof of the problem is from economic instability after the recent presidential election in the United States. People started to put off travel plans. This also made people more price conscience. The comment of many tourists is the Riviera Maya is getting expensive.

Part of the reason Mexico seems more expensive is the strength of the Mexican Peso. The peso rose in value steadily in 2024, increasing about 23%. But it was not just the strength of the peso. For example, in Tulum the average nightly stay rose $41 USD in 2025 over 2024. There are also the ground transportation costs getting from the Tulum Airport to hotels. Even though the airport is considered Tulum, it is about 40 minutes away from most hotels or accommodations. This can mean another $120-150 USD for round trip transportation.

Since many tourists to Tulum are between 25-40, many are looking for affordable travel and Tulum has become more expensive. It might be driving some of the tourists away. There are other reasons why in 2025 tourists are not coming as much to the Riviera Maya, but we will discuss that in another article.

As we go further into 2025, we will start to see some hard numbers coming from arrivals to the Tulum Airport. While it is hard to compare to last year, which was the opening of the airport, and seasonal trends, we will see how airlines demand goes. Tulum is going through a breather stage of growth, and this might be reflective in the number of arrivals.