When the new airport in Tulum opened last year, it promised visitors to Mexico’s Mayan Riviera a more streamlined travel experience to resorts beyond Cancún. Airlines were initially bullish on a new way to get their passengers to a popular tourist destination, but about a year and a half after opening, Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum hasn’t yet fully caught on.
“Launching a new airport is a huge endeavor – especially so for those that are entirely tourism dependent. In the case of the Yucatan, Cancún has huge brand awareness in the U.S. and Canada amongst sun worshippers and has for decades, with Cozumel second in brand footprint and air traffic,” Mike Arnot, a spokesperson for aviation data analytics company Cirium, told USA TODAY in an email. “For Tulum Airport, the build will be a marathon, not a sprint.”
A closer look at the data from Cirium shows that airlines have progressively scaled back their service to Tulum, and some carriers have abandoned the airport altogether.
In December 2023, Spirit Airlines had planned 60 flights to Tulum for April 2024, representing a capacity for more than 10,000 passengers that month. By February 2024, the airline had axed its entire schedule to Tulum. For context: Spirit is struggling with capacity across its network as engine problems keep some of its planes grounded and financial shortfalls have led it to lay off some of its staff. Nevertheless, it’s not a great sign for a leisure-focused airline to pull out of a leisure market ahead of spring break.
The airport was still ramping up service in March 2024, so it’s hard to compare flights in the early part of spring break last year versus this year.