Last week, the Mexican government inaugurated the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport to serve Mexico City. A few days later, the Mexican president revealed the plans to build a new international airport that would help support the tourist demand in the Caribbean region and help ease the saturation levels at Cancun International Airport, the most important gateway into the country. Let’s investigate further.
Tulum International Airport
The Mexican government and army will build a new hub called Tulum International Airport. It will be located in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Once inaugurated, the new airport could attract many airlines, from low-cost operators like Volaris and Viva Aerobus to legacy carriers like Delta Air Lines.
Earlier this week, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced the new project and said he expects it to be opened next year.
So far, we have a few operational details of the new Tulum International Airport. Nonetheless, López Obrador said that the new hub would have a capacity to receive up to four million passengers and be built close enough to key touristic destinations like Cancun.
Similar to the recently inaugurated Felipe Ángeles International Airport (IATA code NLU), the Tulum Airport will be built by the Mexican army. It will also be a mixed military base and commercial airport.
How much will it cost?
The Mexican army expects the airport to be built in only one year and to have an operational life of around 31 years.
According to a document published by local media outlet Froji, building the new Tulum airport requires an investment of 950 million pesos (around US$48 million).
The Tulum International Airport will help the development of the Mayan Riviera, which includes destinations like Puerto Morelos, Akumal, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Xel-Há, Xcaret, Cobá, and others.
Does Cancun need a new airport?
In 2021, Cancún International Airport received 22.3 million passengers, according to data provided by the Mexican Government. The airport (IATA code CUN) remained the country’s main port of entry for international travelers, with 35% of the market share (in comparison, Mexico City International receives around 27% of all the international travelers).
Cancún has quickly rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the airport has received 5.5 million passengers, which is the same number it had in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, many airlines (mainly from the United States, but also a few others like TAP Air Portugal and Viva Colombia) have launched non-stop routes to Cancun in the last few months.
Besides being one of the top touristic destinations worldwide, Cancun is also close to most cities in North America, which increases its appeal.
Nonetheless, Cancun International Airport is near its saturation point. In 2019, Peter Cerdá, regional vice-president at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the Americas, said,
“The hubs at Cancun, Guadalajara, and Monterrey urgently need new investments to expand their capacities, as they are near their limits.”
Peter Cerdá urged the Cancun airport authorities to grow responsibly, but he also urged the authorities to evaluate the master plans going forward. He said there should be a project which enables the airport to grow into the future. Maybe Tulum will be the answer. We will have to wait and see.
Do you think building a new airport in Tulum is the right choice? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Froji.mx