The Mexican government is planning the construction of a new international airport located on the Yucatan peninsula, near the Caribbean coast and leisure destinations such as Cancun. The Tulum International Airport is set to be inaugurated in 2024 and already has at least one airline interested in its location.
Viva Aerobus – interested in Tulum International
The Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus has stated its interest in flying to and from Tulum International Airport. Viva Aerobus’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Juan Carlos Zuazua, recently went public, assuring the company communicated its interest to the federal government.
Tulum International is set to open in April 2024 (before the term of the current president, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ends). It would be the second airport inaugurated under his administration after Felipe Ángeles International (NLU). Similarly to the new Mexico City airport, Tulum will be built and administrated by the Mexican army.
Can Tulum be successful?
Tulum International will have the capacity to serve 5.5 million passengers and receive up to 32,000 yearly operations. About 75% of the incoming passengers are projected to be foreign. It is set to serve as a secondary option to powerhouse Cancun International (CUN), one of the largest and most successful leisure-oriented airports globally.
Other airports in the area – Chetumal (CTM), Mérida (MID), and Cozumel (CZM) – have failed to attract incoming traffic despite their location. According to data from Cirium, between these four airports, there are 2,307 weekly departures; Cancun International is responsible for 87% of all departures (and responsible for 94% of all international departures).
Nonetheless, between these four airports, Cancun International is the best location for most of the Caribbean coastline hotels. Cozumel is located on an island, while Chetumal and Merida are more than an hour away by car from the main touristic spots. Tulum is looking to address just that with a closer location to the region’s top destinations.
A new destination for Viva and Allegiant?
Juan Carlos Zuazua said that Viva Aerobus would initially only operate domestic routes from Tulum International. Most likely, the ultra-low-cost carrier will serve routes from Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, the country’s largest urban areas.
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Nonetheless, the airline is looking to expand internationally in the midterm. The United States is the goal. Tulum International could be an excellent airport for the Allegiant Air-Viva Aerobus joint venture agreement, said Juan Carlos Zuazua. These two ultra-low-cost carriers are currently waiting for the approval of their partnership by the Department of Transportation. Allegiant has recently stated it could launch flights to Mexico by the third quarter of 2024.
Tulum International would certainly fit both Viva and Allegiant point-to-point leisure-oriented business models. As a comparison, Allegiant operates 767 weekly flights to Florida in the United States. None of these services lands in Orlando International or Miami International, the State’s two largest airports. Instead, Allegiant mainly flies to Orlando Sanford (200 weekly flights), St. Petersburg (172), and Punta Gorda (164).
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Source: El Economista.