After a slight downturn last week Cancun airport registered more than 1,000 flights over this past weekend, even as ticket prices are significantly rising for some airlines. For the first few months of 2022 more than 500 flights were coming and going from Cancun International Airport almost every day, but on May 31 only 452 arrivals and departures were reported. This represents a 10 percent decrease compared to the beginning of the year, which was a record-breaking few months for Cancun.
During the same period that fewer flights were reported at Cancun airport, Delta Airlines also issued a statement saying that travelers were going to experience a nearly 30 percent increase in prices for tickets purchased from the airline this summer. The increase is due to a number of factors playing a role in how many airlines operate since the pandemic has changed the landscape. A lack of crew has led to the need to offer more competitive wages, fuel prices are rising due to the high rate of inflation caused partially by the pandemic, and having to recoup the costs from so many canceled flights have all played a role in the rising ticket prices.
Many of the tourists that fly into Cancun International Airport come from the United States and Canada. During the first five months of the year, millions of people traveled to Cancun but there has been a slight lull in the travel frenzy following the spring break season and the Easter holiday. Now millions more are expected to visit throughout the summer, even though travelers are paying higher prices for airline tickets.
The increase in the number of flights this past weekend is evidence that Cancun is still a popular destination among tourists, and it is renewing optimism for the future for the Secretary of Tourism of Quintana Roo, the home state of Cancun. The tourist destination is so popular, in fact, that many airlines have added additional routes to and from the city. At the same time other airlines, such as Delta, are canceling more flights than ever before and experiencing increased delays.
On both Saturday and Sunday, more than 500 flights flew in and out of Cancun International Airport, with the majority of those being international flights. For Saturday there were 580 total operations, which included 292 incoming flights, of which 207 were international, and 288 outgoing flights, with 208 of those flying outside of the country. On Sunday the airport registered fewer flights than Saturday but still reported 526 total flights, with 266 arrivals and 260 departures, of which 190 and 176 were international, respectively.
Nearly 40 different airlines operated out of Cancun International Airport this past weekend, flying to and from cities all over the world. The majority of those flights, though, were to and from major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Clevland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Francisco.
This summer Cancun is expecting more visitors from European countries, with many hotels in the Hotel Zone already reporting being nearly 100 percent booked. The next wave of the travel boom is expected to last throughout the summer and tourism industry officials in Cancun are already promoting the fall and winter seasons.
The recent increase in flights flying in and out of Cancun International Airport is a good sign that the summer travel season will be exactly what the industry professionals have predicted. If those predictions come true then Cancun will continue its record-breaking year and officials are hoping that it will even carry into 2023.
Plan Your Next Cancun Vacation:
Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!
Choose From Thousands of Cancun and Riviera Maya Hotels, Resorts and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties
↓ Join the community ↓
The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean
Subscribe to our Latest Posts
Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.