Last Updated
Tourists heading home from their Cancun vacations faced up to 3-hour flight delays on Wednesday. Most of the flights that suffered these delays were set to take tourists back to multiple US cities. Flights to Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver were amongst the most affected by these delays. With other flights to Colombia, and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic also forcing passengers to spend more time at the Cancun airport than they originally planned.
For over 500 flights a day, the Cancun airport is usually a well oiled machine. Like all airports, delays are a part of the business and the reason behind some of these long delays isn’t exactly clear. While Cancun has seen some long delays already in 2022, not all have come at the fault of the airport.
This was evident at the beginning of the year when a shortage of immigration officers caused tourists arriving in the area to have to stand in line for up to 4 hours.
Over the weekend an additional 10 flights departing from Cancun were delayed. Many of these flights were scheduled to fly to US cities. While authorities haven’t disclosed the reason for the delays, the weekends can see upwards of 1200 flights over Saturday and Sundays.
Two local flights from Cancun to Mexico City, and Monterrey respectively, scheduled to fly over the weekend were also cancelled.. This was due to a lack of crew members available to operate the flights.
Head To The Cancun Airport With Enough Time To Spare Before Boarding
Arriving at the airport 3 hours before your flight seems excessive for many people. In fact, the wait could be extended if your flight is delayed. However, terminals at the Cancun airport are experiencing their own form of bottleneck traffic upon checking in so it is a good idea to arrive early.
Another reason to leave early are the recent potential traffic jams on the roads. Last week there was a truck driver protest that caused major traffic on the road leading to the airport. This led to many tourists missing their return flight home.
Last week, a tourist thought they heard gunshots which forced the Cancun airport to evacuate an entire terminal. It ended up just being a false alarm but a good reminder when traveling to expect the unexpected and be ready for delays. With Cancun being one of the most popular destinations in the world, delays can and will happen.
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.