Airlines Scale Back Service to Tulum's New Airport

Airlines are reducing service to Tulum's fledgling airport, with some dropping service altogether, according to a report from USA Today.

Opened last March to provide more direct service to the tourist hotspot, it seems the new Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport hasn't fully gained a foothold among travelers.

Mike Arnot, spokesperson for aviation data analytics company Cirium, told USA Today in an email that the airport may take some time before it thrives.

"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," Arnot told the publication. "For Tulum Airport, the build will be a marathon, not a sprint."

In August of last year, eighth months after opening the new facility, Tulum airport officials reported a positive start to operations. Data provided by the airport showed that it had welcomed nearly 700,000 passengers.

“In just eight months of activity, between December 2023 and July 2024, the Tulum Airport has handled almost 670,000 passengers in 5,200 air operations,” Quintana Roo’s governor, Mara Lezama, had said at the time, according to a report in Riviera Maya News. “What is striking is the progression of growth.”

In fact, March and July saw the greatest numbers of travelers visiting the state. In the beginning of March, the airport had welcomed just over 5,000 travelers since its opening. By April, that number had grown to 53,000 and come July, the airport welcomed more than 88,000 travelers.

USA Today's new review of flight data however, reveals that some airlines have drawn down their flights to the Tulum airport.

For instance, in December 2023, Spirit Airlines was planning 60 flights to Tulum for April 2024. That level of flight operations would have served more than 10,000 passengers per month. However, according to USA Today, the struggling airline eliminated its entire Tulum schedule in February 2024.

Still, demand for spring break 2025 at the airport remains lackluster.

United Airlines, for example, had planned  94 flights from the U.S. to Tulum for April 2024. That provided capacity for 16,826 travelers.

Fast forward to April 2025, and the career has just 60 flights to Tulum from the U.S., according to the USA Today report based on Cirium data.

That's a drop from United's original plans for Tulum for this April. The carrier cut a few hundred seats from its April schedule earlier this year.

Yet another example is offered by American Airlines, which has been conducting similar flight schedule reductions, per USA Today.

For April 2024, American operated 120 flights to Tulum. However, for April 2025, that figure dropped to 60 flights, and the capacity is still being reduced. 

The one airline bucking this trend is Delta. It launched its Tulum service in April 2024 with just 30 flights. And for April 2025, it is offering 36 flights. However, the carrier still cut 100 seats from flights to Tulum for its April schedule, according to USA Today.

Still, Arnot seemed to indicate that these changes aren't necessarily a bad sign for the new airport.

"For Tulum in the airlines' eyes, it's not such much a case of failure or success – thumbs up or down – but instead using data to determine the right supply of seats from the right destinations, for the right time periods," Arnot said. 

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