Winter Schedules Bring 13 New Destinations to Tulum Airport: Navigating the Numbers

As winter approaches, Tulum’s airport is getting a much-needed boost with 13 new destinations, operated by 10 airlines, from October 25 to March 27. However, the details are a bit murky.

According to Quintana Roo tourism secretary Bernardo Cueto, the airport will see flights to nine international destinations, including cities in Canada and the United States, as well as four domestic routes. But the devil is in the details. Four major airlines-United Airlines, Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet-have confirmed direct service to five Canadian and U.S. cities, while the other six airlines remain anonymous. No specific weekly frequency counts have been released, leaving the actual number of flights per week a mystery.

The announcement comes at a time when the airport has been struggling. International passenger volume at Felipe Carrillo Puerto airport fell 34 percent in the first quarter, and the town it serves saw 15 percent hotel occupancy, the lowest in its history. The winter program aims to bring people back, but it remains to be seen if these new routes will be enough to fill the seats.

Adding to the complexity, there are discrepancies in the numbers. Federal tourism secretary Josefina Rodríguez Zamora reported nine international routes, while Tulum’s director of tourism Haydee Hernández Pastrana reported eight. Governor Mara Lezama’s version includes nine international destinations, but the exact number and frequency remain unclear.

The state government is hoping that these new routes will help win back some of the lost traffic, but the road ahead is not clear. With only four major airlines confirmed and the other six yet to be identified, the success of this winter schedule remains to be seen.