United Airlines has announced it will cease operations at Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum starting early next year, citing market conditions as the cause.
The announcement comes just two weeks after American Airlines revealed plans to halt its Miami-Tulum route, following similar moves by other domestic and international carriers including Aeroméxico, Volaris, Copa and Avianca.
The final flight for the connection from Newark is scheduled for Jan. 2, while service from Houston will conclude on Jan. 4. The withdrawal will not be immediate; rather, it will take effect after the year-end holiday period, in accordance with the published schedule.
According to United, affected passengers will be able to modify their bookings.
“Customers will have the option to change their booking to flights arriving at nearby airports, such as Cancún (CUN)—which is a 1.5 to 2-hour drive away and serves many of the same tourist areas as TQO—or, alternatively, they may request a refund,” United said in a statement sent to the newspaper El Financiero.
United’s departure marks the culmination of a gradual reduction in its operations in Tulum. Prior to announcing the cancellation of its connections from Newark and Houston, the airline had already withdrawn its services from Chicago and Los Angeles, thereby diminishing its presence at the Quintana Roo terminal.
Industry reports interpret the company’s “market conditions” rationale for eliminating the flights as Tulum’s lower-than-expected vacation demand.
Industry analysts cited by Aviación News blame the tourism decline on high hotel prices in the area and weaker-than-expected demand for leisure travel. Other contributing factors include the massive influx of sargassum and increased fees and other charges on foreign tourists.
The combination of factors has reportedly led airlines to reassess the profitability of their operations and shift capacity to other destinations with higher passenger volumes.
In this context, Cancún International Airport – located 130 kilometers north of Tulum – emerges as the primary beneficiary of the reorientation of supply.
In the meantime, Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat have announced that they will resume flights for the winter season. Viva Aerobus continues its operations at the terminal with no announced changes, and state-owned Mexicana de Aviación remains the only carrier offering an increased number of flights.
With reports from Reportur
