Tulum’s Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport will regain five international connections during the 2026–2027 winter season, a sign of recovery from the destination’s tourism decline.
Operations will begin in late October this year and continue through March 2027.
According to an announcement from Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama, Tulum will be receiving international flights of varying frequencies throughout the winter from four strategic Canadian cities — Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Quebec — and five from the U.S., including the returning Newark flight, joining Houston, Dallas, Miami and Atlanta.
The expansion of air service is part of the Tulum Renace (Rebirth of Tulum) program, a federal strategy aimed at reorganizing the destination, strengthening its infrastructure and attracting a greater influx of high-value tourists to tackle its ongoing slump in tourism since last year.
Reports from July revealed that the Tulum airport saw its international routes drop from 12 to four this year, alongside a decline of more than 30% in international traffic.
Quintana Roo’s Tourism Minister Bernardo Cueto told the specialized news outlet Aviación Online that the decline in operations is not an isolated phenomenon, but one that is replicated in destinations across Mexico, the Caribbean and the U.S., where airlines have chosen to prioritize maintaining existing routes over opening new markets.
On the other hand, the competing destination of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic mobilized at its airport over 11 million passengers in 2025, compared to the 1.2 million travelers Tulum’s airport handled in the same period.
To boost Tulum’s tourism industry, the state government is also launching an aggressive three-year incentive plan to bring back other airlines that suspended operations and attract new direct flights from the U.S., Germany and Panama.
The incentives include financial support and operational accommodations to reduce financial risk for airlines and encourage their immediate return.
“We want airlines to see Tulum as a real and profitable opportunity,” Cueto said.
With reports from El Economista, Novedades Quintana Roo, El Quintanarroense
