After just a little more than seven months, Aeroméxico’s direct flights to and from Atlanta have disappeared from the airline’s schedule.
While Delta still has an alliance with Aeroméxico to make trips from the U.S. to Mérida seamless, Atlanta passengers must now go through Mexico City, adding hours to the trip.
Some passengers who were already booked were informed of the change by email, although one Travelocity customer told a Facebook group that he hasn’t been told about any changes to his October trip. They were either rebooked or told to do so themselves.
Passengers planning to use the route, which was very handy for East Coast travelers, noticed the change online.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson at either Delta or Aeromexico were unsuccessful on Sunday.
The flight competed with American Airline’s similar route, which connected passengers in Miami. In Houston, United still has a direct Mérida route.
The Atlanta connection started with high hopes and a ceremony on Dec. 1. It gave Mérida a direct link to a major U.S. hub. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport connected Yucatán to airports in 130 cities and 50 countries.
The inaugural Flight 2717 was greeted with a “water salute” as it taxied toward its gate at Mérida’s Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport. The governor and other state officials lined up on the tarmac to shake hands with the first arrivals.
“It will be such a boon to tourism in Mérida, especially visitors from the northeast of the U.S.,” said one passenger at the time.
In May, everything appeared to be going swimmingly with Delta and Grupo Aeroméxico celebrated the one-year anniversary of its trans-border airline alliance. The agreement opened up eight new routes and two new joint destinations in Mexico and allowed co-location in nine airports in the U.S.
But air connections come and go for travelers in Yucatán. American’s flights to Dallas were dropped in February 2017, and a promised Las Vegas link, which once looked imminent, never materialized.
