Airports across Mexico report new all-time passenger records
Airports across the country have reported higher-than-expected passenger volume during the first week of December.
On Saturday Cancún International Airport set a new single-day operational record with a total of 660 flights.
“We are thrilled to see so much activity, but it of course comes with its own challenges of both a security and logistic nature,” said Cancún’s airport director Carlos Trueba Coll.
The story has been similar in Mexico City’s Benito Juaréz airport, though cloudy weather conditions have been causing significant delays.
Even in Mérida’s usually easy-going airport things have been much busier than normal, with the constant buzz of incoming and outgoing flights to destinations in Mexico and abroad.
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Travel industry experts argue that the surge in passengers is likely due to travelers opting to leave earlier for winter holidays after having accumulated more time off than usual due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like in much of the world, Mexico’s government is no longer demanding the use of facemasks at airports or on aircraft, though a handful of travelers can still be regularly seen taking this precaution.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry, it would really stink to have COVID mess with everyone’s travel plans once again, so it’s a small price I am happy to pay,” said a German tourist a Mérida’s International Airport.
One of the consequences of the unusually high volume of arrivals has been a lack of taxis, especially at Cancún international where ride-sharing apps like Uber and Didi are prohibited.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer, adventure leader, and PhD candidate. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
