The Merida airport’s expansion comes just in time for the social distancing era.
The Merida Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport has started to open new, larger spaces that have been under construction since the end of 2019. Expected to be completed next month, the first leg of the airport’s overhaul brings vastly more elbow room in the north and south sides of the documentation areas.
There is also more room for health-screening areas to filter out passengers with symptoms of coronavirus.
Óscar Carrillo Maldonado, the airport’s general administrator, commented that the extra space allows passengers to line up at a healthy distance from one another.
The second stage, which began between February and March, will bring more breathing room to baggage rooms, waiting rooms and inspection points. It is due to be unveiled in 2022, according to Carrillo Maldonado.
The four-year modernization is being coordinated by concessionaire ASUR with a budget of 2.5 billion pesos. The newly configured airport will increase capacity by up to 135%, or from 2 million to 4.7 million passengers annually.
By the end of August, 30 percent of 2019’s passenger demand returned after a near shutdown in April.
