New direct Air Canada flight to Cozumel raises questions
A new weekly direct flight from Montreal to Cozumel has been announced to begin on Aug. 9.
Though flights from elsewhere in Mexico and the United States have been landing on the Caribbean island, this new flight operated by Air Canada is a significant milestone.
There have even been rumors on social media of a direct flight from Italy, though plans for this route have not been officially acknowledged.
But can Cozumel’s relatively small airport handle it?
The Cozumel airport currently has eight arrival and departure gates and two landing strips, each about two miles long and capable of accommodating aircraft as large as the Boeing 767.
But it is unlikely that arrivals by air will soon be on par with the island’s massive cruise ship traffic, which has now surpassed pre-2020 levels.
Though tourism is the main source of income for the island, locals are starting to fight back against plans to further expand cruise ship operations, citing environmental and social concerns.
Cozumel’s airport is also home to an airforce base which during World War II was home to the “Aztec Eagles,” who saw action in the Pacific theater.
Earlier: Cozumel shoots for the stars with new astronomical tourism push
Cozumel is Mexico’s oldest tourism destination.
Even before Playa del Carmen had no more than a handful of hotels, Cozumel was already thriving with large numbers of domestic and international tourists looking to snorkel along its coral reefs.
Cozumel’s tourism industry even predates that of Cancún, which was built from scratch in the 1970s.
Readers who spent time in Mexico during the 1980s and ‘90s may well recall the constant television ads with the “Isla Cozumel, los Colores del Caribe” jingle.
These days Cozumel’s main tourist area is overrun with tacky shops, fairly poor restaurants, and folks doing their best to sell you a poncho. But the island still remains charming a little further afield.
Aside from beaches, the island has several interesting archaeological sites, as well as some fairly peculiar attractions.
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.
