Cozumel, Q.R. — After being given the green light, construction on the Cozumel International Airport is set to begin. The construction project consists of an expansion that will allow the facility to accommodate additional flights.
On October 1, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) approved the environmental impact statement, allowing airport construction to move forward.
On Friday, Pablo Arjona, Administrator of the Cozumel International Airport, held a press conference detailing the project. According to Arjona, over 330 million pesos will be spent on the airport’s expansion to accommodate additional domestic and international flights in anticipation of an increase in air traffic.
The project will be completed in two stages, one of which will be the expansion of the commercial platform and the other, the expansion of the terminal building. The expansion project is expected to take around three years.
He reported that the project will allow the Cozumel airport to receive category C aircraft including McDonnell Douglas MD-81, Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 planes, as well as Boeing 737 aircraft.
A new building for rental vehicles and the Fire and Rescue Corps is also part of the plans. The two-story building will be constructed on a 1.6 hectare site with a completion date for December of 2026.
Arjona said that the new facilities, with all its improvements, will provide the airport with the extra room it needs.
“Inside the terminals will be double-height, with more space. Right now, the airport has become a little too small. It is functional, but I do feel it’s a little small,” he said.
Arjona said the airport is anticipating an increase in air traffic, up from its current three to five daily flights to as many as 15. The increase is expected to start within the next few months, peaking out at a possible 17 flights per day on weekends.
“Now, we have an average of five flights per day, but we expect that in the coming months, this will increase from six to nine to 12, 15 and 17 on Saturdays.
“Due to the current low season, flight capacity averages between 60 and 65 percent which is low. We estimate and expect that for the coming months, the end of the year perhaps, capacity will reach 85 to 90 percent and that other airlines, particularly domestic ones, will reach 95 to 98 percent,” he explained.
He said that the Cozumel airport is currently connected with Mexico City, Monterrey and Cancun as well as Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Miami. Recently, a new Calgary route has been added.
The Cozumel airport expansion project was suppose to have begun earlier this year, however, there were technical difficulties related to the logistics of materials and personnel, especially in terms of material costs.
The finished Cozumel expansion project will allow the island airport to increase the number of annual passengers it can receive from its current capacity of around 711,000 to approximately 1.2 million.
