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New airport for Tulum to be second largest in Yucatan Peninsula

Tulum, Q.R. — Now that the AIFA is operational, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has his sights set on his Tulum airport project. On Monday, General Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo who headed the group of Sedena engineers at AIFA, reported that the upcoming Tulum air terminal will be built to handle four million passengers a year.

He said that capacity will make it the second largest in the Yucatan Peninsula. The plans for the airport will include a wide range of airport services, he explained, including a multi-purpose military air base that will be used to strengthen airspace surveillance.

He said that the military section of the new airport will also be used during natural disasters and forest fires. The runway will be 3,700 meters long by 45 meters wide and similar in orientation to other state airports.

“We are talking about the largest, best quality and best instrumented runway in the southeast of the republic. It will be located 20 meters above sea level with an orientation similar to the runways of Cancun, Cozumel and Chetumal,” Gustavo said.

During his Monday press conference, he also said that the air terminal will emphasize the Playa del Carmen-Tulum-Chetumal corridor, integrating with the current highway and the upcoming Maya Train.

He said they are anticipating an operation date of May 2024. Last month, AMLO announced that the airport will be called the Felipe Carrillo Puerto after Riviera Maya businessmen requested the name be the International Airport of Riviera Maya.