Tulum, Q.R. — As he edges toward the end of his presidency, Andrés Manuel López Obrador highlighted some of his major projects, two of which were airports. On Saturday morning he pointed out that both the Felipe Ángeles (AIFA) and Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airports were built by military engineers from the Ministry of National Defense.
He says the construction of the airports have benefited the nearby communities by increasing passengers via national and international routes.
During López Obrador’s morning press conference, the Administrator of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport of Tulum, Javier Diego Campillo, presented a general report of operations.
“Since its start of operations on December 1, 2023, it has recorded a cumulative total of 450,925 passengers in 4,368 operations. The daily average reaches 2,168 passengers in 21 operations. In recent weeks it has increased to 4,120 users per day.
“By the end of 2024, it is projected to transport 1.4 million people on 11,000 flights, which doubles the estimate made in the initial market study.
“Eight airlines operate at the airport,” he said. “Three national and five international that offer five routes within the country to AIFA, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana.
“There are nine to the United States that include Dallas, Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York and two to Canada to Toronto and Montreal.
“There will be one more international flight starting June 26 to Tocumen, Panama,” Campillo detailed.
The airport has the goal of maintaining the growth trend in operations and passengers, being one of the main entry complexes to the Riviera Maya and consolidating a modern and efficient infrastructure focused on sustainability based on the nature of the region.
Its infrastructure houses the Military Air Base No. 20, the last one built for the Mexican Air Force. These facilities will increase airspace surveillance, facilitate the application of the DN-III-E Plan and will be an advanced logistics center for the benefit of the southeast.
The construction of the Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport began on June 13, 2022 and was completed on November 30, 2023. The construction, like the AIFA, was carried out by military engineers at a cost of 19.2 billion pesos in a record time of one year and five months.
In the construction sector it would have represented an expense of 35 billion pesos in a period of three years.
The 1,500-hectare property houses a runway 3,700 meters long and 40 meters wide, making it 200 meters longer than the Cancun airport, making it the longest in the region. The terminal building has the capacity to receive 5.5 million passengers per year.
