Background on Cancún International Airport’s Significance
Cancún, Quintana Roo – According to data from the Advanced Sustainable Tourism Research Center (STARC) at Anáhuac University, the Cancún International Airport ranks among the top three airports in Latin America for passenger traffic during the first seven months of the year, just below Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Airport Traffic Comparison
The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) has moved 25.6 million passengers and leads the ranking, followed by Sao Paulo with 22 million and Cancún in third place with 18.1 million passengers during the reference period.
The Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara ranks ninth with 10.6 million passengers.
“There are approximately 374 airports in the Latin American and Caribbean region, with only ten registering over 15,000 annual passengers. It is significant that three Mexican airports are in this category, with Cancún being the busiest in the region,” states the STARC report.
Cancún’s Consistent Performance
Even before the pandemic, Cancún consistently ranked among the top four Latin American airports. Specialized aviation websites placed Cancún fourth, below Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and El Dorado (Colombia).
Cancún is expected to close 2025 with 30 million passengers, similar to 2022 and 2024 figures. As of July this year, the airport showed a trend of recovery and even surpassing previous years’ performance.
Passenger Traffic Trends in 2025
In the first seven months of the year, Cancún International Airport moved 18.1 million passengers, a slight decrease of 3.7% compared to the same period in 2024 (18.7 million passengers).
- January: -5%
- February: -7.2%
- March: -6.2%
- April: -5%
- May: -4.8%
- June: -4.7%
- July: -3.7%
If Cancún maintains this recovery pace, it will match 2024 passenger numbers by October of this year. Real growth may only be registered in the last quarter of 2025, though it will still fall short of its historical record set in 2023 with 32.3 million passengers.
