Airlines have returned to Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) and Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR), as violence, following the Mexican government’s actions against cartels, has subsided.
According to Flightradar24 data, airlines have begun operating their scheduled flights to the two Mexican airports, including those based in Canada and the United States. At PVR, 134 of the 152 scheduled departures were tracked on February 24. The next day, 116 of the 123 departures were tracked. At GDL, 185 of the 198 and 179 of the 185 departures were tracked on February 24 and 25, respectively.
By comparison, on February 22 and 23, the gap between tracked and scheduled departures at GDL was 44 and 93, respectively. At PVR, the gap was 83 and 66 during those two days.
Airlines’ travel waivers are also expiring. Air Canada, for example, outlines that if passengers have a ticket for travel to either GDL or PVR between February 24 and 28, travelers can make voluntary changes to their itineraries “to another date up to seven days from your original travel date, subject to availability in the cabin you originally purchased.”
Delta Air Lines’ waiver, affecting the two Mexican airports, is valid for travel dates between February 22 and 26. The changed tickets must have a travel date on or before March 7.
Will this have a long-term impact on Mexico’s tourism market?
Louis de Joux, the founder of Reperio, and the former President of Vacations at American Airlines, told The Engine Cowl that “these types of flare-ups have historically been localized and have not resulted in long-term demand erosion.”
De Joux noted that the events primarily affected parts of the state of Jalisco rather than the whole country.
“It is also important to note that a large share of American visitors stay in all-inclusive resorts, which operate with significant private security infrastructure even in normal times.”
Mexico’s popularity as a leisure destination has been on the rise in recent years. In February, Canadian carriers, including Air Canada, Air Transat, Porter Airlines, and WestJet, added 12% additional weekly flights and 8% weekly seats.
Flair Airlines was the only Canadian carrier to reduce its February schedules to Mexico, per Cirium’s Diio Mi.
Meanwhile, United States-based airlines have actually reduced their flying to Mexico, cutting weekly departures and seats by 2.8% and 2.3%, respectively.
