TAG Airlines Comes to Mexico

Guatemala’s TAG Airlines announced that it will open two routes connecting Guatemala to Mexico, one to Tapachula, Chiapas, and the other to Cancun, Quintana Roo, announced the company on Twitter.

According to the airline, the Guatemala-Tapachula route will start operating on August 13, while the Guatemala-Cancun route will begin to operate on August 19. “Guatemala, as the heart of the Mayan world, offers a wide diversity of natural attractions, archeology and gastronomy, among others. Meanwhile, Cancun is the main tourist destination in Mexico and Latin America, as well as an important pole of attraction for investments and business development; while Tapachula is the main gateway from Central America to Mexico,” said Julio Gamero, CEO of TAG Airlines, to A21.

Gamero explained that the southeastern region of Mexico is of extreme importance to international travelers and is extremely attractive both for business and leisure, due to its natural attractions, cultural richness and potential for economic growth. The new routes could benefit tourism for the region and support airlines and airports in the southeast of the country. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (ASUR) reported that airports in the southeast are seeing a decrease in passenger traffic. Altogether, ASUR’s airports reported a decrease of 4.8 percent in traffic during July 2021, when compared to the same month of July 2019. Even Cancun International Airport reported a contraction caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with a 1.1 decrease in traffic. The most dramatic decreases were felt by Minatitlan, Merida and Veracruz, with a 25.3 percent decrease, a 25 percent decrease and a 23 percent decrease in passenger traffic, respectively.

Unlike other regions in the country, international passenger traffic keeps growing in the southeast while domestic traffic shrinks. The biggest decrease in domestic passenger traffic was felt by Merida International Airport, which contracted by 28.3 percent, when compared to 2019. Other airports were more fortunate. Cancun International Airport, for example, reported an increased in domestic passenger traffic of 1.9 percent, while Cozumel International Airport a whopping 7.5 percent.

Regarding international passenger traffic, Cozumel International Airport saw a whopping 63.1 percent increase in passenger traffic in July, Huatulco saw a 22.5 percent increase and Veracruz a surprising 48.5 percent increase in traffic. More international routes could be beneficial for the southeastern region of the country.