In 2021, Mexico had the best recovery worldwide in terms of passengers and flights, by nearly recovering 95% of 2019 levels. This year, the Mexican airline industry aims to fly even further and go back to growth.
A capacity increase
The Mexican Tourism Board expects a 22.5% capacity increase in 2022, compared to 2019 levels. There will be approximately 31.5 million seats available on domestic and international flights throughout the country throughout the year. Three years ago, Mexico had 24.4 million seats available.
Likewise, the country expects to see an increase in the number of flights. In 2022 there will be approximately 190,513 operations in Mexico, a 2.1% more than in pre-pandemic times.
Derived from this recovery, Mexico expects to receive up to US$35.1 billion in revenue coming from the airline and tourism sectors, said the government in a statement.
Throughout the pandemic, Mexico has remained with open borders. This openness has allowed the country to recover faster, as passengers found in Mexico an easy-to-get-to destination. For instance, US carriers operating in Mexico had a nearly 20% increase in the number of travelers by the end of 2021 compared to 2019.
Cancun is set to have 33.3% of all available seats throughout Mexico in 2022 and nearly 30% of all the flights. The Mexican destination has connectivity with North America, South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Mexico City is the business hub for the country. In 2022, the government expects 31.9% of all seats to land at one of Mexico City’s airports (there’s one opening on March 21). Nearly one in three flights will land or depart in the capital city.
Meanwhile, Guadalajara, San José del Cabo, and Puerto Vallarta take a smaller fraction of the pie. Each will have only 8.5%, 8.2%, and 6.6% of the seats available in the country and similar percentages in the number of flights.