Along with the Mayan tourist train, the Mexican government is currently constructing a new international airport in Tulum, the popular beach destination and archaeological site located on the Riviera Maya in the state of Quintana Roo.
According a recent update from the Ministry of Defense (Sedena), the agency overseeing the project, the airport will be ready for use by mid 2024. It will be to handle up to 32,000 inbound and outbound flights annually, amounting to around 5.5 million passengers, Sedena says.
Nearly three-quarters of the flights arriving at the airport are expected to be from foreign destinations, mostly the United States and Canada. A connecting road will link the airport with Highway 307 that runs between Cancun and Tulum.
A military base adjoining the new airport is being built at the same time, Sedena says.
Juan Carlos Zuazua, the general director of Viva Aerobus, confirmed that the discount airline will be the first to operate flights to the United States from the Tulum airport, that will have the official name Aeropuerto Felipe Carrillo. He is anticipating that a future alliance with U.S. carrier Allegiant Air will allow Viva to connect to dozens of small- and medium-sized cities in the United States that currently do not have non-stop flights to the Mexican Caribbean.
As with the Mayan train project, the environmental impact of the new airport has concerned activists. According to El Economista newspaper, at least 1.3 million trees will have to be felled to build the airport and military base, while the consequences for fauna in the zone due to noise pollution, contamination and habitat destruction are likely to be considerable.