Thousands of travelers found themselves stranded or facing hours-long delays across Mexico over the weekend as a wave of cancellations and schedule disruptions hit major carriers, including Aeroméxico Connect and VivaAerobus.
In total, at least 39 flights were suspended and more than 200 delayed, snarling operations at three of the country’s most important hubs: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
Wave of Cancellations Hits Key Mexican Hubs
The latest disruption unfolded across Licenciado Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport in Guadalajara, and General Mariano Escobedo International Airport in Monterrey.
These three airports together handle a significant share of Mexico’s domestic and international traffic, meaning operational problems in any one of them can quickly ripple through the wider network.
Data compiled from airport and industry reports indicated that 39 flights were canceled across the three airports in a compressed time frame, with over 200 additional services suffering delays ranging from 30 minutes to several hours. While Aeroméxico Connect and VivaAerobus accounted for a large share of the disruption, mainline Aeroméxico services were also hit, compounding the effect for passengers relying on connections through Mexico’s busiest aviation nodes.
The turbulence comes at a time when Mexican aviation is already under heightened strain from a combination of capacity constraints at Mexico City’s saturated primary airport, ongoing infrastructure issues, and mounting regulatory tensions with the United States over market access and route approvals. Together, these factors have left airlines with very little room to absorb operational shocks.
How Aeroméxico Connect and VivaAerobus Were Affected
Airport operations logs show that Aeroméxico Connect, the regional subsidiary of Aeroméxico, was one of the hardest hit carriers in Mexico City. At Benito Juárez International Airport, at least eight Aeroméxico Connect flights were canceled while more than 60 were delayed, affecting both domestic trunk routes and regional services that feed into the airline’s broader network. Problems on these shorter segments quickly cascaded as crews and aircraft found themselves out of position for later departures.
VivaAerobus, a leading low cost airline with a heavy presence in northern and central Mexico, also experienced substantial disruption. In Mexico City, six of its flights were canceled and roughly ten delayed, while in Guadalajara eight services were scrubbed and several more operated late. In Monterrey, a key VivaAerobus base, the carrier canceled at least a dozen flights and logged around ten delays, a particularly sharp blow in a market where the airline normally operates dense, high frequency schedules to other Mexican cities and to the United States.
Mainline Aeroméxico operations were similarly affected, with about five cancellations reported in Mexico City and an unusually high number of delays in excess of 150 flights over the day as the carrier attempted to recover its schedule. Because many Aeroméxico itineraries involve tight connections for both domestic and international passengers, even small interruptions can create bottlenecks and missed onward flights.
Passenger Struggles: Long Queues, Missed Connections, Mounting Costs
Inside terminals, the operational chaos swiftly translated into human frustration. Travelers reported long lines at airline counters and gate podiums as passengers sought rebooking options, refunds, or basic information about when their flights might depart. With cancellations mounting, many found that same day alternatives had already been snapped up, forcing overnight stays in airport hotels or budget accommodations far from the terminals.
Business travelers trying to reach Monterrey’s industrial hub and Guadalajara’s tech and manufacturing corridors found themselves particularly exposed, with some missing critical meetings or factory visits. For leisure travelers connecting through Mexico City on to beach destinations and smaller regional airports, the disruption meant lost vacation days and additional expenses for food and lodging that are not always fully reimbursed by carriers under Mexican regulations.
Families traveling with children and elderly passengers bore some of the heaviest burdens. In crowded departure halls, parents struggled to manage long waits, while limited seating and food options in some areas of the airports intensified discomfort. Some passengers resorted to sleeping on the floor near their gates as late night and early morning departures were rescheduled or merged into fewer flights.
Operational Pressures and Weather Among Likely Drivers
The precise mix of causes behind the latest disruption varied by airport and carrier, but several recurring structural problems provided fertile ground for a day of cascading delays and cancellations. At Mexico City’s Benito Juárez airport, long running capacity constraints, infrastructure wear, and weather related interruptions have repeatedly forced temporary suspensions of operations in recent months. Even brief halts to takeoffs and landings can create long tail delays as airlines scramble to reshuffle aircraft and crews.
At times, heavy rain and low visibility in the Mexico City valley have led authorities to slow or temporarily stop movements on the runways, prompting airlines such as Aeroméxico to call for urgent upgrades and maintenance to the airport’s aging infrastructure. When operations resume after these interruptions, backlog quickly builds, and lower priority regional services are often the first to be trimmed from schedules, explaining in part why Aeroméxico Connect bore such a large share of cancellations.
For VivaAerobus, the pressure is compounded by its role as an ultra low cost carrier running aircraft at high utilization, leaving relatively little slack in the system. A single mechanical issue, crew timing restriction, or airspace congestion event can more easily ripple across the day’s flying program. When multiple such stress factors converge across multiple airports, the result is a broader operational breakdown like the one seen across Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
Regulatory Tensions with the United States Add to Uncertainty
The domestic disruption unfolds against the backdrop of a significant regulatory dispute between Mexico and the United States that has already reshaped cross border air travel and added a new layer of uncertainty for airlines and passengers alike. In late 2025, the United States Department of Transportation revoked approval for 13 routes operated by Mexican carriers and froze growth in passenger and cargo services from Mexican airlines on key Mexico City corridors, citing violations of a bilateral air transport agreement and what Washington described as unfair treatment of US airlines.
The US action specifically targeted services by Aeroméxico, Volaris, and VivaAerobus, including flights using Mexico City’s newer Felipe Ángeles International Airport. By blocking new or expanded routes and suspending certain existing operations, the order tightened capacity on some of the most commercially important corridors linking Mexican hubs with US cities, especially for low cost carriers that had been aggressively adding frequencies.
For travelers, this regulatory freeze means fewer options and higher load factors on remaining services, leaving carriers with little flexibility to accommodate passengers when weather, crew issues, or technical faults force last minute cancellations. On a day when domestic operations are strained, the inability to reroute passengers via certain cross border flights or deploy spare aircraft on transborder segments can amplify disruption within Mexico’s internal network.
Tourism and Business Travel Feel the Economic Impact
The timing and scope of the latest wave of cancellations and delays is particularly worrying for Mexico’s tourism and business sectors. Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey are critical gateways not only for domestic travel but also for international visitors arriving from North America, Europe, and South America. Disruptions at these hubs can affect connectivity to resort destinations, colonial cities, and smaller industrial centers that depend heavily on reliable air links.
Tourism analysts note that recurring flight problems risk undermining Mexico’s reputation as an easily accessible destination, especially among higher spending visitors who prioritize flexibility and predictable travel times. While many travelers are willing to accept occasional weather related disruptions, repeated headlines about mass cancellations, airport suspensions, or regulatory disputes may encourage some to consider alternative destinations in the Caribbean or Central America.
Business travelers and multinational companies with operations in Monterrey’s manufacturing corridor and Guadalajara’s technology and automotive clusters also face mounting challenges. Production shutdowns, delayed shipments, and rescheduled executive visits can carry hidden costs that are not immediately visible in passenger statistics but nonetheless affect investment decisions. If airlines and authorities are perceived as slow to address capacity, infrastructure, and regulatory bottlenecks, some investors may begin to favor hubs with more robust and predictable air service.
Airlines’ Response and Passenger Options
In the immediate aftermath of the disruptions, airlines moved to rebook affected passengers on later flights, often consolidating multiple lightly loaded services into single departures in an attempt to restore some semblance of normalcy. Aeroméxico and Aeroméxico Connect offered waivers allowing passengers to change travel dates without penalty on selected routes, while VivaAerobus sought to redirect some customers through alternative airports or adjust schedules to prioritize high demand trunk routes.
However, rebooking options were constrained by high seasonal demand and the existing limitations on cross border growth. In many cases, passengers reported being offered travel one or even two days later, particularly on peak Mexico City and Monterrey routes. For some, especially those traveling on nonrefundable low cost tickets, available compensation did not fully cover out of pocket expenses for hotels, meals, and ground transportation.
Consumer advocates in Mexico reiterated calls for stronger enforcement of passenger rights regulations, arguing that airlines often rely on broadly defined operational reasons to avoid providing full compensation or accommodation. They urged travelers to document all costs incurred as a result of cancellations and lengthy delays and to press carriers for written explanations that can be used in formal complaints to aviation authorities if needed.
What Travelers Should Watch for in the Coming Weeks
Aviation analysts caution that the issues exposed by the latest disruption are unlikely to disappear in the short term. Weather related interruptions will continue to pose challenges during Mexico’s rainy and storm seasons, while ongoing capacity constraints at Mexico City’s main airport remain unresolved. The regulatory standoff with the United States also shows no sign of immediate resolution, suggesting that Mexican carriers will be operating within a tightly constrained international framework for the foreseeable future.
Travelers planning itineraries through Mexico City, Guadalajara, or Monterrey in the coming weeks are being advised to build additional buffer time into their schedules, especially if they have onward international connections. Booking earlier departures on the same day, avoiding the tightest possible connections, and remaining flexible on travel dates when possible can reduce the risk of major disruptions.
Passengers are also encouraged to monitor airline communications closely on the day of travel, using carrier apps and airport information systems to track gate changes and departure times. While airlines have improved their digital notifications, last minute updates are still sometimes posted first on airport displays or announced at gates, making it important for travelers to remain close to their departure areas once checked in.
For now, the scenes of crowded terminals and long rebooking lines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey underscore the fragile equilibrium in Mexican aviation. As airlines like Aeroméxico Connect and VivaAerobus strive to meet booming demand in a challenging regulatory and infrastructural environment, any operational setback risks stranding thousands of passengers and reverberating across the country’s vital air travel network.