Mérida’s rise from a secondary gateway on Mexico’s Caribbean fringe to one of the country’s fastest growing airports is accelerating, with fresh data showing record passenger volumes and surging demand from the United States and other international markets. The Licenciado Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport, serving the capital of Yucatán, is emerging as Mexico’s standout growth story even as larger hubs contend with slower expansion and, in some cases, declining traffic.
Record Passenger Traffic Cements Mérida as Mexico’s Fastest Growing Star
Official figures from airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste indicate that Mérida once again surpassed its own passenger record in 2025, moving nearly 4 million travelers over the year after already breaking records in 2024. From January to October 2025 alone, the airport handled more than 3.2 million passengers, a 5.5 percent increase on the same period of 2024, with both domestic and international traffic rising at roughly similar clips.
That performance stands out in a national context where overall growth has moderated. According to industry data, Mexican airports collectively moved just over 191 million passengers in 2025, up about 2.6 percent year on year, with much of the expansion concentrated in a handful of metropolitan hubs. While Cancun and Mexico City still dominate in absolute numbers, Mérida has distinguished itself for consistent, double digit cumulative growth over the last several years and for registering one of the strongest percentage increases in the ASUR network in late 2025.
In a monthly snapshot released for October, ASUR highlighted Mérida as one of its top performers, with traffic up 8.7 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. That put the airport ahead of many larger peers within the same group and contrasted sharply with declines at other tourist gateways such as Cancún, where domestic volumes softened. For analysts tracking the Mexican aviation market, the pattern reinforces Mérida’s reputation as a nimble mid sized hub that is capturing demand shifts rather than being constrained by existing saturation.
Measured by total passenger volume, Mérida still ranks outside Mexico’s top five, finishing 2025 as the ninth busiest airport in the country. Yet by growth rate and resilience, it has become one of the system’s top performers. For airlines and tourism planners eyeing the next wave of development in southeastern Mexico, the numbers in Yucatán’s capital are increasingly difficult to ignore.
United States Demand Emerges as a Powerful Growth Engine
A key driver of Mérida’s recent surge is the steady expansion of traffic to and from the United States. The airport’s busiest international routes are now overwhelmingly northbound, led by Miami, Houston and Dallas, with Orlando and seasonal Los Angeles flights rounding out a growing North American network. As U.S. travelers diversify beyond Cancun and Riviera Maya resorts, Mérida’s blend of colonial architecture, proximity to archeological sites and quieter beaches along the Gulf of Mexico has turned it into an increasingly sought after entry point.
Traffic statistics compiled by Mexico’s aviation authority show that in 2025 Miami overtook Houston as Mérida’s top international city pair by passenger count, with Dallas not far behind. Low cost carrier Viva, along with United Airlines and American Eagle, has capitalized on visiting friends and relatives traffic, as well as on the growing number of digital nomads and long stay visitors who base themselves in Yucatán’s capital but still require frequent connections to U.S. business centers.
Seasonal services have also evolved into more strategic links. Viva’s Los Angeles Mérida route, originally scheduled as a limited winter offering between December 2024 and early 2025, proved strong enough that the airline decided to relaunch the connection for the 2025 to 2026 holiday period, with state tourism officials indicating that a year round schedule is planned for the first half of 2026. Industry observers say that particular link is significant because it taps into the large Yucatecan diaspora in Southern California and deepens ties between two vibrant creative and culinary scenes.
Despite a recent period of tension between regulators in Washington and Mexico City that has affected some operations from other Mexican airports to the United States, Mérida’s existing U.S. routes have not been directly targeted. With capacity at Mexico City’s main airport constrained and new infrastructure at Felipe Ángeles still maturing, carriers see secondary markets like Mérida as relatively low risk platforms for international expansion. For American travelers seeking alternatives to the busiest Caribbean gateways, the result is a growing menu of nonstop options directly into Yucatán’s cultural heartland.
International Mix Broadens Beyond the U.S. Market
While U.S. links have formed the backbone of Mérida’s international growth, the airport’s reach now extends well beyond the northern border. Routes to Havana, Guatemala City and Toronto are all part of a diversified international portfolio that connects Yucatán with the Caribbean, Central America and Canada. Canadian carriers have tapped into winter sun demand, particularly from Toronto, while regional operators have focused on short haul connectivity that allows Mérida to function as a gateway for intra Latin American travel.
Traffic data for 2025 show that international passengers at Mérida increased at a slightly faster pace than domestic travelers, rising by more than 6 percent year on year during the first ten months of the period. Although total international numbers remain a fraction of those seen at Cancun or Mexico City, the segment’s momentum indicates that the airport is maturing as a competitive secondary international hub rather than functioning solely as a feeder for Mexico’s larger gateways.
The growth is being closely watched by Yucatán’s tourism authorities, who view new routes to Central America and the Caribbean as critical to positioning Mérida as a crossroads for multi destination itineraries. Travelers can now combine city stays with visits to Mayan sites, Gulf coast fishing communities and beach towns, then continue onward to other countries without backtracking through Mexico’s bigger airports. That connectivity is particularly attractive to European and South American visitors, who may arrive through Mexico City or Cancun but then design more complex regional journeys starting and ending in Yucatán.
Aviation consultants note that the current mix of international services also spreads risk. In years when U.S. demand softens due to political tensions or economic headwinds, routes to Canada, Cuba and Central America provide alternative revenue streams. For ASUR, which manages airports in Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico, Mérida’s balanced growth pattern offers a template for how to scale up medium sized facilities without becoming overly dependent on a single market.
Domestic Network Strength Underpins Long Term Expansion
Behind Mérida’s international profile lies a robust domestic network that anchors the airport’s day to day operations. Routes to Mexico City, Mexico City’s Felipe Ángeles airport, Monterrey and Guadalajara account for the bulk of passenger movements, with additional connections to regional centers including Veracruz, Querétaro, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Villahermosa and Puebla. That web of services feeds leisure visitors and business travelers into Mérida from across the country, while also giving local residents greater access to Mexico’s main economic and industrial corridors.
Recent data from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency show that the Mérida Mexico City trunk route alone carried close to 800,000 passengers in 2025, while services to Felipe Ángeles handled more than a quarter million travelers. Monterrey and Guadalajara, both industrial powerhouses, have also registered steady increases, helped by low cost competition from Viva and Volaris. For airlines, the combination of strong point to point demand and opportunities for connections onwards to the United States and Canada makes Mérida an attractive place to deploy additional capacity.
That domestic backbone is particularly important at a time when some of ASUR’s other Mexican airports have faced more challenging conditions. While Cancún remains the country’s busiest international leisure hub, it saw a decline in overall traffic in several recent months, weighed down in part by softer domestic demand. Mérida, by contrast, has continued to grow in both domestic and international segments, suggesting that its catchment area is less exposed to the short stay, all inclusive resort market and more oriented toward longer, higher yielding visits.
For travelers within Mexico, Mérida’s expanded domestic portfolio also offers a practical advantage. As infrastructure projects like the Tren Maya reshape ground transportation across the southeast, the airport’s ability to plug into rail and road networks makes it a natural transfer point between air and land journeys. Visitors flying in from northern cities can disembark in Mérida and continue onwards by train or car to archaeological sites in Campeche or to coastal communities along the Yucatán and Quintana Roo borders.
ASUR’s Network Strategy Elevates Mérida’s Role
Mérida’s rapid ascent cannot be understood in isolation from the broader strategy of its operator, ASUR. The company manages a portfolio of airports across Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico, including Cancún, Veracruz, Oaxaca and San Juan. As some of its flagship hubs encounter capacity or demand constraints, ASUR has increasingly highlighted the performance of its strongest growth assets, and Mérida has risen to the top of that list.
In periodic traffic updates, ASUR has singled out Mérida alongside Veracruz and Oaxaca as airports posting some of the highest percentage gains within its Mexican system. In October 2025, while Cancún registered a decline of about 2 percent in overall traffic, Mérida recorded nearly a 9 percent increase in passenger movements year on year. For ASUR’s investors and airline partners, that divergence underscores the importance of diversifying away from overconcentrated tourist markets and towards emerging urban centers like Mérida and Oaxaca City.
ASUR has responded by investing in terminal upgrades, passenger services and operational efficiency at Mérida, positioning the airport to absorb further growth without the chronic congestion seen at Mexico City’s main hub. The airport already hosts key infrastructure for the country’s air navigation services and the Mexican Army, and its layout allows for continued scaling up of both commercial and general aviation activities.
Analysts say the group’s multi country footprint also benefits Mérida indirectly. Lessons learned from managing international connectivity in Colombia and Puerto Rico are being applied to route development in Yucatán, where state officials are eager to attract new carriers and longer haul services. With global passenger growth expected to continue in 2026 and beyond, ASUR’s focus on high growth mid sized airports could give Mérida an even bigger role in regional air networks.
Tourism Boom and Urban Renaissance Fuel Airport Demand
The airport’s performance reflects deeper changes taking place in Mérida and across Yucatán. Over the past decade, the city has transformed into one of Mexico’s most talked about destinations, celebrated for its colonial core, expanding restaurant scene and relative safety compared with some other parts of the country. International press coverage and social media exposure have helped push Mérida onto the itineraries of travelers who might once have flown exclusively into Cancun or Mexico City.
State and municipal authorities have leaned into that momentum, investing in public spaces, cultural programming and tourism promotion campaigns that spotlight the region’s Maya heritage and natural attractions. Yucatán’s government has worked closely with carriers such as Viva to build Mérida into a strategic hub, highlighting not only its role as a gateway to iconic sites like Chichén Itzá and Uxmal but also its appeal as a base for exploring lesser known towns and cenotes scattered across the peninsula.
The airport’s expansion is feeding into a broader urban renaissance. New hotels, co working spaces and residential developments have sprung up in neighborhoods near the historic center and along key corridors connecting the city to the airport. Real estate professionals report increased interest from U.S., Canadian and European buyers seeking second homes or relocation options in Mérida, drawn by its climate, relatively low cost of living and convenient air links.
Local business leaders caution that rapid growth presents challenges, including pressure on infrastructure and concerns about gentrification. Yet they also argue that sustained investment in the airport and in tourism amenities can help spread economic benefits beyond the city, creating jobs in smaller communities linked to Mérida by improved roads and, increasingly, by rail and air services.
Looking Ahead: From High Performer to Regional Benchmark
With 2026 now underway, industry watchers expect Mérida to consolidate its position as one of Mexico’s top performing airports rather than a one off growth outlier. Tourism officials in Yucatán have signaled that more route announcements are likely in the coming months, building on the planned shift of some seasonal U.S. services to year round operations. Discussions are also underway with additional carriers about expanding capacity on existing domestic trunk routes to keep pace with demand.
At the national level, Mexico’s airport system continues to evolve as new infrastructure comes online and airlines refine their networks. In that environment, the Mérida model steady, diversified growth supported by both domestic and international demand is attracting attention. Other secondary cities are studying how Yucatán leveraged its cultural assets, safety perception and targeted incentive programs to convince carriers to bet on a market that once sat in the shadow of Cancun’s global brand.
For travelers, the practical implications are already visible. From more nonstop options from U.S. gateways to smoother connections within Mexico and the broader Americas, Mérida’s airport is reshaping how visitors access the Yucatán Peninsula. As airline planners and tourism authorities look to where the next decade of demand will materialize, Mérida’s trajectory suggests that Mexico’s most dynamic aviation stories may increasingly be found beyond its largest, most familiar hubs.
If current trends hold, Mérida’s Licenciado Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport is poised to shift from being merely one of Mexico’s fastest growing terminals to serving as a benchmark for how mid sized airports can harness rising international demand, particularly from the United States, to transform their cities and regions into global travel magnets.