Travelers across Mexico, the United States, and Canada are facing fresh disruption after a new wave of schedule cuts and cancellations affecting low cost and leisure focused carriers. Viva Aerobus, Frontier Airlines, WestJet, and several partner airlines have adjusted or temporarily suspended a handful of key routes touching major gateways including Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, Queretaro, Philadelphia, and Toronto. While the number of flights involved is relatively small compared with each airline’s total network, the changes are concentrated on popular leisure and visiting friends and relatives corridors, meaning many travelers are discovering only at the last minute that long planned trips need to be reworked.
What Is Happening With the Latest Cancellations
The most immediate disruption centers on a cluster of nine affected flights and route pairings that airlines have either canceled outright or significantly reduced for the current shoulder season. These include north south links between Mexican hubs and cities in the United States and Canada, as well as several domestic Mexican routes that typically act as feeders into bigger international departures. Travelers booked on Viva Aerobus, Frontier, or WestJet into Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, and Queretaro are reporting short notice rebookings, substantial schedule changes, and in some cases a complete loss of nonstop options to cities such as Philadelphia and Toronto.
In Mexico, the latest wave of cancellations comes against a backdrop of ongoing fleet constraints for Viva Aerobus. A portion of its Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft remain out of service for extended inspections and maintenance tied to Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan engine issues, a problem that has affected dozens of airlines worldwide and continues to reverberate through the 2026 schedule. Viva has already acknowledged that between 15 and 25 aircraft at a time have been grounded in recent years, and industry analyses show the carrier has averaged more than twenty jets out of operation each month during the height of the crisis. That level of unavailability inevitably forces network cuts and makes the timetable far more fragile when demand softens or unexpected maintenance crops up.
For North American travelers, the practical consequence is a thinning of nonstop options on certain days between key vacation gateways. WestJet and partner airlines have trimmed some frequency between Canadian cities and Mexican beach destinations outside peak periods, while Frontier has pulled back from weaker performing or highly seasonal links from its U.S. focus cities into Cancun and other Mexican resorts. When combined with Viva’s own domestic and cross border adjustments, the result feels like a coordinated squeeze on value fares and nonstop choices for passengers who rely on low cost carriers to keep trips affordable.
Viva Aerobus: Engine Problems Turn Into Network Headaches
Among the carriers at the center of the latest shake up, Viva Aerobus is grappling with one of the deepest structural challenges. The Mexican ultra low cost airline built its growth strategy around a modern fleet of Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft equipped with Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan engines. Those engines later became the focus of a global inspection and recall program after manufacturing issues with key components were discovered. Regulators and the engine manufacturer required lengthy shop visits that could keep each affected jet parked for many months, slashing available capacity even as demand for travel in Mexico surged.
Viva Aerobus executives have previously confirmed that roughly a fifth of the airline’s fleet has been unavailable at various points since 2023, and detailed studies of official flight hour data show that on average more than twenty aircraft per month have been grounded over a multiyear period. At peak, well over half of the airline’s A320neo subfleet was out of service at the same time. To maintain schedules, Viva turned to a patchwork of short term leases, including wet leases that brought in aircraft and crews from European operators and a follow on arrangement using Airbus A320neo jets from Chilean carrier SKY Airline. These stopgaps preserved capacity on many core routes but also added complexity and cost.
Against that backdrop, the decision to cancel or suspend a limited number of lower yielding or operationally challenging flights is the most immediate lever the airline has to stabilize its operation. Mexican media have already documented episodes where Viva Aerobus canceled dozens of flights over a handful of days while additional aircraft went into inspection, including high profile links between Monterrey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Tijuana, and even Mexico City to New York. With engine related disruptions expected to continue into 2026, targeted cancellations touching cities such as Monterrey, Tijuana, Queretaro, and Cancun are likely to recur whenever the maintenance calendar and demand patterns collide unfavorably.
Frontier and WestJet Adjust Cross Border Leisure Capacity
On the U.S. and Canadian side, Frontier and WestJet are reshaping their Mexico facing networks in a way that is being felt as cancellations on specific days or seasons, even when the route as a whole is technically still offered. Frontier has been marketing a growing roster of low cost flights from Mexico into U.S. cities such as Denver, Chicago Midway, Raleigh, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, and Las Vegas, with a strong concentration in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas. However, recent schedule filings and booking engine snapshots reveal that many of these links only operate a few times per week during late winter and early spring and that departures on weaker days have quietly disappeared.
For a traveler who booked months in advance assuming daily or near daily service, the airline’s behind the scenes decision to operate only selected days can translate into a notice that their specific flight has been canceled and moved to a different date, time, or even routing. The effect is especially acute for connections from smaller U.S. cities that rely on precise timing to line up with onward flights. Passengers traveling between Philadelphia or secondary East Coast markets and Mexican resorts may find themselves rerouted through alternative hubs, facing uncomfortable layovers, or being offered refunds instead of comparable re-accommodation when Frontier narrows the schedule.
WestJet has been pursuing a similar rationalization from its Canadian bases, particularly outside the peak winter holiday and spring break windows when demand for Mexico’s beaches is at its strongest. The carrier and its partners have maintained extensive service from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and other cities into Cancun and other Mexican leisure destinations, but individual frequencies have been trimmed or consolidated. In practical terms, that can mean that a planned nonstop between Toronto and Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, or another resort only operates on certain weekdays and that off peak rotations have been removed, leaving some passengers holding tickets on now nonexistent flights.
Key Routes Affected: Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, Queretaro and North American Hubs
The disruption is most visible on routes that act as anchors in the leisure and visiting friends and relatives market. Mexico City remains the country’s primary hub, split today between the traditional Benito Juarez airport and newer alternatives like Felipe Angeles. Viva Aerobus has a substantial footprint across those airports, linking the capital to major domestic destinations and to international points including the United States. When even a handful of Mexico City flights are canceled on short notice, the ripple effects can strand connecting passengers whose onward segments rely on tight domestic to international connections.
Cancun is another critical node. It functions less as a hub in the traditional sense and more as a magnet for point to point traffic from across North America and Europe. Every winter, WestJet, Air Canada, U.S. low cost carriers, and Mexican airlines flood the market with flights from cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Denver, Miami, and Philadelphia. When Viva Aerobus trims its domestic feed into Cancun from cities like Mexico City, Monterrey, or Tuxtla Gutierrez at the same time that Frontier or WestJet remove individual northbound frequencies, some travelers suddenly lose the specific combination of flights their itinerary depends on, even if alternative options technically exist on other days.
On the northern edge of Mexico, Tijuana and Monterrey play dual roles as both business and leisure gateways. Tijuana is a key bridge for cross border travelers using the Cross Border Xpress facility to access Southern California, while Monterrey connects northern Mexico’s industrial heartland with the rest of the country and beyond. Recent cancellations on these routes have complicated plans for travelers who expected quick domestic hops to larger international departure points. Queretaro, a fast growing secondary city with increasing tech and manufacturing investment, has also seen its share of adjustments, suggesting airlines are being aggressive about pruning capacity anywhere load factors fall or operational resilience is at risk.
Why These Cancellations Are Happening Now
Although each airline faces its own specific circumstances, several common themes explain why this cluster of cancellations and schedule reductions is hitting now. Fleet limitations remain at the center of the story. For Viva Aerobus, the ongoing Pratt and Whitney engine inspections are the dominant factor, forcing long term planning around an uncertain number of available aircraft and the timing of their return. The airline has sought and received financial compensation to offset some of the added costs of wet leasing and reduced utilization, but the operational pain persists and will likely continue until the middle or even late 2026 period.
For Frontier and WestJet, the pressure is less about unexpected mechanical issues and more about managing seasonal demand and controlling costs in a still volatile fare environment. After the post pandemic travel surge, North American airlines have become more cautious about deploying capacity in markets where price sensitive travelers can quickly evaporate if fares rise too far. By selectively canceling weaker performing flights and concentrating service on peak days between core city pairs, carriers can keep aircraft and crews focused where revenue is strongest, even if that means unsettling travelers who bought tickets on early season or shoulder period departures that no longer fit the revised plan.
Broader supply chain and delivery constraints also play a role. Across the industry, aircraft manufacturers face a backlog of thousands of new orders, while engine shops are working through a long queue of heavy maintenance visits. Airlines that expected to be flying more new jets by 2025 and 2026 are instead stretching older aircraft and juggling wet leases. In Mexico, this has been particularly visible as Viva Aerobus and Volaris both struggled with grounded A320neo family aircraft at the same time, occasionally leading to days when dozens of flights had to be removed from the schedule in advance.
How Travelers Are Being Rebooked and Compensated
For travelers affected by the latest cancellations, the experience varies widely depending on the airline and the route. Viva Aerobus has publicly committed to rebooking passengers on the earliest available flights and to offering refunds or vouchers in line with Mexican aviation regulations. When large blocks of flights were canceled in the past, the airline emphasized that it was working at full capacity to contact customers, reassign seats, and provide compensation where required. Nonetheless, individual reports on social media and travel forums describe long waits for customer service, limited alternative options on busy days, and confusion about the rules for hotels, meals, and voluntary versus involuntary changes.
Frontier and WestJet apply their own contract of carriage and local consumer protection rules, which can be more or less generous depending on the jurisdiction. In the United States, Frontier is generally obliged to provide a refund when it cancels a flight and the passenger chooses not to accept a rebooking, but it does not automatically cover incidental expenses like hotels and ground transportation when cancellations are driven by operational or commercial reasons rather than safety grounded issues. In Canada, WestJet must follow Canadian Transportation Agency rules that offer stronger protections in some scenarios, particularly for significant delays and cancellations within the airline’s control, but travelers still often need to advocate for themselves and keep careful records of out of pocket costs.
One common thread across all three carriers is that rebooking options can be sharply limited when cancellations occur close to popular holidays, long weekends, or school break periods. Flights between Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, Philadelphia, Toronto, and other major nodes often run close to full, especially in prime travel weeks. When a flight is canceled, the remaining services on the same day may not have enough free seats to absorb everyone, forcing some passengers to accept a next day or even multi day delay or to seek entirely different routings on other airlines, sometimes at higher last minute prices.
Practical Advice if Your Flight Is on One of the Affected Routes
Given the ongoing combination of engine related fleet issues, seasonal capacity shifts, and tactical cancellations, travelers planning to fly Viva Aerobus, Frontier, WestJet, or their partners on routes linking Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, Queretaro, Philadelphia, Toronto, and other connected hubs should plan for added vigilance in the weeks ahead. The single most important step is to monitor your reservation regularly, both through the airline’s website or app and by checking your email and text messages for notifications. Do not assume that a booking made months in advance will remain untouched, especially if it involves a low frequency route or travel on very quiet days of the week.
It is also wise to build extra time into itineraries that rely on tight connections, particularly when linking a domestic Mexican leg on Viva Aerobus with an international departure on a different airline from Mexico City, Cancun, or Monterrey. When possible, consider traveling into major hubs a day early and overnighting, rather than attempting to connect on the same day on separate tickets. While this adds cost, it significantly reduces the risk that a last minute cancellation on a short domestic segment will cause you to miss a once daily or long haul flight with pricey change penalties.
Finally, know your rights and options before problems arise. Review the airline’s policies on refunds and rebooking for cancellations, familiarize yourself with Mexican, U.S., and Canadian consumer protection rules that may apply to your journey, and keep receipts for any hotels, meals, or transportation costs you incur as a direct result of a cancellation or extended delay. Being prepared to clearly document your situation will make it easier to seek reimbursement or goodwill compensation afterward. In a period when fleet constraints and strategic capacity cuts are converging across Mexico and North America, informed and proactive travelers will be best positioned to navigate the turbulence with the least disruption to their plans.