Cancun International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Cancún) is located in

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

, on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

coast of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

. It is

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

's third and

's second busiest airport, after Mexico City International Airport. In 2021,

airport handled 22,318,467 passengers, an 82.1% increase compared to 2020. The airport has two parallel operative runways that can be used simultaneously. Officially opened in 1974, the airport is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR). It is a hub for

MAYAir MAYAir was a regional airline based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Its main base was Cancún International Airport. History The airline MAYAir was founded in 1994 as a charter airline serving the Yucatan Peninsula. By 2009 it had establi ...

and a focus city for

VivaAerobus Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as Viva Aerobus, is a Mexican low-cost airline fully owned by the largest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA, and was co-founded by and invested in by Irelandia Aviation. Based in Monterrey Internati ...

and

Volaris Volaris, legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.P.I. de C.V.'', is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City l-888-Ʒ9Ʒ-I394 with its hubs in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Tijuana, and focu ...

; and currently offers flights to over 20 destinations in Mexico and to over 30 countries in North, Central, South America, and Europe.

Expansion

The airport has been expanding as it has become the second busiest point of entry by air to the country, after Mexico City International Airport. In 2005, ASUR invested US$150 million to construct Terminal 3, inaugurated in 2007, and a new runway and a new control tower opened in October 2009. The new long, wide runway was built to the north of the current one; the new control tower is the tallest in Latin America, standing at tall. Terminal 2 was expanded in 2014. A expansion in Terminal 3 was simultaneously carried out, adding six gates and commercial areas, and it was formally opened in March 2016. The expansion was planned to contribute to increasing annual capacity to 10 million from the existing 6 million. Terminal 4 was opened at the end of October 2017, much to the excitement from the local politicians as well as vacationers who were growing impatient with an overcrowded airport.

Terminals

The airport has four terminals, all of which are currently in use.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 has 7 gates: 1 through 7A. After suffering damage from Hurricane Wilma, it was temporarily closed for remodeling in order to accommodate charter airlines operating at the airport. It reopened in November 2013 to charter flights, and it also serves 2 local airlines: Magni and

VivaAerobús Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as Viva Aerobus, is a Mexican low-cost airline fully owned by the largest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA, and was co-founded by and invested in by Irelandia Aviation. Based in Monterrey Internati ...

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 at the Cancún Airport has 22 gates: A1 through A11 (in a satellite building) and B12 through B22 (at the main building). Most domestic airlines depart from here, along with all international flights to Central and South America and a few long-haul flights to Europe. There is a bank and food outlets in the check-in area, along with several restaurants and shops in the boarding area and immigration/customs services. Two lounges, the MERA Business Lounge and The Lounge by Global Lounge Network, serve domestic and international travelers.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 has 21 gates: C4 through C24. It has been recently expanded. Most US carriers, as well as some Canadian and European carriers, use this terminal. It offers shops (including duty-free), cafés, and restaurants, as well as immigration/customs services. There is a MERA Business Lounge located in Terminal 3.

Terminal 4

Terminal 4 has 12 gates and opened in October 2017. This made Cancún International the first airport in Mexico to have four terminals. It is able to handle 9 million passengers a year. Airlines flying to Terminal 4 include

Aeroméxico Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ame ...

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

Air Transat Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it is the country's third-largest airline behind Air Canada and WestJet, operating scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transa ...

WestJet WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

, Southwest Airlines,

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...

, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and

JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

. An on-site hotel is also planned to be opened, as well as a parking structure. Three lounges serve Terminal 4. They are the MERA Business Lounge (National), MERA Business Lounge (International), and The Lounge in Partnership with Air Transat.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

;Notes TUI fly Belgium's flight from Brussels to Cancún makes a stop in Havana; however, the airline does not have traffic rights from Havana to Cancún. Turkish Airlines's flight from Istanbul to Cancún makes a stop in Mexico City; however, the airline does not have local traffic rights from Mexico City to Cancún.

Cargo

Traffic statistics

Passengers

Busiest routes

;Note:

Accidents and incidents

*On March 15, 1984,

Aerocozumel Aerocaribe was an airline based in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. It was a regional affiliate of Mexicana operating services under the Mexicana Inter banner and codeshares with its parent company. It operated almost 120 flights a day. In 2005 Mexica ...

Flight 261 crashed soon after takeoff. No one died in the crash, but one of the passengers died of a heart attack while evacuating away from the swampy crash scene. * On September 9 2009, Mexico City-bound Aeroméxico Flight 576 was hijacked after take off. The hijackers were Bolivians who wanted to speak to the President. The plane landed safely in Mexico City, and the hijackers were arrested.

Accolades

*2011 – ''Best Airport in Latin America – Caribbean'' of the Airport Service Quality Awards by

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its members ...

and 2nd ''Best Airport by Size'' in the 5 to 15 million passenger category"ASQ Award for Best Airport by Size (5-15m)"
''Airports Council International''. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-13