There’s a brand-new airport for travelers hoping to visit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Several U.S. carriers launched service during the past week to Tulum’s bright and shiny Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport (TQO), and TPG was there to report as the inaugurals began.
About 20 miles from the center of Tulum, the airport could be a more convenient option for travelers visiting the region’s beaches, resorts and historical sites — many of which sit closer to Tulum than Cancun.
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SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
Though it opened for domestic service in December, the airport welcomed its first international flights from beyond Mexico on Thursday.
As part of that international “grand opening,” TPG was on board the first-arriving American Airlines flight — as well as the first-departing Delta Air Lines flight. We aimed to get some insight into the new airport and the new dots and lines on these airlines’ route maps. This way, we can help you decide whether this is the right airport for your next trip to Mexico.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUYInitial reaction
From the access road into the airport to the building to the terminal, taxiways and runways, everything is new. It’s clean, fresh and less overwhelming than the older and better-known Cancun International Airport (CUN).
Overall, it’s a gorgeous space with high ceilings, clever artistic touches and plenty of nods to the beauty of the surrounding Riviera Maya.
SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
Natural light floods into the terminal with floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the spacious ticketing area and allowing guests plenty of views of the ever-increasing number of aircraft coming and going.
SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
Still, readers should be aware it is lacking some amenities right now: The Wi-Fi and air conditioning were lackluster on day one of international flights, and it has little in the way of concessions at the moment.
Overall, though, it’s an impressive new option for travelers.
Here’s what we found arriving and departing on the first day of international service at Tulum’s new airport.
What travelers can expect on a trip to TQO CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Tulum, the Riviera Maya, Cancun and the entire Yucatan Peninsula are filled with gorgeous resorts.
Historically, though, guests hoping to get to Tulum have had to fly into busy Cancun Airport before getting a taxi or private shuttle to their resort; this can be a multihour trek and cost $150 or more each way. The new airport is designed, in part, to solve that problem.
Unfortunately, it’s still not the perfect solution.
Since the airport is actually south of Tulum proper, the drive could still potentially take close to an hour (or more) if you’re heading to the farther-north resorts of the Riviera Maya.
Still, there’s hope among some locals that splitting passengers across two airports could ultimately help relieve some of the traffic problems the broader Cancun area has seen recently.
Where is the new Tulum airport?
Again, the new Tulum airport isn’t exactly in Tulum.
It’s about 20 miles from the center of town — and it’s a bit farther from many of the popular resorts in the area.
One worker TPG spoke with at Tropical Elite Travel, a local transportation company, was quick to note the airport is more than a “stone’s throw” from some of the region’s better-known resorts north of Tulum. This is something for travelers to keep in mind as they plan trips.
GOOGLE MAPS
For some more context, the airport is close to 100 miles south of Cancun. Playa del Carmen is right in between those two destinations along the coast.
Getting to and from the new Tulum airport The Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort. CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Following a stay at the Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort, TPG managing editor Clint Henderson — who was on the first-departing Delta Air Lines flight Thursday — spent about an hour driving to the terminal.
On the plus side, that’s a lot faster than the 1 1/2 hours it took to get to the resort after arriving on a flight from Cancun.
Still, even with that shorter distance, getting to TQO was pricier than you might expect. The shuttle from the previously mentioned Tropical Elite Travel charged riders the same $120-plus for a transfer to TQO.
Our team found a taxi ride from the Tulum airport to the center of town (about a 45-minute ride) was about $60. From the Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya, north of town, it was closer to $100 for a taxi to the new airport.
There are also some cheaper ways to get to the airport, like taking an ADO bus.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUYDeparting the new Tulum airport
Passengers enter the brand-new terminal through any of the four ground-level doors.
Overall, it’s a much quieter feel as you enter the airport. If you can picture the honking horns, police sirens and overall bustle and chaos common at busy airports’ drop-off curbs, this is far from that.
It’s also a far cry from Cancun’s much busier airport, which sees millions of passengers annually (nearly 4.8 million from the U.S. alone in 2023) and aircraft arriving from all over the world.
Except for the occasional noise of a jet taking off, it sounds (and in some way feels) more like you’re in a public park than outside a busy airport.
Ground floor
Inside, on the ground floor (which is technically the arrivals level), there are currently a few shops, rental car company offices, taxi stands and bus line offices.
This is where you’ll end up after baggage claim (more on that in a bit).
All around, you could hear the sounds of construction, making clear that parts of the airport (most notably the food and drink establishments) remain a work in progress.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUYTicketing area
Multiple escalators, elevators and stairs take you up to the ticketing area, which is spacious and airy — and easily the most impressive part of the building.
Sunlight pours in through a translucent roof. There are two large islands where airlines have set up their check-in and bag drop stations.
American, Delta and United each have a row of check-in counters with plenty of space. On the opening day of U.S. flights, there were balloons and treats to honor the inaugural flights.
United added its own check-in counters with some modest decor when it launched service Sunday.
JetBlue plans to launch service to Tulum in the coming months. So do Air Canada and Panama-based Copa Airlines.
Security
The security area was well staffed and took just a few minutes to get through.
Since Tulum is a much smaller airport than Cancun, you can likely expect smaller crowds — particularly until airlines fully scale up their flight schedules out of the airport.
SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
For Clint’s departure on Delta’s inaugural flight, two officers checked his passport and boarding pass before he was allowed to scan his ticket at automatic gates.
At security, officers asked passengers to remove belts and watches so they could be put through the X-ray machines. Other items, like laptops and Kindles, had to be removed and put into a separate bin for scanning.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUYAirside
The departures concourse is one straight hallway. If you go left out of security, you’ll find gates for domestic Mexico flights — at least right now.
If you go right, you’ll find the gates for flights departing to U.S. destinations.
In all, the airport has 13 aircraft parking positions. There are only four true gates in the concourse itself, but some gates lead to multiple jet bridges. So, you could end up departing from a “D3A” or a “D3B.”
Aesthetically, the gorgeous ceilings had plenty of lighting, with Mayan-inspired wood sculptures creating a dramatic impact.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
This airport’s floor-to-ceiling windows will likely inspire AvGeeks with killer views of aircraft taking off and landing.
Departing passengers will find wide-open spaces, plenty of seating, and sporadic plugs and outlets. Like most airport terminals, when flights start boarding, passengers congregate in the concourse a bit. Still, generally speaking, it’s a fairly spacious concourse. That will be even more true once construction fully wraps up and there are more places to eat, drink and sit.
Marble floors and high ceilings give the terminal a high-gloss look.
Those gates number D1 through D4.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
The gates seemed to be generally interchangeable, “common use” gates. So, you might see a Delta jet depart from a gate at one point in the day and then an American plane at that gate later in the day.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
On day one of international flight operations, American Airlines decorated its gates with balloons and signage to mark the occasion.
Tulum uses automatic gates that let you scan your boarding pass, but right now, gate agents still seem to be checking passports prior to departure.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
As it was the first day of international flights to Tulum, the flights were far more packed arriving than departing, so the concourse was fairly empty. That will likely change in the coming months as U.S. and other international airlines add more service.
On this day, however, Delta’s inaugural outbound flight was lightly booked, with one worker saying there were 120 empty seats on the Boeing 737-800 — harking back to how empty planes were flying during the worst of the pandemic.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUYAmenities at the new..